WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
#21
But all that took place before the scriptures were completed and it was those words (the original text) which God promised to preserve and keep pure for ever.


Psalm 12:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words:
As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord,
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
God promised to preserve His words. He never said what language. God can accomplish His preservation in any language He so chooses. I believe He chose to preserve His completed word in English through the King James Bible.
 

fredoheaven

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2015
4,098
959
113
#22
How did we decide which books belonged in the Bible, Old and New Testament? A lot of possible writings, like Thomas gospels weren't included. A lot of other writings weren't included.
Many of the False Gospels writings like the Gospel of Thomas, actually there were other 20 false gospels, 8 False Acts, 4 False epistles and 7 false Apocalypses. They were never accepted by anyone as canonical since they teach Mariolatry, salvation by the legal observances, legendary accounts of the apostles, etc.. These writings are called Pseudepigrapha.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
#23
Thank you for participating in this thread. I agree and like what you stated as well as using the scriptures to demonstrate it. However, we're talking about 2 different things. A translation dictated by God is certainly infallible, perfect and altogether true. But all that took place before the scriptures were completed and it was those words (the original text) which God promised to preserve and keep pure for ever.


Psalm 12:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words:
As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord,
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

The lingual translations which took place after God completed the revelation of His word, cannot be viewed under the same light by the biblical examples you gave as that would be violating God's own words (Rev 22:18) to no longer add to his words. And since God continually added to his words by many different means, then we can be sure that those means he is no longer using. Furthermore, every translation can be scrutinized against the original text and I have yet to find any that is without error.

I hope you find this helpful.
If God is behind the preservation, yes He can.

Jeremiah 36:32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

The “originals” were destroyed. God had Jeremiah make a copy and add to the originals many like words. Do we have the originals today?

Let’s not put more emphasis on the originals than God does. If God thought we needed the originals, then He would have preserved them for us. They have been destroyed.
 

fredoheaven

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2015
4,098
959
113
#24
Thank you for participating in this thread. I agree and like what you stated as well as using the scriptures to demonstrate it. However, we're talking about 2 different things. A translation dictated by God is certainly infallible, perfect and altogether true. But all that took place before the scriptures were completed and it was those words (the original text) which God promised to preserve and keep pure for ever.
The problem is that we no longer produced the "original text", we just need to accept by faith that there was once an "original text" and the promise of preservation is kept in English KJB.;)
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
778
113
#25
Since the Lord Jesus Christ put His own stamp of authority and approval on the 24 books of the Hebrew Tanakh (our Old Testament) in Luke 24, that is beyond dispute. Then the Holy Spirit through Peter put His stamp of approval on all of Paul's epistles (over half the NT). Several other books show internally that they were divinely inspired. As for the rest, the Holy Spirit guided faithful Christians (since the first century) to include certain books in the NT canon and exclude others. Thus we have an almost complete list of the canon recorded in the 2nd century (the Muratori Canon). The Protestant Bibles have the true OT canon, but the Bibles of the Catholic and Orthodox churches have included apocryphal books.
But, for 1500 years, the Bible contained the Canon which included the apocryphal books'. Martin Luther decided to drop these 7 books from the Bible, he also wanted to drop the 'Epistle of Straw'. James Letter in the New Testament..

After 1500 years, what authority did Martin have to decide which books should stay in the Bible. Doesn't the Bible itself warn about changing the Bible?

Revelation 22:19, And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
 
Dec 22, 2021
41
11
8
#26
A translation can be inspired by God. There are examples all throughout scripture. The following is an example. From Genesis 42-45 Joseph spoke Egyptian to his brethren, yet, the scripture contains the translation of that conversation into Hebrew. In these verses, the bold represents the words of Joseph that were originally spoken in Egyptian but were translated into Hebrew and that translation into Hebrew was inspired by God.

Genesis 42
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
John, I understand what you are saying. I view such instances from a different perspective. I see non-canonical writings quoted in the inspired Scriptures and given the inspired seal of truth, but I do not gather from that, that the non-canonical writing is inspired by the Holy Spirit, for instance:

"One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;" (Titus 1:12-13, KJV)

Paul certainly did not mean to say that Epimenides the poet considered by the Cretians a prophet, was himself inspired by the Holy Spirit. But Paul by inspiration did state that what Epimenides wrote was true.

