Originally Posted by Timmy
Wow! This is a terrific thread! It's the reason I've come out of hiding (lurking). This question has been on my mind and heart a lot, lately, and there's a lot of good stuff to read, here.
Seems to me that, when we say we believe that the Bible is God's Word, inspired, infallible, and so on, what we are really doing is putting a great deal of trust in men. Namely, the men who, centuries ago, decided on the canon -- which ancient writings were inpsired, which were not.
Were those men themselves inspired by God? Were their intentions pure? Were they 100% correct in their choices? Are all 66 books, no more and no less, the very books that God Himself intended to be the "Bible"?
Now, it could be that our spirit (or the Holy Spirit) somehow confirms in our hearts that the Bible is true. That's fine for those for whom this happens, I suppose. And it's fortunate for the ones whose experience also confirms the truth of such scriptures that, e.g., promise miracles and healings, and so on. But what about the rest of humanity? Some will read the Bible and react negatively. Some things in scripture don't ring true, to them. They see promises there that aren't (in their experience) kept! Is it simply carnality and a hard heart? Is it lack of faith? Would only an evil man read the Bible and not immediately (or eventually) say, "Aha! Yes, this must be God's word!"?
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