If the Bible is the inspired Word of God and it is about the same as Him writing it Himself what guarantee do we have that God represented Himself the way He really is aside from faith?

Answer 1

We don't have proof, that's why it's called faith. First, a quick note on the premise that The Bible being "the '''inspired''' Word of God" [emphasis mine] means "it is about the same as Him writing it Himself": that's not necessarily the case. The Bible being the inspired word of God can also imply that God provided the concepts, but the human author/transcriber provided the exact wording. In one sense, it would be like WikiAnswers contributors modifying this answer to improve grammar, fix typos, or rephrasing portions to clarify the meaning. It would also be similar to one person paraphrasing another, a process that is considered imprecise, inaccurate, and therefore inadequate by 21st standards, but was considered standard and acceptable practice 2,000 years ago. The bottom line here is that, without faith, there are '''no''' guarantees about anything the Bible says. Even historical and archaeological evidence that may support the Bible is often brought to question by the community at large. Indeed, anything written by anyone has some form of trust or faith required to be accepted. For example, who says any portion of this answer is accurate and correct? You may, or may not, accept what this answer is saying; that doesn't change the accuracy or correctness, but it does change what you do with this answer. (In the case of a wiki, you can improve the answer, of course) That's why every answer has a disclaimer releasing WikiAnswers of all liability regarding the answers contained herein because we're only human. A love-struck man can be inspired by his love for a girl to write beautiful poetry. A painter can be inspired by a beautiful sunset to paint a beautiful painting. Rev Jones of Guyana fame was inspired by God. David Corresh was inspired by God. Applewhite of "Heavens Gate ministry" was inspired by God, Pat Robinson, James Farwell, Jimmy Swagqart, etc., was inspired by God, Joseph Smith (Mormonism) was inspired by God. If these present day "inspired by God" is not so believable, then why would we believe those who wrote the Bible two thousand years ago, whose only claim is that they were inspired by god? If God wants to reveal something to you, would he (God) reveal it to somebody else', or would he reveal it directly to you? Revelations are significant only to whom it was revealed. If it was passed on to another and another and another , then it's mere hearsay.

Read the Bible and find out for yourself if an All-good, All-just God will inspire what is written.

If it were not so, He would have told us. Also, the God of the Bible is not the god of David Caresh or Jim Jones or Mary Baker Eddy, or anyone else, as the writers of the Bible were 40 men were chosen by God Himself over thousands of years in different times and situations, having only one connection amongst all of them: They all knew God, the God of the Jews. The Bible has lasted as long as it has (the complete Book has lasted over 2000 years, through translation upon translation, but very nearly unchanged in the core words) for a reason, and that reason is the fact that Jehovah breathed the Words Himself, and since God is truth, His Word is as well, and He included all that we need to know in our Holy Bible, including everything about Himself, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, as well as His plan for salvation for mankind, which is the true purpose of His Book.

consider: Lets assume the Bible was 100% the word of God at the time it was first revealed to man. That was an awfully long time ago. I am sure everyone can think of an event they took part in that they then heard recounted 2nd or 3rd hand where the story no longer matched their memory of the event in all details. If human failings mean that we can't accurately remember, or recount, something that happened last week, is it reasonable to expect that a a record of events that took place 2000 years ago is still accurate down to the last detail?

Why does the bible need to be 100% correct down to the number of loaves and fishes?

The bible contains "Parables". Stories that are admitted to be made up to get across a point. The story of the creation is a "parable", a story to show that God made the world. It does not need to bee 100% accurate as to how long it actually took, it's just there to show who did it. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

[JOHN1:1-2-3-4-5.]

the Word was God: Use of words, was The Absolute Truth of creation! Was: What is it now.

language: The aspect of human behaviour that involves the use of vocal sounds in meaningful patterns and, when they exist, the corrisponding written symbols to form, express, communications. [From Latin ling-uage, ling, tongue + uage, to wag, or wage.]

Tongue Wagging! What happened?

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let US go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. [GENESIS 11:6-7-8-9.]

scatter them abroad: That makes US, Those whom are against Christ, and therefore the Father:

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. [MATTHEW 12:30.]

So whom is "US"?

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let US make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let US build US a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let US make US a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. [GENESIS 11:1-2-3-4-5.]

Now only the leaders of the people, make the sort of decisions as mentioned above.

Let's seek verification of this consideration.

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. [ISAIAH 3:12.]

Human errors, have been around for centuries, and yet continue today! Especially among human leaders. Another confirmation of the scripture!

Proto Indo-European Language

http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/PIE.html

Around 2214 Gregorian years after Babel, Sir William Jones announced, the Science of language now recognized the following.