A translation by man, even the LXX is not inspired as can be seen in Isaiah 7:14. The verse, literally, word for word, by Formal Equivalence translation can be correctly rendered:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman′u-el." (Isa 7:14, RSV)

The Hebrew for "young woman" is in Strong's Dictionary defined: "‛almâh, al-maw', Feminine of H5958; a lass (as veiled or private)" and in the KJV is found 7 times: twice as 'maid', twice as 'virgin', twice as 'virgins' and once as 'damsels'.

The Septuagint renders the verse in a Dynamic Equivalence style translation as:

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel." (Isa 7:14, LXXE)

Matthew quotes from the Septuagint and gives approval of the LXX Dynamic Equivalence translation accuracy:

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel." (Isa 7:14, LXXE)

I do not understand Matthew to be saying the LXX is inspired by the Holy Spirit, but the LXX gives the true meaning of the Hebrew. There are times the LXX errs as compared with the KJV translation of the Hebrew:

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me[Yahweh] whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech 12:10, KJV)

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn son." (Zech 12:10, LXXE)

Don't get me wrong, for modern translations I do use the RSV, NRSV, NEB and REB; but the KJV, along with the RV, is my primary study Bible and the more I study, the higher my view of the scholarship and integrity of the KJV translators and I prefer it in many passages.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
25,369
13,730
113
#27
Thank you for your reply, however, if we're to be led only by the truth and examples set forth by the scriptures, how many people do you know that have taken the time to examine the writing style of Tertius for the book of Romans? None that I know of, he was merely a scribe as Paul dictated to him what words to write. Well, God is teaching us that His Word was written in the same exact way. Whatever Moses wrote, or Jeremiah or Paul, etc were the exact words given to them by God. We have Plenty of examples of this taking place, but not one of the scribes (like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John or Paul) inserting their own wording into the scriptures.

Jeremiah 30:1–2 (KJV 1900)
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I HAVE SPOKEN unto thee in a book.

What they spake were the very words breathed from the mouth of God and never their own. God teaches us this principle with the 10 commandments which represent the complete word of God (10, 100, 1,000 in the Bible is used to represent completeness of whatever is in view). And God takes complete credit for writing it.

Exodus 32:16 (KJV 1900)
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

This is why trying to study what each man was like is really a waste of time (no offence) because you are relying on sources outside of the scriptures to do so. In other words, you're relying on corrupted texts when compared with the Word of God. Therefore, a corrupted text cannot shed light on an incorrupted one.


Romans 3:4 (KJV 1900)
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

I hope you find this helpful.
It seems that you are promoting a verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture, such that God dictated it verbatim. This view does not hold up under careful examination.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
25,369
13,730
113
#28
But, for 1500 years, the Bible contained the Canon which included the apocryphal books'. Martin Luther decided to drop these 7 books from the Bible, he also wanted to drop the 'Epistle of Straw'. James Letter in the New Testament..

After 1500 years, what authority did Martin have to decide which books should stay in the Bible. Doesn't the Bible itself warn about changing the Bible?

Revelation 22:19, And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Martin Luther had no such authority; he had opinions. You have opinions. Neither carries more authority than the other.
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
778
113
#29
Martin Luther had no such authority; he had opinions. You have opinions. Neither carries more authority than the other.
You are correct in one aspect, Martin Luther had no authority to change the Bible. Yet he did. He eliminated 7 books from the Old Testament because he didn't agree with some of their teachings. These books had been in the Bible for over 1200 years. So, how could he do that?
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,691
113
#30
Who wrote the Bible?
God wrote the Bible when He told prophets what to write. The possibility exists that people can do back and change the texts. We have so many versions and translations of the Bible now and some appear to be heavily corrupted.

