Did Humans Write the Holy Bible?
- M.R. Grigsby
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Critics of biblical inerrancy say, "I believe human beings, not God, wrote the Bible." This statement shows a fundamental ignorance of what people who affirm biblical inspiration and inerrancy actually believe.
I've yet to meet anyone who believes God wrote down the words of Scripture Himself. True, He did inscribe on stone tablets the words of the Ten Commandments, which Moses later wrote in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. But that's a very small portion of Scripture. Likewise, I've never had someone tell me they believe God dictated the Bible word for word, other than in small portions where we are told God actually did so, for instance to Isaiah (Isaiah 38:4-6) and John (Revelation 2:1-3:22).
Exodus 34:27-28 is often cited as a contradiction, proving the Bible is in error. It is worth a brief (yet somewhat related) digression to note that Exodus 34:1 indicates, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou breakest." (See also Deuteronomy 10:1-4.) Critics note that later in this chapter, we are told, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words." So, was it Moses or God who wrote down the words?
If you read the passage in context, verse by verse (as critics never seem to do), "these words" are the words God has previously spoken that were recorded by Moses in Exodus 34:10-26. This does not include the Ten Commandments, as anyone knows who reads it, but it is a series of ceremonial and judicial instructions. Here it is in the King James Version, where I will add in brackets what or who is being referenced:
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Write these words [v. 10-26]: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread nor drink water. Furthermore, he [God, as stated in verse 1] wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments."
Appropriately, we should note after this final pronoun, "he," that the context makes clear this refers to God because of what is revealed in verse 1. So, in verse 28, we're told that Moses wrote the contents of the previous verses, "these words," and we're also told that God wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets, just as He said He would at the beginning of this text. There is no contradiction.
Now, back to critics who argue, "The Bible was written by humans, not God." When I say, "Of course humans wrote the Bible," sometimes the response is, "Oh, so you admit that the Bible was written by human beings?" I reply, "I don't admit it; I affirm it! It's a core part of what I believe."
It's like someone saying, "So you admit Jesus was human?" Admit it? I shout it from the rooftops and cling to it! I love that Jesus was and is fully human and fully God. I also love that the Bible came from God and human beings. That may seem complicated to wrap our minds around, but it's fully compatible with God's plan. He has given us a perfect living Word, His Son, and a perfect written Word, the Bible, each fully human and divine.
Someone asked me, "Why can't we believe imperfect human beings wrote the Bible?" Those who affirm the Bible's inspiration believe the humans who wrote it were imperfect! They were sinners, fully capable of errors in logic and communication, just like the rest of us. However, we also believe that in the specific case of the books that form the Bible, God supernaturally worked in the human writers to guard them against error while composing the biblical text. So while they could say other wrong things when not supernaturally inspired by God, they could not do so while writing God's Word. The biblical writers were not passive stenographers; they wrote from their minds and hearts, in their styles, yet God made sure what they wrote was also God-breathed, resulting from His creative breath.
In this regard the Bible tells us, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as the Holy Ghost moved them" (2 Peter 1:21). This does not mean the biblical writers were perfect and without error in other aspects of their lives, or even in their sermons and writings that are not part of the Bible. Instead, it means that God specifically guided them to write Scripture and, in doing so, protected them from error.
The biblical authors spoke in their style and with their vocabulary (for instance, the apostle John's terminology and style are noticeably different from the apostle Paul's). But those of us who believe this passage affirm that the writers were "moved by the Holy Ghost" in their writing, with the result that they spoke as "holy men of God."
"But that would require a miracle." Of course! Who would suggest otherwise? To believe that the original biblical manuscripts were without error is to believe in a miracle. But that shouldn't be an obstacle to Christians whose entire faith is based on God's many interventions in human history in miraculous ways.
Just as it took a miracle for God to implant a blastocyst (newly conceived human being) who was Jesus (the living Word), fully human and also fully God, so it took a miracle for God to guide the words written by the biblical writers so that they were, in fact, the words of human beings yet also the words of God.
To claim Christians don't believe human beings wrote the Bible is like claiming that since we believe Jesus is God, that means we don't believe He was born of a woman or that He's human. We believe both are not mutually exclusive. So it's no more of a stretch for me to believe that God supernaturally gave us His flawless Word through the writings of otherwise flawed human beings than that He supernaturally sent His eternal Son to become a flawless human child born to a flawed (though wonderful) human named Mary.
To state or imply that those believing in biblical inspiration and inerrancy claim God wrote the Bible and humans didn't is a straw man. It's a false accusation that's popular to say because it's so easy to disprove.
Humans wrote the Bible, and God inspired the Bible, so the words humans wrote were the words of God.
If the original "God-breathed" biblical manuscripts contained errors, this would mean that God is capable of error. It would mean He didn't inspire all of the Bible, only parts. But the claim is that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). Since the Bible is, by definition, a whole and not a part, it's contradictory to say one believes "the Bible is inspired" while believing parts of it are in error.
Some say the Bible shouldn't be allowed to testify for itself by making claims about its inspiration. While defendants in courtrooms don't always testify on their behalf, they are permitted to do so. In some cases, their testimony proves critical. Any jury should listen to their claims and determine whether or not they are credible. Sometimes, jurors find the defendant to be more credible than other witnesses, who sometimes haven't told the truth.
If God's Word were not entirely true, it could not be fully profitable and helpful—indeed, it could be harmful—because what if one ended up believing and acting on an uninspired portion of Scripture?
William Tyndale was mainly arrested for his efforts to translate God's Word into the language of the common people. In 1536, after seventeen months in prison, William Tyndale was strangled and then burned at the stake.
In 2016, 480 years later, four Wycliffe Bible translators were murdered in the Middle East for putting God's Word into the languages of the common people.
Who would be willing to be put to death for translating God's Word if they thought that portions of it were false? Would anyone be willing to die to get God's Word into people's hands if they believed "some of it's true and some of it is not; good luck figuring out which is which"?
Author Michael R. Grigsby, one of the news editors for LCTI, LLC. Michael is passionate about the outdoors, photography, strength sports, and powerlifting, and he is dedicated to bringing you accurate and insightful news reports on a wide range of topics. He loves connecting with readers and is always happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions about this news article, please feel free to contact Michael at lctillc@outlook.com or by leaving a comment below.
Copyright 2024 LCTI, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without attribution to the author. If you use any quotes from this article, please credit LCTI, LLC.
Comments