1. Think about the set of books in the Bible (the canon):
Historically, the way we got our canon of books is that humans got together, made up some criteria that made sense to them, and decided which books were in and which were out. Now, I don’t know about you, but I have very low faith in the fallibility of humans. To err is human, after all! So how do we know they didn't make mistakes?
Maybe we have too little -- There could be books that God inspired, that were lost or left out of the cannon.
Maybe we have too much -- There could be books that are NOT inspired, that made it in.
(Maybe NONE of it is actually inspired.... !?)
2. Think about the passages in the Bible:
Maybe God inspired some "chunks" of thought in the Bible, but not all. He was using human instruments. And we see down through history that he allows his human instruments to make errors - sometimes enormous, egregious errors. The good gets mixed with the bad. Why should we assume the Bible is any different?
3. Think about the words in the Bible:
Maybe God didn't "inspire" any of it, in the sense that it came from him infallibly. Maybe all of the words in the Bible are really just the writings of wise, godly men. These men were venerated because they were held to be saints and leaders, and thus their works took on a revered quality. It's easy to see how something could go from starting out as a wise writing by your mentor, to being a useful guide advising your church, to being THE guide for faith and practice, to being divinely inspired.
Historically, the way we got our canon of books is that humans got together, made up some criteria that made sense to them, and decided which books were in and which were out. Now, I don’t know about you, but I have very low faith in the fallibility of humans. To err is human, after all! So how do we know they didn't make mistakes?
Maybe we have too little -- There could be books that God inspired, that were lost or left out of the cannon.
Maybe we have too much -- There could be books that are NOT inspired, that made it in.
(Maybe NONE of it is actually inspired.... !?)
2. Think about the passages in the Bible:
Maybe God inspired some "chunks" of thought in the Bible, but not all. He was using human instruments. And we see down through history that he allows his human instruments to make errors - sometimes enormous, egregious errors. The good gets mixed with the bad. Why should we assume the Bible is any different?
3. Think about the words in the Bible:
Maybe God didn't "inspire" any of it, in the sense that it came from him infallibly. Maybe all of the words in the Bible are really just the writings of wise, godly men. These men were venerated because they were held to be saints and leaders, and thus their works took on a revered quality. It's easy to see how something could go from starting out as a wise writing by your mentor, to being a useful guide advising your church, to being THE guide for faith and practice, to being divinely inspired.