The Bible: Absolute Word, Inspired, or Man Made?

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Portions of this article was writen with AI assistance.

The question of whether the Bible is the literal word of God is a complex and long-debated one within Christian theology and philosophy. There are a few key perspectives to consider:

One view holds that the Bible is the absolute Word of God, with every word and detail being literally true and accurate. Proponents of this "Biblical literalism" believe the Bible is the infallible revelation of God's will and must be taken as the absolute, literal truth.

In contrast, there are others who argue the Bible is divinely inspired but written by human authors, and thus contains metaphor, allegory, and human elements. They see the Bible as the inspired word of God conveyed through fallible human writers, requiring interpretation and careful study to discern its spiritual truths.

A third view, held by some scholars and religious skeptics, is that the Bible is entirely a human-made document, composed by ancient authors without any divine inspiration. Proponents of this perspective see the Bible as a collection of historical writings, myths, and stories that reflect the beliefs and worldviews of the societies that produced them, rather than the direct word of God.

In late 2022, Gallup released findings from its latest survey on Americans' beliefs regarding the origins of the Bible. Since 1976, the research company has been incorporating this question into its surveys to gauge public sentiments on this topic.

Here are some of those findings:

• Actual word of God, to be taken literally ——1976—38% / 2022— 20%
• Inspired by God, not all to be taken literally——- 1976—45% / 2022 — 49%
• Fables, history, moral precepts recorded by man——-1976—13% / 2022— 29%

As you can see the percentage of those who subscribe to the "literal" view are on the decline since 1976. The "inspired" school of thougt has held steady, even seeing a slight up-tick, while a growing percentage of Americans believe that the Bible is wholy man made.

Regardless of where you stand on the origins of the Bible, it remains vital to Christian teachings.

What do you think?

Where do you stand on this question?

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