Hello fellow classmates!
Wow - a lot to take in after this lecture...we are getting to some real "meat and potatoes". I enjoyed the origins of Biblical inspiration portion of this discussion. It has helped me to better articulate how the Bible came to be as a physical collection of works. I also had not given prior thought to there being a VARIETY of inspirational outlets but that totally makes sense after seeing the lecturer's scriptural examples!
The aspect of biblical inspiration that is the most difficult for me to explain (or reconcile) is inspiration from author account+memory. Luke 1:1-4 was given as an example of divine inspiration through record of events. I find that one a more complex inspiration for me to trust because I know how the human brain can "mess up" record of events. When relying on our memory of occurrence it only takes a matter of minutes before details surrounding an event begin to fade. Then there is the problem with point of view (which is subjective) vs event facts (which are objective). How can we trust that Lukes observance was 100% objective and not subjective based on his emotions, prior experiences and memory fade? He most likely was not transcribing every event "in real time" but rather writing them down after the fact!
The best way for me to combat this skepticism is to say "in order for it to be divinely inspired God would have ensured Lukes memory and objectivity was infallible". God would need to directly inspire Lukes mind to accurately record without error if God's intent was for people to TRUST Luke's account...
Do the number and consistency of the biblical manuscripts give you confidence in the Bible? I would say, for me, yes! Here is why: I would surmise that, as the number of something increases the consistency would naturally decrease. What the Bible manuscripts have demonstrated is that number and consistency can have a positive correlation - this is not common! This positive correlation gives me confidence that God's hand must have been (and continues to be) in the Bible's travel through history. It would be counterproductive to expansion of God's kingdom if there was low consistency in Scripture...people would walk away due to lack of trust/confidence.
Which translation of the Bible do you prefer and why? Due to my recent call into vocational ministry and the apprenticeship model of growth (thus little exposure to translation variety) my go-to has been the NIV. I suppose this due to its widespread availability and popular use in most non-denom. churches. I have spent some time with the ESV as well.
I look forward to potentially discussing what Biblical translation might be the preferred or *best* translation for a pastor to reference and grow with!