There’s good evidence that the majority of the Bible is true and accurate. I’m not a KJV-onlyist or anything, but it’s solid and consistent as far as I can tell. Despite the somewhat archaic language, it’s a good Bible to build a foundation of scriptural knowledge on.
 

awelight

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2020
1,629
490
83
69
#32
Please be more specific, who were these 'people' who decided. How do we know they were correct in selecting the books of the New Testament? Thanks.
Perhaps you should establish, why you think this important. Please give your reasoning, for questioning the accepted Canon of Holy Scripture.
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,771
113
#33
But, for 1500 years, the Bible contained the Canon which included the apocryphal books'
That is incorrect. It is from about 200 BC that the Hebrew Tanakh was translated into the Greek Septuagint (LXX). And that is when all those apocryphal books were added. The Hellenistic Jews were not as meticulous about what went into the corrupted LXX. But long before that the Catholic scholar Jerome had already identified all the apocryphal books and wanted to exclude them. But the pope at the time prevailed and seven books were added to the OT as though they were Scripture. So when Martin Luther came along, he was only following the lead of Jerome. Luther himself was unsure about certain NT books, but they remained in his German translation (since he was following the other Reformers).
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,691
113
#34
Huh? "Appear"? or: Most ARE heavily corrupted - just sayin' 'cuz of ALL the satanic
Division That Abounds, eh?
I’m thinking of translations into English from the earliest known manuscripts. Sometimes it’s impossible to translate something accurately if a word doesn’t exist for the the translated word. Often times they have to add to the original texts to explain the word using many words. That’s just a limitation of translations. That’s the appearance of corruption I was thinking of.
 
Dec 19, 2021
141
25
18
#35
It seems that you are promoting a verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture, such that God dictated it verbatim. This view does not hold up under careful examination.
A verbal dictation of the scriptures is certainly one method God used to compose the scriptures. We can one such example in the book of Jeremiah. Also, the creation account, where there were no eye witnesses, either had God dictate the events of this account, or inspire his words verbatim to a scribe.

Jeremiah 36:2 (KJV 1900)
2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.

Either way, we know that every word came from the mouth of God, this is why it's called the word of God.

Psalm 12:6 (KJV 1900)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words:
As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV 1900)
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God (God breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
 
Dec 19, 2021
141
25
18
#36
If God is behind the preservation, yes He can.

Jeremiah 36:32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

The “originals” were destroyed. God had Jeremiah make a copy and add to the originals many like words. Do we have the originals today?

Let’s not put more emphasis on the originals than God does. If God thought we needed the originals, then He would have preserved them for us. They have been destroyed.
It is not the original parchments that God promised to preserve from this generation forever, it was the words written on them.

Psalm 12:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words:
As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them (the words), O Lord,
Thou shalt preserve them (the words) from this generation for ever.


In other words, no matter how many times the scriptures had to be re-written in order to preserve God's original words, we can be sure that God was the one preserving his word pure and he continues to do so. The text we now have in our possession (the Received text and the Masoretic text) are completely preserved by God, as per His word.

What is not promised to be preserved is any other word besides. I have looked into various Bibles and compared them against the original text, and I have found that the KJV is by far the most faithful to the original word of God in its translation. That being said, anyone who has compared the KJV against the original text will find the same problem contained in every other translation. That is that it contains errors as well. I have learned that God has permitted such errors in every translation in order to conceal truth from those not willing to dig for it (like compare it against the original). Such neglect results in the misunderstanding of passages which contain great doctrinal teachings.

I would like to provide just one example of many:

Matthew 28:1 (KJV 1900)
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.


If you look at the original text, you will see that the word translated as "sabbath" is actually plural. This may have not made sense to the translators at the time, so they decided to translate it as a singular word instead. Then, as the continued with this verse, the came across the exact same Greek word again (sabbatōn) which is once again, plural. Well, you can see how this just doesn't seem to make sense to translate it as God had wrote it, so they decided to translate a plural word as "day of the week" which is singular. But they couldn't translate it as "days of the week" because, again, it just doesn't make sense.

And so, I hope you can see that our logic in this passage has superseded what God wrote in his original text. But what happens if we translate it according to the way it was written? Well, it would read like this:


Matthew 28:1 (KJV 1900)
In the end of the SABBATHS, as it began to dawn toward the first of SABBATHS, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.


God has hidden a very important doctrinal truth here. One that has confused those who hold to a 7th day sabbath and those who hold to the Sunday worship day because BOTH sides have a valid argument. God's laws are everlasting.