1786 Sir William Jones announced to the Asiatick Society of Calcutta that Sanskrit had to be related to Greek and Latin, touching off what would come to be known as the Neogrammarian move from philology (the comparison of texts) to what we now consider linguistics.

Unfortunately, Those whom study linguistics don't study scripture; and Students of scripture do not study linguistics, a problem of a divided society! One more error, that may be attributed to US!

And God said, Let US make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [1:26-27.]

With the use of pronouns, care must be taken to align agreement, and number, with the noun the pronoun stands for. Apply this to the above and you find man is no different than the animals, in the eyes of Absolute Truth, Animals: Suffer from human errors; lack only, the voice and vanity of humans.

The prime human error, that condemned The garden of Eden to 5000+- Gregorian years of Human Error, leading to the terrorism, that pervades ci-vil-ization today! For Error, is the mother of Terror!

And as a closure to my point in this discussion:

The aspects of civilization: Laws; Countries; politics; science; banking; religions, nor any other division; may exist without the causative power of Words! The Key word: TRUTH! Without Truth humans remain trapped in DOUBT! And as long as Doubt rules the Earth, there also is Division; which leads to War

Scriptures requirements, for teaching man knowledge:

Answer to #1. Of course one should be correct before chastising anybody; Only the moronic teaches error.

Answer to #2. If you don't know! what are you going to teach? Error! Of course one should know Truth before attempting to teach anything; else one teaches error, and error metamorphoses' into Terror.

The beliefs ,and theories of humans are erroneous because they do not know!

Even the Ivy League collages do not teach How To Know; for no human is qualified; for humans have the affliction of being erroneous.

From first answer: Rev Jones of Guyana fame was inspired by God. David Corresh was inspired by God. Applewhite of "Heavens Gate ministry" was inspired by God, Pat Robinson, James Farwell, Jimmy Swagqart, etc., was inspired by God, Joseph Smith (Mormonism) was inspired by God.

These people better fit the definition of false teachers! It was the likes of them, that, because of their lack of comprehension of spirituality, were unable to keep the moronic theory, darwinism out of school curriculums' and "E Equals MC Squared", got a stronger following, than The Creator of The Cosmos. Had they not been absorbed, with the survival of the fittest; and studied the Truth of evolution, someone might just have happened to notice a new word for false, was slowly evolving into language: phony It takes the guess work out of things! Beware of phony prophets; their phony language; and most of all their phony god! Is it not written: the errors made by mans leaders, has destroyed the way of the peoples paths. [ISAIAH 3:25.]

Had human religious leaders comprehended the scriptures they would have known that: They and thus the ci-vil-ized world with them, are totally lacking in spirituality, and thus; know neither Truth; nor Faith! Onley the blind do not have proof! Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. [GENESIS 11:7.] And America has a supreem court, who's total function is establishing what the founding fathers ment; when they wrote the constitution. If world leaders understood one anothers speech; There would be no errors in communication, and mistakes would not be made. People, including Popes do not comprehend what the scriptures say. I knew that long, long, before I came close to comprehending Faith! God, if He is God, is able to represent Himself as He wishes. Since He reveals Himself as a God who cannot lie, then He Himself is the one who guarantees the truth of what He has inspired to be written, despite all of the sin and weakness of the people He used to do the job.

If God's guarantee is false then He Himself is false. This is precisely why people expend so much energy to try to prove the Bible false, since this is a reflection on its author which they hate. Fortunately the Bible, and the God of the Bible can stand scrutiny as these alleged errors prove to be false. Archaeology has verified the Bible's accuracy in over 4000 specific places and the number grows daily. So, the later work of man verifies to a degree what God claims in His book and about Himself being a God of truth.

Of course there are very many details that cannot be verified and never will be. People who believe don't need any verification whatsoever since the Spirit of God in their hearts is their absolute guarantee. All true believers understand what this means.

Answer 2

There are two assumptions implicit in the question. The first is that God truly exists and the second is that the Bible is truly the inspired word of God. Without these assumptions, it would be meaningless to ask if God represented himself the way he really is.

The question therefore involved three distinct levels of faith in a hierarchy: i) God exists; ii) the Bible is the inspired word of God and represents what he would have written; iii) God inspired the biblical authors to represent him the way he really is. Lose faith in any of these assumptions and you may lose faith in the Bible. Then you discover there is no guarantee of truth in the Bible.

Answer 3

The life, words, deeds and actions of Jesus Christ. He came to reveal the Father (The God) as His begotten Son (The Word or Logos). Suggest your reading the New Testament first. Further suggest you begin with the Gospel of John and his 3 letters.