Were the autographs, for the book referred to as the Christian Bible, inspired by God? By Christian Bible we mean the 39 books of the Old Testament (corresponding to the 24 books of the Jewish Scriptures) and the 27 books of the New Testament.
Consider a biconditional statement of the form (A if and only if B) where:
A = Old Testament autographs were inspired by God
B = God cannot identify a single false teaching in Old Testament Autographs
This biconditional is true only when A and B are both true or both false.
If A is true, then B must be true because the Christian God always tells the truth. If B is true then A must be true because the autographs for the 39 Old Testament books were written over a period of approximately 1000 years by approximately 40 different authors and a mistake free document would be impossible unless the authors were inspired by God. If A is false then B must be false because a man made Old Testament would be riddled with mistakes. If B is false then A must be false because God does not inspire false teaching. In other words, A and B are either both true or both false. This means the biconditional statement “A if and only if B” is a type of tautology – it is always true.
If, for example, B can be identified as true then A must be true. This is, in fact, the teaching of Scripture; the Bible says B is true.
During His incarnation, Jesus claimed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; 4:1; 4:18) and to teach only what He learned from His Father (John 8:28; 14:24). In other words, the teachings of Jesus are the teachings of God. Jesus taught that the high purity manuscripts, to which he had access, were infallible and inerrant (Mat 5:18; 21:42; 22:29; Luke 24:44; John 5:39). Not a single false teaching was identified.
So, if you believe Jesus is God, then the Old Testament autographs were inspired by God and they are infallible and inerrant.
What about the New Testament autographs? Jesus implied that the teachings of the disciples and their colleagues "would be" inspired by God (Mat 28:18-20; John 14:26; Acts 9:15).
What you believe about scriptural inspiration is determined by the importance you attach to the opinion of Jesus. If you believe Jesus is God then the answer to the question asked at the beginning of this chapter is "yes."
A belief that the autographs of the Bible were the inspired, infallible, and inerrant words of God is fundamental to the Christian faith. Several denominations have sought to discredit this belief leaving in their wake a battered Christian church and the rise of humanism.
