October 7 2002

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The answer to this question parallels that of Charles Spurgeon who, when asked to reconcile human freedom with divine predestination, said, "I never reconcile friends." He maintained that the two realities fit together. So here.

Manuscripts first. The New Testament books first circulated in hand-copied form, and hand-copying by monks went on till Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century. Anyone who has copied by hand knows how easily letters, words, and even whole lines get dropped out or repeated. The New Testament manuscript tradition was not exempt from this.

Also, it is clear that some copyists facing what they thought were miscopyings made what they thought were corrections. Some of these copyists added in the margin amplifying words and sentences that the next copyist put into the text itself, thinking that was where they belonged. Because the copying was done reverently and with professional care, manuscripts vary little overall, except for the occasional slippages of this kind. Manuscript comparison reveals many passages that clearly need correcting at this level of detail.

The King James Version New Testament was translated from the "received text"—the dominant manuscript tradition at the time—and published in 1611. New manuscript discoveries have led to minor adjustments to that text, and where uncertainty remains about exact wording or authenticity, the margins of honest modern versions will tell us so. The New King James, for instance, while still following the received text, notes these things conscientiously as it goes along.

Other things being equal, manuscripts are "better" when they are nearer to the original—that is, earlier in date.

In the New Testament only one word per 1,000 is in any way doubtful, and no point of doctrine is lost when verses not "in better manuscripts" are omitted. (As examples, see Matt. 6:13b, 17:21, 18:11; Mark 9:44, 46, 49, 16:9-20; Luke 23:17; John 5:4; and Acts 8:37.) Such has been God's "singular care and providence" in preserving his written Word for us (Westminster Confession I.viii).

So how does all this bear on the Christian's very proper faith in biblical inerrancy—that is, the total truth and trustworthiness of the true text and all it teaches?

Holy Scripture is, according to the view of Jesus and his apostles, God preaching, instructing, showing, and telling us things, and testifying to himself through the human witness of prophets, poets, theological narrators of history, and philosophical observers of life. The Bible's inerrancy is not the inerrancy of any one published text or version, nor of anyone's interpretation, nor of any scribal slips or pious inauthentic additions acquired during transmission.

Rather, scriptural inerrancy relates to the human writer's expressed meaning in each book, and to the Bible's whole body of revealed truth and wisdom.

Belief in inerrancy involves an advance commitment to receive as from God all that the Bible, interpreting itself to us through the Holy Spirit in a natural and coherent way, teaches. Thus it shapes our understanding of biblical authority.

So inerrantists should welcome the work of textual scholars, who are forever trying to eliminate the inauthentic and give us exactly what the biblical writers wrote, neither more nor less. The way into God's mind is through his penmen's minds, precisely as expressed, under his guidance, in their own words as they wrote them.

Text criticism serves inerrancy; they are friends. Inerrancy treasures the meaning of each writer's words, while text criticism checks that we have each writer's words pure and intact. Both these wisdoms are needed if we are to benefit fully from the written Word of God.

J.I. Packer is an executive editor of CT and a professor of theology at Regent College in Vancouver.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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Previous Christianity Today articles on Bible translation include:

Meaning-full Translations The world's most influential Bible translator, Eugene Nida, is weary of 'word worship.' (Sept. 19, 2002)

Getting the TNIV Debate Straight Our policy against negative ads doesn't mean we're cutting off discussion. (June 7, 2002)

TNIV Critics Blast Scripture 'Distortions' But evangelical backers of new translation say gender changes are 'accurate.' (March 19, 2002)

Why the TNIV Draws Ire No translation is perfect, and each must be read with a careful exegetical eye. A Christianity Today editorial. (March 19, 2002)

Which Version Should We Use? What we said when the NIV was first published. A Christianity Today editorial. (March 19, 2002)

Christian History Corner: Translation WarsS harp as debate over the TNIV may be, the version's translators are getting off easy compared to John Wycliffe and William Tyndale. (March 1, 2002)

