Re: [asa] The Bible's center verse (Vernon -- please note)

Hi Burgy,

Please regard this as the first of my intended responses to your latest email.

I have just sent Snopes a copy of the following:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I refer to your page on Bible Statistics and note your corrections of claims concerning the central chapter and central verses of the KJV. However, there still exist discrepancies regarding the latter.

There are, in fact, 31,102 verses in the entire Bible - not 31,174, as you report. The two central verses therefore occupy the 15551st and 15552nd positions and, most significantly, are the first and second of Psalm 103.

Quoting James Montgomery Boyce, you have the 15,587th and 15,588th as the central verses which, you maintain "fall within Psalm 118 (Psalm 118:8-9 to be exact):" But this is incorrect! These verses happen to be the 15th and 16th of Psalm 104 and, unlike Psalm 103:1-2, have nothing of great relevance to say.

You may find a proof of these matters at the link http://www.whatabeginning.com/Misc/PRS/P.htm

Sincerely,

Vernon Jenkins MSc
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I trust you will find in this acceptable answers to your earlier questions.

Regards,

Vernon

----- Original Message -----
From: "j burg" <hossradbourne@gmail.com>
To: "Vernon Jenkins" <vernon.jenkins@virgin.net>
Cc: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: [asa] The Bible's center verse (Vernon -- please note)

> On 8/2/08, Vernon Jenkins <vernon.jenkins@virgin.net> wrote:
>
>> Herewith, a response to your email of 30/07/08.
>>
>> When I wrote (29/7/08) "I'm glad you give me the opportunity to settle this
>> matter once for all." I was, of course. referring to my correction of
>> certain erroneous statistics offered by the link to which you had drawn to
>> our attention, viz. http://www.snopes.com/religion/center.asp, nothing more.
>
> OK. Have you contacted Snopes challenging their statistics? I find
> them to be fairly reliable in other things, so I am inclined to
> believe them.
>
> Specifically, what are they claiming that is demonstrably incorrect?
>
>
>> Concerning your current challenge, "Unless you are ready to assert (and give
>> evidences) that the AV is peculiarly inspired, the stats above have no
>> particular relevance.", let me say that while, _in themselves_, they may not
>> constitute the kind of proof you seek, they are, I believe, significant
>> additions to the body of evidence that speaks of an unfolding divine
>> response to the growing assaults on the integrity of the Judeo-Christian
>> Scriptures.
>
> You seem to be talking right past me here. Perhaps I was not clear. I
> will try again.
>
> 1. Either the AV is peculiarly inspired (above and beyond all other
> translations) or it is at best just another human attempt to translate
> a group of ancient manuscripts, many of which differ from one another
> in one way or another.
>
> 2. If the former is true, then your numerology exercise may well be of value.
>
> 3. If the former is true, then any errors and inconsistencies in the
> text are attributable to a plan of God.
>
> 4. It is evident that there ARE errors and inconsistencies in the AV.
>
> 5. Therefore, if one holds the AV to be the best god can do, it
> reveals him as incompetent.
>
> That's a god I cannot follow. So I conclude that the AV is, at best,
> just another text.
>
> That, in turn, makes your numerology uninteresting, since if you apply
> it to other translations, it fails.
>>
>> But, speaking of _evidences_, how satisfied are you with the general beliefs
>> expressed in this forum? From my standpoint, science is a systematized body
>> of knowledge based on facts which are observable, demonstrable and
>> repeatable. Evolution, clearly, is a blatant contradiction of all these.
>
> Some posts I agree with; some I do not. Clearly I do not agree with
> your last sentence above. The fact of evolution is as well established
> as is the shape of the earth. No place in scripture conflicts with it.
> In its simplest form, it is just a description of what has happened in
> the material world to bring us to this present place, just as
> gestation is a description of how each one of us came into being and
> digestion is a description of how each of us sustains his or her
> life.. I'm sure you would not call gestation or digestion "blatant
> contradictions of science."
>
>> And then there is your own view that planet Earth is exceedingly old. Are
>> you able to offer an absolute proof of that? You must agree that so much is
>> taken on trust these days; and so much rests on assumptions which are
>> unprovable.
>
> First of all, nothing is "absolutely proven." For all I know, I may be
> a butterfly having a particularly vivid dream. In a sense, the fact
> that the earth is billions of years old is "just a theory." But the
> evidences that this is, indeed, the case are overwhelming and
> evidences to the contrary non-existent. To reject this fact seriously
> is to commit intellecctual suicide.
>>
>> The Bible now speaks with a more sure, clear, voice. In particular, I
>> believe Christians would be wise to consider whether Job 1: 6-12 and Job
>> 2:1-7 are, after all, _fundamental truths_ that we ignore at our peril.
>
> Job, of course, is a morality play. As such, it is difficult to take
> it as literal.
>
>> Should we not accept that lies and deceptions - and whatever else? - might
>> thus be incorporated into the Divine Plan; for such, it appears, has to be
>> the extreme response demanded by the problem of fallen man (Jer.17:9).
>>
> I think what you are suggesting here is that the evidences for a very
> old earth were put in place by the Creator with the express purpose of
> misleading us. This, of course, COULD be true. But I, for one, cannot
> see why he should want to do this.
>
> jb
>

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Received on Mon Aug 4 15:47:28 2008