I'm getting podcast nostalgia when Dr. Jaros and Dr. Licona collab for this. Thank you for showcasing the book. I'll definitely pick up the Audible version
I think the idea of inerrancy arose as a counter to the ideas being presented in modernism, that nothing sticks on the wall when examined. Contra that, inerrancy says too much, that everything sticks on the wall, except for 1000s of exception cases explained in books. I prefer to say what Scripture claims, that Scripture is inspired by God and authoritative for one's active faith.
Augustine: "If we are perplexed by any apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, "The author of this book is mistaken."; but either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have not understood." (Against Faustus 11:5).
This is all accurate. If we get upset it's because we're lazy and simply follow the culture. I'm totally ok with the errors. It does nothing but push me towards my savior in faith by His grace.
Unless you have the initials Ph.D behind your name in textual criticism and a strong understanding of how to translate the languages that make up the Bible, you may want to understand that before you make any comments in a negative way towards Dr. Licona and his book. I whole heartedly support the time and energy it takes to gain the knowledge and understanding Professors attain that deal in these areas and more. If you do not have this same level of knowledge and experience and understanding, then you may want gain a clearer understanding before saying anything negative about anyone.
"I whole heartedly support the time and energy it takes to gain the knowledge and understanding Professors attain that deal in these areas and more" -------Then you support the sin of word-wrangling. See 2nd Tim. 2:14.
If there are errors in the Bible, then the implications for our faith and for who God is--or if He even exists--are megalithic. If God is not capable of protecting His word through the ages, then is He truly all-powerful? How does a great Bible scholar reconcile his scholarly findings with the belief in an almighty God, or with the belief that the Bible is actually a divinely inspired document? Is it really? What does all this say about the foundation of Christian faith? That foundation seems to be a foundation on sand--if Dr. Licona's assertions are true. Is the good Doctor working to support the Christian faith or to destroy its very foundations?
It's not a matter of if. Copyist errors have occurred through millenia. Perfect preservation has always been a fib, but we have sufficient preservation to hold onto our faith.
Depends on what your faith is in. Is it in God's word, or is it in doctrines that humans have taught you? This kind of discussion ought to force us back to God's word, to see what it actually teaches. Then we can compare that with what people teach, and see when human teaching falls short or is itself in error. As for your question about God "protecting" his word, it's not that he isn't capable of doing so; it's that he hasn't chosen to do so. (If by "protecting" his word, you mean keeping humans from making mistakes when they make copies of the original manuscripts, and then keeping other humans from making mistakes when they copy _those_ copies.) For God to "protect" his word from those errors, he would have to control every person who ever copied a manuscript, and take away their ability to make errors. Has God ever said that this is what he did? No, he hasn't. Some people may claim that that's what happened, but there's no basis for the claim. God doing so would also be inconsistent with his interaction with humans since he first created us. He made us to possess and express agency, which is one way in which we're made in his image. As a result, he doesn't keep us from sinning, much less from making innocent mistakes. To do so would result in us being automatons, not human beings. So God allows us to make mistakes while placing the responsibility for those mistakes upon us. It's no different when he allows humans to make copies of the original manuscripts, or copies of those copies. Not everyone who wrote those copies was even a Christian (in the biblical sense). To claim that God kept all of them from making errors is anti-factual, and also not something the Bible ever claims for itself. The fact is that we don't have the original manuscripts, we have copies of copies of the original manuscripts. And they differ from one another the same way any written record would that's been copied by hand. Copyist errors (and sometimes intentional editing) are a fact with the transmission of any document. We can in almost every instance determine which of the variations reflects the original writing, with a fair degree of confidence. And this allows us to determine what the originals said, to a great extent. There is no foundational Biblical truth that's in danger of being lost due to errors. So no, none of this threatens the foundation of our faith. Unless your faith is in the unbiblical idea that God kept people from making mistakes as they copied the Scriptures through the ages. Now, I'm not necessarily supporting Mike's definition of inerrancy, because he hasn't really explained what it is.
@@theR0NIN There's a lot of palaver there, but you missed the point. You said: "Depends on what your faith is in. Is it in God's word, or is it in doctrines that humans have taught you?" If God's word is not trustworthy (accurate and inerrant), then how can you trust it? How can you really be sure it is God's word and not just another collection of ancient writings? If God is perfect and all powerful, then why did He not give us a Word that is perfect? Why does He give us so many reasons to doubt?
@@theR0NIN Are you into neo-orthodoxy, believing that the Bible is not the word of God but just CONTAINS the word of God. Do we just have to try to figure out what is and what is not His word?
Mike, what do you mean by "errors". Please be more specific. Cite some AND how you know them to be errors. Every single so-called "error" that I've seen cited thus far has been fairly easily explained away. You've even done so yourself. Also, according to some writings I've seen by folks, like Daniel B. Wallace, due to the number of manuscripts we have today coupled with the advances made in Textual Criticism and Manuscript Authenticity, we are as close to the autographs today as we may well ever be. I would also add that I think you need to extrapolate more on what you think "Inspiration" is as contrast with the widely accepted definition found in 2nd Pet. 1:21. There is also the aspect that the Scriptures we have are inerrant and infallible BECAUSE God has "breathed out" what we have. And, as you know, there are other writings that we do not have and I would say it must be assumed that we do not have them because God did not want us to have them.