Psalm 119:152–153 (KJV 1900)
152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old. That thou hast founded them for ever.
153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: For I do not forget thy law.


God commanded that we were to observe the Sabbath, and during the Old Testament, God established the Sabbah to be on the 7th day of the week. Every single Sabbath. But during Jesus' earthly ministry, he began to do some strange things on the Sabbath day, he began to violate it, or so it seemed.

Luke 6:1–5 (KJV 1900)
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.


The Pharisees were teachers of the law and they were right (in this instance). God commanded that everyone prepare their food the day before the sabbath, yet here is Christ and his disciples doing it on the sabbath day. And while this was certainly a 7th day sabbath still, the language God chose here is extremely curious. He said, "on the second sabbath after the first". Christs actions were teaching us that God was about to make a change, not in his law of observing the Sabbath, but rather in the day it would be observed. This is what all of Christ's healings pointed to on the sabbath. It meant that the sabbath would no longer be as day of physical rest, but it would be a day of much spiritual work (like preaching the gospel so that people could become spiritually healed, meaning saved).

The phrase, "the second sabbath after the first" points to the change God would make that is hid in the language of Matthew 28:1 (among other verses). It teaches us that the era of 7th day sabbaths (plural) came to and end ("In the END of the SABBATHS"). And that a new era of sabbaths would now begin the very next day (as it began to dawn toward the first of SABBATHS). This is what God is pointing us to by saying, "the second sabbath (Sunday) after the first sabbath (Saturday/7th day).

It is correct that the Sabbath was always to be observed, but God is the one who dictates when the sabbaths would be. This is what he means by "the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath". And it is also correct that Sunday, the first day of the week, was when Christ arose from the grave which began the first of Sabbaths to continue to be observed. I apologize for the long reply.
 

arthurfleminger

Well-known member
Aug 18, 2021
1,405
778
113
#37
Perhaps you should establish, why you think this important. Please give your reasoning, for questioning the accepted Canon of Holy Scripture.
My reasoning is simple, the poster stated that people determined what Scripture should be included in the Bible, the Old and New Testament. I as a simple question, who were these people that made such a determination of what belonged in the Bible and what didn't. Simple straightforward question. After all, the Bible just didn't fall out of the sky. Someone determined what books belonged in the Bible. So who made the determination? It's a very legitimate question.
 
Dec 19, 2021
141
25
18
#38
@John146 , another example we can find is in the translation of Genesis 2:7.

Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Once again, the translators decided to take a plural word and translate it as singular. As a general rule, if God intends for a word to be singular or plural, we should not take it upon ourselves (unless we have ample biblical justification) to change a plural word to a singular word and vice versa. We learn this here:

Galatians 3:16 (KJV 1900)
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.


The only time I have seen ample biblical (not logical) justification was when it came to translating the word "Elohim" which is a plural word, but the scriptures make it abundantly clear that Elohim is ONE God.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV 1900)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God (Elohim) is one Lord:


Now, in Genesis 2:7, the translators translated the plural Hebrew word for "lives" as a singular word "life". They did this quite frequently actually. The verse should read:

Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of LIVES;

But this (like Matthew 28:1) doesn't make a lot of sense. At least not until you search it out further and relaize that not only does God use this phrase with human beings, but also with animals (even just one animal).

Genesis 7:15 (KJV)
And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of LIVES (not "life"). (here, multiple animals are in view).

Exodus 22:4 (KJV)
If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive (or, HAVING LIVES), whether it be ox, OR ass, OR sheep; he shall restore double. (single animal is in view here, but same word "lives")

So, the words “lives” has nothing to do with a quantity of animals or people in a particular context, but it has everything to do with the one who gives the life. It has everything to do with God.

Psalm 36:9 (KJV)
For with thee (meaning with God) For with thee is the fountain of LIVES (not life): in thy light shall we see light.

So, the word “lives” describes who God is, the same way that the word “GOD” itself (Elohim) is a plural word describing one God in three deities.

