Is the Bible the perfect and pure word of God?
Understandably most Christians hold the Bible as their most sacred text, considering that it is the means for most people to learn about God and the life of Jesus Christ. Furthermore the books of the bible themselves seem to suggest to many that it is protected by the power of God to prevent tampering, thereby ensuring its purity and truth. Admirable as such sentiments may be, it is equally clear that the Bible in its present form has been handed down through almost 17 centuries by the hands of men. Today one may browse through any retail bookstore and see many “translations“ and observe that they do not always render equivalent passages with the same meaning.
In and of itself, having different meanings does not equate to error, but collectively the different renderings of the same passage suggests at the very least that not all translations can be entirely correct. Were it not for that casual observation, there are other indications that the Bible as we now know it has logical, content and doctrinal inconsistencies that would not be present if the Bible were the pure word of God. The wonder of scripture, however, is that God provides enough information to be able to identify such errors by what the apostle Paul would call “two or three witnesses”. That is, where one passage may have an error, there are often second or third scriptures that make it clear what the truth is. What we have greater trouble reconciling are passages that have either been left out accidentally or intentionally. Information that is simply missing may not be easily found or may be impossible to find in other sources that can be reliably accounted as representing the truth.
Let’s examine a few examples to illustrate the importance of having two or three witnesses. We do this because of the admonition from the apostle Paul:
2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
From this we recognize that Paul’s advice is consistent with the commandments given through Moses concerning witnesses:
Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Other passages record the same advice, but Paul further advised studious examination of things to arrive at the truth:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Some examples of how this principle may be applied to understanding the scriptures include the following:
John 3
25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
John 4
1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
Even though these two passages are from the same book, different denominations have taken one passage to mean that Jesus never baptized, and have used this as a means for denying the legitimacy of baptism. It is clear from the two passages that Jesus himself did baptize despite the denial of this in John 4:2, although it is equally made clear that while he did baptize, he did not baptize as many as his disciples. Thus we find the importance of using two or three passages to get to the truth of the matter.
Another example can be found by digging a little deeper. The book of Genesis records how Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in the city of Sodom. Two angels went into the city to rescue Lot and his family, but the men of the city wanted more:
Genesis 19
1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
In verse 8 there is a distinctly unusual passage - Lot offers his virgin daughters to the men of Sodom -- to do with as they pleased -- instead of letting the men of the city take the men, who were actually angels. Rigidly holding to the idea that the Bible is absolutely correct in every detail would require us to accept the idea that Lot was willing to give his daughters to the men of the city, who were wicked. One must make a very convoluted argument about this passage to accept that a righteous man would rather give his daughters to be abused or killed instead of letting the men of the city attempt to do the same with the angels.
What makes this idea that the Bible is perfect so difficult to accept is that Lot is later called a Just and a Righteous man -
2 Peter 2
7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
The apostle Peter says that Lot was vexed by the unlawful deeds of the men of the city. It is quite plausible that Peter had access to a more accurate or complete accounting of the events described in Genesis 19, leading him to conclude without hesitation that Lot was a Just and Righteous man, or else Peter would not have used him for an example of a Just and Righteous man. If Lot was a righteous man, would he have offered his daughters to wicked men? We surely cannot conclude that the passage in Genesis is completely accurate as we have it - particularly considering that the angels rescued not only Lot, but his wife and both daughters from that wicked city before it was destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven. We must decide if Peter concluded that giving his daughters to the wicked men of Sodom was the act of a righteous man, or that something about the passage has been altered over the centuries.
Given the idea that the passage is not entirely inaccurate, we may conclude that the error in the passage is limited to the part where Lot offered his daughters instead of the angels. Rather, Lot and the angels had barricaded themselves in the room, suggesting that Lot was trying to preserve his daughters. Thus, Lot is more likely to have told the men to not take his daughters or the angels (who only appeared to be men). As foreign as the concept of middle-eastern hospitality may be to western cultures, it is not likely that it included prostituting one’s daughters to a rape gang.
None of this diminishes the value of the scriptures, but rather it demonstrates the importance of both reading and understanding what we have received. The Bible as a source of history for both Jewish and Christian belief, while it has been more carefully tended to than secular history, is nevertheless a written record covering over five thousand years from a range of languages, cultures and time periods composing both good and bad societies. That the scriptures are as consistent in the message and internal history to itself as it truly is can be nothing short of incredible, indicating that truly God has had his hand in bringing it to us. But to suggest that it has never deviated from the original content of its individual writers is purposefully naive and misleading.
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