Hi, Royce! I hope all is well with you. I'll be discussing this in more depth in next Monday's interview with Tim Stratton at th-cam.com/users/liveN5N5snM1PSQ?si=-hSTPbjaWQB3XnVk. I also discuss this in much greater depth in my new book "Jesus, Contradicted: Why the Gospels Tell the Same Story Differently."
@@MikeLiconaOfficial - THANKS, Mike! I'll go set a reminder for that now. Look forward to it! I'm doing pretty well now. Had heart surgery 2wks ago but much better now. Hope all is well with you and yours too.
" Cite some AND how you know them to be errors" ---------Cite some verses in the Apocrypha which you claim constitute factual error, and you'll be disappointed at how easily Roman Catholics can employ the same excuses of the Protestant inerrantists to "fairly and easily explain away" whatever you call an "error". They think their ability to harmonize stuff in the Apocrypha is a gift of the Holy Spirit. All you do is laugh and shake your head at the silly children. Right?
Could you know Jesus, without ever having access to a bible? If you say "No", you're raising the Bible up to the level of God. The Bible is a fantastic tool you can use to learn ABOUT your God however, God is the only way you get to know God personally. That's why He said, The only way to me, is me.
Pastor Bryan Ross (of the KJV/TR camp) has been showing research that verbatim identicality was not used by the early copiers or even Jesus in His sermons and therefore is not a core concept to have an error free Bible. The topic of verbatim identicality might make for a peculiar point of agreement between some in the KJV/TR camp and Mike
I'd encourage you to look deeper into the way histories and biographies were recorded at that time! Jesus is king, and having errors about minor details doesn't matter. The main theme of what passages talk about is true
Mike Licona… the GOAT whose debate with Shankar alli brought us nabeel and David Wood. Thank you
I'm getting podcast nostalgia when Dr. Jaros and Dr. Licona collab for this. Thank you for showcasing the book. I'll definitely pick up the Audible version
I'm glad you enjoy the podcast! We're adding more episodes right now and much more coming in the near future!
I think the idea of inerrancy arose as a counter to the ideas being presented in modernism, that nothing sticks on the wall when examined. Contra that, inerrancy says too much, that everything sticks on the wall, except for 1000s of exception cases explained in books. I prefer to say what Scripture claims, that Scripture is inspired by God and authoritative for one's active faith.
The church fathers believed in the same inerrancy as today's one. Stop defending the heretical of Michael.
Amen, praise the Lord Jesus!🙏❤️🙏❤️
Augustine: "If we are perplexed by any apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, "The author of this book is mistaken."; but either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have not understood." (Against Faustus 11:5).
This is all accurate. If we get upset it's because we're lazy and simply follow the culture. I'm totally ok with the errors. It does nothing but push me towards my savior in faith by His grace.
Completely agree.
Same, 100%
Legendary Biblical scholar
Unless you have the initials Ph.D behind your name in textual criticism and a strong understanding of how to translate the languages that make up the Bible, you may want to understand that before you make any comments in a negative way towards Dr. Licona and his book.
I whole heartedly support the time and energy it takes to gain the knowledge and understanding Professors attain that deal in these areas and more. If you do not have this same level of knowledge and experience and understanding, then you may want gain a clearer understanding before saying anything negative about anyone.
"I whole heartedly support the time and energy it takes to gain the knowledge and understanding Professors attain that deal in these areas and more"
-------Then you support the sin of word-wrangling. See 2nd Tim. 2:14.
If there are errors in the Bible, then the implications for our faith and for who God is--or if He even exists--are megalithic. If God is not capable of protecting His word through the ages, then is He truly all-powerful? How does a great Bible scholar reconcile his scholarly findings with the belief in an almighty God, or with the belief that the Bible is actually a divinely inspired document? Is it really? What does all this say about the foundation of Christian faith? That foundation seems to be a foundation on sand--if Dr. Licona's assertions are true. Is the good Doctor working to support the Christian faith or to destroy its very foundations?
It's not a matter of if. Copyist errors have occurred through millenia. Perfect preservation has always been a fib, but we have sufficient preservation to hold onto our faith.
Depends on what your faith is in. Is it in God's word, or is it in doctrines that humans have taught you? This kind of discussion ought to force us back to God's word, to see what it actually teaches. Then we can compare that with what people teach, and see when human teaching falls short or is itself in error.
As for your question about God "protecting" his word, it's not that he isn't capable of doing so; it's that he hasn't chosen to do so. (If by "protecting" his word, you mean keeping humans from making mistakes when they make copies of the original manuscripts, and then keeping other humans from making mistakes when they copy _those_ copies.) For God to "protect" his word from those errors, he would have to control every person who ever copied a manuscript, and take away their ability to make errors. Has God ever said that this is what he did? No, he hasn't. Some people may claim that that's what happened, but there's no basis for the claim.
