Errors in the Bible?
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What About All the Errors in the Bible? |
While the Bible is not full of errors –ask the next person who says that for just one concrete example–there are sometimes translation errors in our English Bibles, because fallible humans translated from the original text in its original languages.This is why real scholars go back to the original language.
Your question should really be, “Can I be confident that God authored the Bible?” As you will see, we can be absolutely confident that the Bible was authored by God.The Bible is an “integrated message system” consisting of 66 books, written by over 40 individuals, over a period of 2000 years” and yet it is a unified package.
These unified truths of the Bible are clearly presented and well known but there are also many interesting truths hidden throughout the Bible. Prov. 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing...” Embedding information this way glorifies God because no man could possibly have done it. Therefore these embedded codes prove God gave us the Bible and that His Word is therefore trustworthy.
One kind of encryption in the Bible is called “Equidistant letter sequencing.” God hides knowledge that could only be put there by Himself, but can be found by counting a certain number of letters to find simple codes embedded. For example, the word “Torah” in Hebrew is spelled t-o-r-h. In a Hebrew Bible, go to the first “t” in Genesis 1, count 49 letters –o –49 more letters, --r, 4 more, it’s h. In Exodus the same thing happens. In Leviticus this is not true. However, in Numbers, the same count gives us h –r –o –t –same letters, backwards. Also true in Deuteronomy. Back to Leviticus, where if we take every 7 letters (the ROOT of 49) we find Y –H –V –H –the sacred name of God. The Torah always points to Yahweh!
Another code is called the “Heptadic structure of the Bible”. (“Hepta” = 7.) An example of this is that if you search through all NT books (though penned by many very different men at different times). In each book, the number of unique words in each book is divisible by 7. (e.g. Matthew has 42, a multiple of 7, and so on.) This can only work if every word came from God Himself. No man could “encode” messages in a text this way. [See Appendix II for a fuller discussion of heptadic codes and other information from those who’ve studied the Bible.]
Design --encrypted into the very structure of the Bible--proves its origin is not man. Not just the message, but every word, even every letter, is there by design. Many believe God gave the Torah to Moses not just word by word,but letter by letter! Taking just one letter from the Torah would mess this up the embedded codes we’ve looked at; therefore the message ONLY could have come from outside human ability.
I am completely convinced that the Bible comes to us from God Himself and therefore is completely trustworthy. Study the matter and prove it to yourself!
Helpful Additional Resources:
Does the Bible contain errors, contradictions, or discrepancies? An article by the Got Questions
Can the Gospels be Trusted? Are the Gospels eyewitness accounts of actual people and events? This question is crucial to any discussion about the validity of Scripture. A video by the John 10:10 project
How Accurate are the Gospels? Oral tradition, the age and quantity of ancient manuscripts, and extra-biblical evidence all point to the accuracy of the Gospels. A video by the John 10:10 project
Other Gospels? The content and validity of the so-called “Gnostic gospels” is evaluated. Are they authentic accounts of New Testament events? A video by the John 10:10 project
Are there contradictions in the Bible, and if so, how do you explain them? A video by the One Minute Apologist
“Is the Bible reliable?” Dr. Norman Geisler answer the question. A video by the One Minute Apologist