letters to surfers

In your view of the Bible you ignore the problem of Textual Criticism

by Robert Brow (www.brow.on.ca)

I did a graduate course on Textual Criticism at Princeton Theological Seminary with Bruce Metzger, 1957-58, and since then I cannot avoid the fact that dozens of scribal mistakes in copying occurred, and we are still not sure what is the best textual evidence when manuscripts disagree. One solution is to say that there was a time when the original documents were inerrant. I prefer to say that, in God's overruling, Scripture in all its various translations and versions in every country has worked infallibly as the Word of God. In hundreds of languages the first translations that brought churches into being later had to be corrected and updated by Christian scholars (the Bible Society is doing this all the time).

This dynamic approach to the way God is continually using the "Word of God" means that we can give full weight to Westcott and Hort and Metzger's textual criticism. And at the same time we can be sure that in God's overruling we will not be led astray in any important matters of faith. As far as I know, there is not one item in the Nicene Creed which is in any way called into question by textual variants.