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The Fundamentals emphatic in declaring that the Bible is not verbally inspired. The noisy ones will say, “No scholar believes in verbal in- spiration.” In this they bear false witness. Another ex- pression in common use among them is this: “Such belief drives men into infidelity.” And yet no one of them ever knew of a case. This class, with as much care and evident satisfaction as an infidel, hunt out the apparent contradic- tions and errors in the authorized and revised versions, and exultingly declare: “Here is conclusive evidence that the Bible is not verbally inspired.” Some of these gentlemen are dishonest because, First, they know that most of these apparent errors and contradictions were long ago satisfactorily answered, even to the silencing of infidel scoffers; and Sec- ond, they know that no one believes that the translations and revisions are inspired, l'he doctrine of verbal inspira- tion is simply this : The original writings, ipsissima verba, came through the penmen direct from God; and the critics are only throwing dust into the air when they rail against verbal inspiration and attempt to disprove it by pointing out the apparent errors and discrepancies of the authorized and revised texts. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1893, by a unanimous vote made the following deliverance: “The Bible as we now have it in its various translations and revisions when freed from all errors and mistakes of translators, copy- ists and printers, is the very Word of God, and consequently, wholly without error.” We mean by Inspiration that the words composing the Bible are God-breathed. If they are not, then the Bible is not inspired at all, since it is composed only and solely of words. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). The word rendered Scripture in this passage is Graphe. It means writing, anything written. The writing is composed of words. What else is this but verbal inspira-
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