God doing so would also be inconsistent with his interaction with humans since he first created us. He made us to possess and express agency, which is one way in which we're made in his image. As a result, he doesn't keep us from sinning, much less from making innocent mistakes. To do so would result in us being automatons, not human beings. So God allows us to make mistakes while placing the responsibility for those mistakes upon us.
It's no different when he allows humans to make copies of the original manuscripts, or copies of those copies. Not everyone who wrote those copies was even a Christian (in the biblical sense). To claim that God kept all of them from making errors is anti-factual, and also not something the Bible ever claims for itself.
The fact is that we don't have the original manuscripts, we have copies of copies of the original manuscripts. And they differ from one another the same way any written record would that's been copied by hand. Copyist errors (and sometimes intentional editing) are a fact with the transmission of any document.
We can in almost every instance determine which of the variations reflects the original writing, with a fair degree of confidence. And this allows us to determine what the originals said, to a great extent. There is no foundational Biblical truth that's in danger of being lost due to errors. So no, none of this threatens the foundation of our faith. Unless your faith is in the unbiblical idea that God kept people from making mistakes as they copied the Scriptures through the ages.
Now, I'm not necessarily supporting Mike's definition of inerrancy, because he hasn't really explained what it is.
@@theR0NIN There's a lot of palaver there, but you missed the point. You said: "Depends on what your faith is in. Is it in God's word, or is it in doctrines that humans have taught you?" If God's word is not trustworthy (accurate and inerrant), then how can you trust it? How can you really be sure it is God's word and not just another collection of ancient writings? If God is perfect and all powerful, then why did He not give us a Word that is perfect? Why does He give us so many reasons to doubt?
@@yunusahmed2940Do we really? What is said in this video, it seems we do not.
@@theR0NIN Are you into neo-orthodoxy, believing that the Bible is not the word of God but just CONTAINS the word of God. Do we just have to try to figure out what is and what is not His word?
You should have kept with the KJV! If it was good enough for Paul it should have been good enough for us!!!
Haha! This will fly over the heads of thousands, possibly millions.
😂
How could skeptics go wrong in accusing the bible of teaching that even the COPIES are inspired by God?
Mike, what do you mean by "errors". Please be more specific. Cite some AND how you know them to be errors. Every single so-called "error" that I've seen cited thus far has been fairly easily explained away. You've even done so yourself.
Also, according to some writings I've seen by folks, like Daniel B. Wallace, due to the number of manuscripts we have today coupled with the advances made in Textual Criticism and Manuscript Authenticity, we are as close to the autographs today as we may well ever be.
I would also add that I think you need to extrapolate more on what you think "Inspiration" is as contrast with the widely accepted definition found in 2nd Pet. 1:21. There is also the aspect that the Scriptures we have are inerrant and infallible BECAUSE God has "breathed out" what we have. And, as you know, there are other writings that we do not have and I would say it must be assumed that we do not have them because God did not want us to have them.
Hi, Royce! I hope all is well with you. I'll be discussing this in more depth in next Monday's interview with Tim Stratton at th-cam.com/users/liveN5N5snM1PSQ?si=-hSTPbjaWQB3XnVk. I also discuss this in much greater depth in my new book "Jesus, Contradicted: Why the Gospels Tell the Same Story Differently."
@@MikeLiconaOfficial - THANKS, Mike! I'll go set a reminder for that now. Look forward to it!
I'm doing pretty well now. Had heart surgery 2wks ago but much better now. Hope all is well with you and yours too.
" Cite some AND how you know them to be errors"
---------Cite some verses in the Apocrypha which you claim constitute factual error, and you'll be disappointed at how easily Roman Catholics can employ the same excuses of the Protestant inerrantists to "fairly and easily explain away" whatever you call an "error". They think their ability to harmonize stuff in the Apocrypha is a gift of the Holy Spirit. All you do is laugh and shake your head at the silly children. Right?
Wait. We grow in faith and knowledge???????
Could you know Jesus, without ever having access to a bible? If you say "No", you're raising the Bible up to the level of God. The Bible is a fantastic tool you can use to learn ABOUT your God however, God is the only way you get to know God personally. That's why He said,
The only way to me, is me.
KJVO
Pastor Bryan Ross (of the KJV/TR camp) has been showing research that verbatim identicality was not used by the early copiers or even Jesus in His sermons and therefore is not a core concept to have an error free Bible. The topic of verbatim identicality might make for a peculiar point of agreement between some in the KJV/TR camp and Mike
How would feel if your partner was faithful 98% of the time?
Why couldn’t God preserve the originals?
Stop being heretical Michael! The doctrine of inerrancy doesn't need work. The one who needs work is you. Repent!
When you debate bart ehrman for 10 hours you can critique him . Till then , id check your heart .
I'd encourage you to look deeper into the way histories and biographies were recorded at that time! Jesus is king, and having errors about minor details doesn't matter. The main theme of what passages talk about is true