The Bible: the Perfect Word of God?

"As Jesus Christ was totally human and totally divine, so is the bible. All scripture is witness to God, given by divinely illuminated human writers, and all Scripture witnessing to himself in and through their words."
ESV Study Bible, Crossway, p2569

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

It seems there are two essential views inside Christianity. The first is that every word is the breath of God, written by men, directed by the Holy Spirit. It is a divine work and completely free from error. The second is that it's a collection of 'trustworthy' books. Like reading someone's diary. Essentially good but ultimately a human work with many flaws, errors and imperfections.

Here's some of my own observations...

Observation #1
Unless the bible is the perfect word of God, completely without error, it's as good as useless. If you don't believe it's perfect, you can pick and choose what to believe, skipping over sections you don't like. You are free to disagree with scripture at any point. It becomes increasingly vague and not very useful. Which is a problem.

Observation #2
The bible reads like the very words of God. I've never read a book like it. It cuts down to your very soul. You're refreshed by reading it. You feel anchored, like you're plugging into the source. There's something within you that seems to confirm that these words are very, very good. I would say this is the Holy Spirit at work in you as you read the bible. Maybe one way of plugging into the Holy Spirit is simply to read your bible.

Observation #3
The actual writings of the bible stretch out over a period of 1500 years. In this period of time over 25% of the written words are prophecy, predicting future events. These events later occur with stunning accuracy. One example is found in Daniel 9:26-26 which foretells the exact date Jesus Christ would come to Jerusalem. The mathematics are staggering when you look into them. There's a real supernatural side of the bible that is grounded in historical fact. That makes it immensely interesting.

Observation #4
According to The Resurrection Factor by Josh McDowell, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can be proved in a modern day court of law. This is a claim based on historical evidence which validates the central character of the bible as the son of God.

Observation #5
Ultimately, we believe the bible is the word of God because it claims to be. The most direct claim is 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Nothing else can be higher than the word of God in order to validate it's claim. Historical evidence, reason, experience and such can all point to it, but can never themselves pass judgment on the bible as they are under it.

––––––––––––––––––––

Anyway, it turns out this is rather a massive subject and delving into all the specifics hurts my brain! To check out how the bible was put together, and how God oversaw the whole process, listen to Wayne Grudem on The Authority and Inerrancy of the Bible