The Bible never claims to be the "Infallible Word of God"

Thank you for agreeing to debate this topic. I would like to stress that I am not only debating the infallibility of the Bible, but also, that ALL it is the "Word of God". As for 2 Timothy 3:16, it simply says that "SCRIPTURE is God-breathed..." Just because God breathes into something, does not make it infallible. In fact God breathed into Adam's nostrils in Genesis 2:7, "Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." We still know that Adam still sinned even though God breathed into him. The King James says, "All scripture is given by INSPIRATION of God..." Even if we were to look at that translation, "inspiration" does not mean "verbatim". If a tree inspires me to write a poem, I would not say that the tree wrote it. Many people claim that they were "inspired" to preach a sermon on Sunday morning, but again, that does not mean that what they are saying is not infallible. Furthermore, when this particular verse was written, it had to be talking about Old Testament Cannon since the New Testament had not been fully written and put together yet. My opponent makes the argument that since there is unity, it was written on 3 continents, 3 different languages, over a period of 1500 years, was written by more than 40 authors, and claims no contradictions, that it proves that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. What's troubling about this "evidence" is that (and my opponent actually agrees with me) the Bible was not a solid book that came down from heaven as we now know it today. It was also not all written at once. Actually, it was voted on by bishops in 367 AD. (http://www.churchhistory101.com......) They decided by VOTE which books made it in and which one did not. The Protestant Church didn't agree until 1647 at the Assembly of Westminster. I would like to know what my opponent believes qualified these men to vote on this matter in the first place. This would have obviously been THE MOST important vote in the history of the world. After all, we are talking about (according to your view) what was God's Word and what was not. Now for the individual arguments my opponent made: 1) 3 continents This is hardly evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. Motion pictures are made all over the world; sometimes in space. 2) 3 different languages. Again, in my opening statement, I challenged my opponent to show evidence that ALL 66 books are God's infallible Word. I'm not seeing evidence of such. 3) Over a period of 1500 years. Impressive, but does not prove anything. 4) By more than 40 authors. The problem is that no one is for certain who all of those authors are. The church continues to debate the author of Revelation. Was it the John the Apostle or someone else with the same name? Regardless, no one knows for sure (https://en.wikipedia.org...) 5) Without contradictions. This can CERTAINLY be debated. However, that is for another debate and I would welcome that at another time as well. My opponent goes on at length to list all of the prophecies that were fulfilled. Since these stories were handed down orally over time and finally put into print, what evidence do you have that none of these words ever changed or were changed so they did not contradict the other parts? As for the lineage, death, and resurrection, there is simply no evidence that we can examine to determine whether or not that ever happened. Furthermore, even if it did, it does not prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Again, none of this can be verified. At that this time I will remind my opponent what I would like to have evidence of: 1) Where does the Bible make the claim that it is the "infallible Word of God"? 2) Where is the New Testament ever referred to as "Scripture" or "God's Word"? 3) Where does the Bible make the claim that ALL 66 books are "God's infallible Word"? My opponent made the following argument: "This authority and power are best seen in the way countless lives have been transformed by the supernatural power of God"s Word. Drug addicts have been cured by it, homosexuals set free by it, derelicts and deadbeats transformed by it, hardened criminals reformed by it, sinners rebuked by it, and hate turned to love by it. The Bible does possess a dynamic and transforming power that is only possible because it is truly God"s Word." Again, I could give countless examples of people that make the same claims from reading the Book of Mormon, Quran, self-help books, going to therapy, and doing yoga. While these may be "tools" to overcome what some people refer to as "obstacles", it is not evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. In fact I can also give countless examples of people that have not been set free from drugs, homosexuality, and have seen people that DID love and turn to hate because of the Bible (Westboro Baptist Church)! The fact that the Bible is accurate in archaeological accounts, does not mean that there was a giant ark, a talking snake, or a talking burning bush. My opponents last argument centered around the premise that the Bible has withstood the test of time. Has it? Do we actually know what the original Greek and Hebrew says? If it has, why do we have so many interpretations? Why do we thousands of different versions that do not agree on what the text says? Jehovah's Witnesses have the New World Translations of the Bible and they reject the deity of Christ. They quote John 1: 1 , "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was a god." If one reads the NIV version, it says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. And the Word was God." In one version "the word" is "a little god" and in the NIV, "the word" is "THE GOD". While it is impressive that the Bible is an old religious text, there are older ones: According to Wikipaedia link [en.wikipedia.org] A533;The oldest known religious texts are Pyramid texts of Ancient Egypt that date to 2400-2300 BCE. The earliest form of the Phoenician alphabet found to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram of Byblos. ( The Sumerian Temple Hymns [1]). The Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumeria is also one of the earliest literary works dating to 2150-2000 BCE, that includes various mythological figures. The Rigveda of Hinduism is proposed to have been composed between 1700A533;1100 BCE[2] making it possibly the world's oldest religious text still in use. The oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form, and although widely differing dates for GathicAvestan (the language of the oldest texts) have been proposed, scholarly consensus floats at around 1000 BCE.[citation needed] My opponent has failed to do the following: 1) Show evidence that ALL 66 books are God's infallible Word. 2) The New Testament is referred to as "Scripture" 3) The apostles make the claim that they were writing "Scripture" or God's Word I will now show that Paul actually goes out of his way to show that everything he is writing is NOT from God! In fact, he makes it clear that what he is writing is HIS judgment and it is NOT from God. How does my opponent reconcile 1 Cor 7:12, "But to the rest I speak, I, NOT THE LORD, if any man hath a virgin..." 1 Cor 7:25, "Now concering virgins I HAVE NO COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD, yet I give MY judgment..." 2 Cor 11:17, "That which I speak, I SPEAK NOT AFTER THE LORD, but as in foolishness, in the confidence of his glory."? If just ONE verse says that it is not from God, ALL of it is in question. I have given 3. Furthermore, I asked my opponent to show where ALL the books of the Bible claim to be God's infallible Word. I have one last question; John 1:1 and verse 14 tells us what the "WORD" is. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God." verse 14 "And the Word became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us.." Here, the "Word" is defined and I see no mention of the Bible or even Scripture. If the Bible or Scripture is the Word, then why don't you worship the Bible? After all, the "Word" is called "God" in John 1. That is one of the strongest arguments from Christians that believe in the deity of Christ; it's because the "Word" is called "God" and Jesus is called the "Word". Again, if worship Jesus because He is called the "Word" in John 1, then why don't you worship the Bible, because you believe IT is the "Word" as well? Thank you and with that, I yield.