The Bible is not Inerrant.

I forgive him for his forfeit. I do agree that he only has to provide one fact to be shown contradictory or false to fill his burden. Now my opponent has moved on to more contradictions: 2 Samuel 23:8 Note: The Tachmonite Chief Captain and Adino the Eznite together who slew 800 by the spear. 1 Chronicles 11:11 Note: Chief Captain Jashobeam the Hachmonite alone who slew 300 by the spear. Answer: Thachmonite is the same as Hachmonite, the name given to Jashobeam. Where is the contradiction here? The two passages actually helped us know how many Jashobeam slew by the spear. There is no contradiction. How long does God's anger last? Answer: How long anyone's anger lasts depends upon what the offender has done, and whether or not the offender has sought to make right that which was done. It is no different with God. The context of a statement always helps to understand why certain things are said. Let us consider each verse given: Psalm 30:5 - God's anger is contrasted with his favor. God's desire is to save, to give us life. If we turn to Him, His anger over our sin gives way to comfort and life. Jeremiah 3:12 - He called them home, assuring them that He would be merciful and not remain angry forever. Their turning to him would cause His anger to cease. Micah 7:18 - God desires that His people turn to Him, that He might pardon their sins and show mercy. The prophet is praising God's forgiveness and mercy. Numbers 32:13 - As a result of their disobedience, God, in His anger punished Israel. But the text did not say He remained angry for 40 years. Instead, He watched over them and continued to protect them, when they were faithful to Him. Jeremiah 17:4 - It is man's disobedience which kindles God's anger. His anger with them would endure as long as their disobedience to Him endured. Matthew 25:41, 46 - These texts are found in the judgment scene revealed by our Lord. Eternal (everlasting) punishment is given for those who were not faithful to the Lord. It is a simple matter of justice, not anger. There is no contradiction. Can God do anything? Answer: Let's see what the text says: "So the LORD was with Judah. And they (NOT He) drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron. " Who had trouble with the chariots, the LORD or the people of Judah? It does not say "He could not drive them out", but rather, "they could not drive them out". It was not the LORD who failed, it was the men of Judah. There is no contradiction. "I have observed that the apologist's claim of scriptural inerrancy is really a claim of personal inerrancy. " How is believing that the Bible its original form, is totally without error, and free from all contradictions a personal inerrancy? It is not my personal interpretation, but what the Bible actually says. The alleged Biblical contradictions are really misunderstandings of the verses in context. "The Bible contains many verses that contradict each other, as well as others that contradict established facts of science or history. " Many verses? You didn't get even one contradiction of the Bible that I cannot explain why it is an error. It is your burden to provide any contradictions that I cannot refute. If the Bible is found to contain any mistakes or contradictions, the proposition of strict inerrancy has been refuted. "Is this a sustainable position, or should we side with the fundamentalists and argue that the Bible must be taken as either all or nothing? " Some moderate Christians believe in Biblical infallibility, the belief that the Bible is free from errors on issues of faith and practice, while minor possible contradictions can be overlooked as insignificant to its spiritual purpose. However, I believe in Biblical inerrancy, which is the belief that the Bible is free from all errors. Source: . http://en.wikipedia.org... "I can't imagine why a deity who desired to communicate with us would permit the mistakes and prejudices of human beings to distort his message; that makes no sense to me. " I don't see a mistake; neither do the proponents of Biblical inerrancy. I have refuted all your contradictions and have not seen a contradiction that would be a threat to Biblical inerrancy. "So are the two views, the fundamentalist and the liberal, equally implausible? " There are actually three views: the Bible is contradictory, the Bible has limited inerrancy, or the Bible is inerrant. "So, did God not want to communicate his message more clearly? " The message of God's Word is perfectly clear. Otherwise, how do you expect young children to understand Bible stories? In fact, I will oversimplify the message of the Bible: Read the Bible and believe in what it says. Follow the Ten Commandments and attempt to not commit sin. If you do, repent and pray to the Lord. Accept Jesus as your Savior and you'll be saved. Praying does not get you everything you want, but it will help you on your spiritual journey. Have faith in God and worship him. It is not that hard to understand that message. I think that even young children in churches can understand what the message of God's Word is. "They would say that God did inspire a perfect book, one that conveys his message exactly as he wanted it, and it's only human fallibility that is to blame for all the religious dissension. " I say that God inspired the writers that recorded in scripture that combined makes a perfect book, one that conveys his message exactly that He wanted it and it's only unbelievers that's to blame for all misunderstandings when they try to interpret scripture. This is not an excuse - I can refute any contradiction that I can't explain. It is your burden to provide a contradiction that is a threat to Biblical inerrancy. If you cannot, the Bible is automatically inerrant. It is innocent until proven guilty. Which version is the real Bible? I have provided you an answer already, but I will repeat myself not because I need to but in hope that my opponent understands. Answer: Although my opponent may think that that the Bible has been drastically changed over the centuries, in reality, the Bible has been translated into a number of different languages. However, the ancient manuscripts (written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) have been reliably copied over the centuries - with very few alterations. How do we know that the Bible has been intact for over 2,000 years of copying? In the past, our earliest Hebrew copy of the Old Testament was the Masoretic text, dating around 800 A. D. That was before we had the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament dating in the second century B. C. Then we also have the Dead Sea scrolls, and when we compare these texts which have an 800-1000 years gap between them we are amazed that 95% of the texts are identical with only minor variations and a few discrepancies. There are tens of thousands of manuscripts from the New Testament, in part or in whole, dating from the second century A. D. to the late fifteenth century. Most of the discrepancies are in spelling and word order. A few words have been changed or added. There are two passages that are disputed but no discrepancy is of any doctrinal significance (i. e. , none would alter basic Christian doctrine). Source: . http://www.godandscience.org... In short, if you wanted the oldest known Bible translated into English, you can go to: . http://www.amazon.com...