1 Samuel 17:36 (KJV)
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

Just like all the verses I listed above are incorrectly translated as singular words when they are in fact plural, the phrase in 1 Samuel 17:36, "the living God", is also translated incorrectly. It should read, "...the armies of the God of LIVES). It is only when we take the time to correct the translations, that we begin to notice an abundance of spiritual truth come forth. And it seems like God allowed these errors for 2 reasons that I could see (there may be more). The first is so that we don't place our trust in something that isn't inspired by God, like any translation, but only in the preserved Word of God. And the second, is because God tells us that he conceals words in order that his people would search them out. And knowing that translations done by imperfect people would naturally contain errors such as these, was a perfect way for God to accomplish that and lead us back to his original writings to confirm or correct any word.

Proverbs 25:2 (KJV 1900)
It is the glory of God to conceal a THING (dabar): But the honour of kings is to search out a MATTER (dabbar).


The word "thing" and "matter" are the exact same Hebrew words most commonly translated as "WORD".

Proverbs 25:2 (KJV 1900)
It is the glory of God to conceal a WORD: But the honour of kings is to search out a WORD.
 

wattie

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2009
3,229
1,126
113
New Zealand
#39
In addition to understanding that every word in the Bible is completely infallible, the Bible student must also understand just who wrote the Holy scriptures. Immediately we can turn to the scriptures and point to various men who historically wrote the books that make up the Holy word of God.

2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

They wrote it because they were used by God to do so, but the person who held the pen and paper (the scribe) is of least importance to us. Rather it is of utmost value and importance to understand who dictated the words that have been written, and that is none other than God.

Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.

God gets the credit for every word penned by the men he chose, because the scribes he used only penned the very words of God , thus making it the same as if though God was speaking and writing to us directly. Therefore God is the one who wrote the Bible and not man, and it is of no importance nor significance to know the personal writing styles of these individuals nor their back round, nor any other information about them that is not contained within the scriptures themselves. God has given us an excellent example of this type of understanding within his word.

As we begin reading the book of Romans, it becomes evidently clear to us that Paul is the one speaking here as if it were Paul himself writing these very words.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Romans 1:8 First, ***I ***thank*** my ***God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is*** my ***witness, whom*** I ***serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing*** I ***make mention of you always in ***my ***prayers;


Yet as we conclude the book of Romans, we discover something altogether different. We discover that Paul was not the writer of the epistle to the Romans, but rather it was another man named Tertius.

Romans 16:22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

What can we learn from this? God is teaching us that even though the books in the Bible may be written as if though they were the writers' own words, we can be sure that they were not the writers' words at all, rather those words belonged to the one who dictated them to the writers and the book is correctly recognized to be the words of the one who dictated the words, not the one who penned them.

In other words, many people give Paul the credit for writing the book of Romans instead of Tertius. Tertius’ credentials, back round or writing style are never questioned nor examined. Instead, many theologians try to learn as much as possible about the apostle Paul’s background and style of writing through church history books and yet fail to understand what God is revealing to us here.

God is teaching us that just as Paul dictated the book of Romans to Tertius, and Tertius penned those words, and Paul is the one who gets the credit for writing the book of Romans, that God has done the very same thing with everyone He chose to pen His words in the Bible. Therefore, the same way Tertius’ credentials and style of writing are ignored for being the scribe of Paul, we must also do for every other scribe who wrote the words of God. This means that Paul’s credentials for writing the other books of the New Testament are just as unimportant as Tertius’. The same goes for every other scribe of the Bible.

The focus is always on the one who dictated the words and not on the one who penned them. We can therefore boldly proclaim that God is the one who wrote the Bible.
Dictation... the style of the writer isn't in the writing...


You mean inspiration, but fully guided?
 

Evmur

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2021
5,219
2,618
113
London
christianchat.com
#40
You post a lot of meaningless gobbleddy gook. So let me ask directly and please provide a direct answer. Who decided what books would be in the New Testament. How can we trust their decision to be correct? No gobbledygook please.
You NEVER ask a direct question you are ALWAYS seeking to lead people to a conclusion which you think is correct

In this case you are trying to establish that it was the Catholic church which decided what was scripture. Therefore you think the Catholic church gave us the bible ... it's a myth. There was no pope in Rome or anywhere else when Peter wrote his letters.