Comparing the Three NIVs How does the TNIV treat verses that were earlier criticized as theologically incorrect? (Jan. 31, 2002)

Revised NIV Makes Its Debut Translators alter 7 percent of the text to update style and gender issues. (Jan. 28, 2002)

A Translation Fit For a King In the beginning, the King James Version was an attempt to thwart liberty. In the end, it promoted liberty. (Oct. 22, 2001)

The Reluctant Romans At Douai in Flanders, Catholic scholars translated the Bible into English as an alternative to the Bible of "the heretics." (Oct. 22, 2001)

We Really Do Need Another Bible Translation As good as many modern versions are, they often do not allow us to hear what the Holy Spirit actually said. (Oct. 19, 2001)

Old Wisdom for New Times The International Bible Society is doing "spiritual archaeology" and retro-publishing to reach seekers. (April 23, 2001)

And the Word Came with Pictures Visual Bible International (VBI), is producing a movie version of the Bible book for book, word for word. (March 1, 2001)

New Bible translations help to preserve world's disappearing languages The total number of languages in which the Bible is available in part or in its entirety now stands at 2,233. (Feb. 28, 2000)

The Battle for the Inclusive Bible Conflicts over "gender-neutral" versions are not really about translation issues. (Nov. 15, 1999)

What Bible Version Did Jesus Read? What does the knowledge that Jesus used different versions of Scripture mean for us today? (April 26, 1999)

Do Inclusive-Language Bibles Distort Scripture? He Said, They Said (October 27, 1997)

The Great Translation Debate The divide over gender-inclusive Bibles hides what unites us. (Oct. 27, 1997)

On the Shoulders of King James Barclay M. Newman has kept before him a question posed by the translators of the 1611 King James Version: "What can be more [important] than to deliver God's book unto God's people in a tongue which they understand?" (Oct. 27, 1997)

Confessions of a Bible Translator As a stylist on a new translation of the Bible, Daniel worries over the effectiveness of the language into which the text is translated. (Oct. 27, 1997)

Hands Off My NIV! Bible society cancels plans for 'gender-accurate' Bible after public outcry. (June 16, 1997)

Bible Translators Deny Gender Agenda Focus on the Family yanks children's Bible; NIV translator loses seminary job. (July 14, 1997)

Earlier Good Question columns include:

Is there a biblical principle behind the punishment of those who break the law?

Is it unscriptural for a Christian to be cremated?

Won't heaven's joy be spoiled by our awareness of unsaved loved ones in hell?

Where exactly do "Oneness" Pentecostals stand in relation to orthodoxy?

Do a man and a woman become married after having sex or after exchanging vows?

How Do You Know That You Have Truly Forgiven Someone?

Who Are We to Judge?

Should We File Lawsuits?

Can We Expect God to Forgive Unbelievers Who 'Don't Know What They're Doing'?

Is the Stock Market Good Stewardship?

Is Satan Omnipresent?

Is Suicide Unforgivable?

Was Slavery God's Will?

A Little Wine for the Soul?

Should We All Speak in Tongues?

Did Jesus Really Descend to Hell?

Take, Eat—But How Often?

Is Christmas Pagan?

Are Christians Required to Tithe?

Is Revelation Prophecy or History?

You're Divorced—Can You Remarry?

If Grace Is Irresistible, Why Evangelize?

Does the 'Bible Code' Really Exist?

What's the Unforgivable Sin?

What Bible Version Did Jesus Read?

Did God Die on the Cross?

You Must Be Born Again—But at What Age?

Was the Revolutionary War Justified?

Can the Dead Be Converted?

What Is the Significance of the Shroud of Turin?

Is Hell Forever?

Why Are There Denominations?

Did Paul Baptize for the Dead?

Do Demons Have Zip Codes?

What Is the Gospel of Thomas?

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