Since the printing press wasn't invented until 1440, who was charged with hand copying the Scriptures up until that time?  Do we owe these men a debt of gratitude?

Sincerely,
Writing My Thanks

Dear Writing My Thanks,

The people who copied the New Testament were many and varied, but we know quite a lot about those who copied the Old Testament.  The people who copied the Bible were so accurate and detail-oriented… they would put any OCD accountant to shame.  Those who made copies of the Old Testament were called ‘scribes’.  Ezra, from the book of Ezra, was a scribe (Ezra 7:6).  Scribes are recorded throughout Jewish history, from the time of David (2 Sam 8:17) all the way into the time of Christ (Matt 8:19).  Scribes were so proficient at copying text that they were also employed as lawyers because of their precise knowledge of all things legal.

When scribes copied a biblical text, they had some very stringent rules that they followed.  Secular history tells us that these rules were universal amongst scribes, and the rules were followed very, VERY strictly.  Here are some of those rules:

1. Every word must be verbalized aloud while writing.
2. There must be a review within thirty days, and if more than three pages required corrections, the whole document was destroyed.
3. Letters, words, and paragraphs were counted, and the middle paragraph, word, and letter must correspond to the original document.
4. If two letters touched, the entire manuscript had to be redone.
5. Each column of writing could have no less than forty-eight, and no more than sixty, lines.

As you can tell from the list, scribes were exceptionally meticulous about accuracy.  The proof of this accuracy can be seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, amongst them was uncovered a copy of the Book of Isaiah that had been written by scribes.  This copy of Isaiah was ONE THOUSAND years older than any other previous copy.  Yet, over that thousand-year time span, there was no notable disagreement between the manuscripts.  In fact, the only difference between the Dead Sea Scroll copy and the other copies were punctuation marks and spelling differences.  There is no doubt that God has perfectly preserved the Bible over the centuries.

     I have spoken with people who feel our job as christian parents is to homeschool our children.  Are there verses in the Bible to support this idea?

Sincerely,
Educate Me Please

Dear Educate Me Please,

There are lots of verses that say parents are responsible for the education of their children, but none of them say you must formally homeschool your children.  Whether a child goes to a public, private, alternative, or home school, Mom and Dad are responsible for making sure their child is properly trained up (Pr 22:6).  Many parents believe the only way they can properly train their children is to homeschool them.  On the other hand, just as many parents feel that taking advantage of the opportunities provided by various education systems is a wise way to responsibly educate their children.  The Bible doesn’t specifically tell us how to train our children; it just says it is our duty.  We should be very wary about creating a law like “christians must homeschool their children” if God hasn’t made that law.  If the Bible gives only the general command to train up our children, we shouldn’t go beyond what He wrote (1 Cor 4:6).  Parents should use whatever tools they see fit to nurture their children in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

     I don't understand this scripture: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5 NIV)

Was I born a sinner?  I thought all children were born sinless?

Sincerely,
Troubled

Dear Troubled,

The NIV reading of that text sure sounds like David is saying that he was born in sin, but the NIV isn’t a word-for-word translation and takes liberty in translating that verse (read “What’s The Best Translation” for more details on Bible translations).  Other translations, such as the New American Standard and New King James (much more literal translations), simply say “I was brought forth in iniquity.” (NKJV)  This is a much more generic statement than saying David was born sinful.  Ps 51:5 could mean one of two things:

1. David was born sinful.
2. David was born into a sinful world.

We need to look at other verses to see what the Bible teaches about babies being born in sin.  The sum teachings of the Bible say that babies are born without sin, and babies are perfect in God’s sight (even David, the writer of Psalm 51, recognized that his dead child was going to be in heaven [2 Sam 12:23]).  Sin is not a birthright; it is a choice (Gen 4:6-7, Jas 1:13-15).  Humans sin when they choose to do wrong; they are not born in sin.

The false teaching of ‘original sin’ is very common in today’s society.  If a congregation teaches that you are born in sin, they are false teachers. Sin is a choice we make in life (Isa 7:15-16), and all humans are born upright and good (Eccl 7:29).

     Does God hate sinners? Because my friend is reading this book, and it says He does.  It is hard to believe God hates anyone, right?

Sincerely,
Not A Hater

Dear Not A Hater,

The Lord loves people but hates sin.  God tells us it is appropriate to be happy when evil is destroyed because it means righteousness is prevailing (Pr 28:28), but God also says that it pains Him when the wicked perish (Ezek 18:23).  God loves us so much that He sent His own Son to die for our sins (Jhn 3:16), but He hates sin so much that if we don’t take advantage of the forgiveness that is in Christ, God will separate Himself from us (Lk 13:27).

     Who wrote the Gospel of Mark, and how do we know the author was inspired by God?

Sincerely,
Genuine Article

Dear Genuine Article,

The Gospel According to Mark is generally agreed to have been written by John Mark.  This is based upon early church historians and comments made by early christian writers.  It isn’t necessary that we know who penned the book of Mark, but that is the general consensus.  John Mark would have been in a perfect position to write an account of Christ’s life having been a traveling companion of both Paul and Barnabas (Acts 12:25) and being a part of a family of early converts to Christianity (Acts 12:12).

We know that the Gospel of Mark is inspired for the same reason that we know the rest of the New Testament is inspired.  Mark’s book repeats the same details as the other gospels, it shows all the same characteristics of inspiration as the rest of the Bible, and the early christians (who would have personally known the writer) accepted it as an inspired account of Christ’s life.  Read “Who Wrote The Bible?” for a more in-depth explanation of evidence that God authored the Bible.