Books of the bible from the same authors which show differences in style and grammar?

[xdisciplex]

Does anybody know this argument?
I heard that some books whichare supposed to have had the same author have different styles. Some have good greek others have bad greek.
Any validity to this claim?
Unfortunately I cannot tell you which books exactly since I do not remember it.

 

[Chemnitz]

Actually there is truth to the statement.
The Apostle John wrote the gospel that bears his name and Revelation. The Gospel is far more polished Greek than Revelation. People generally fall into to two different camps with some overlap. John wrote Revelation first so his Greek was not as well rounded at the time or he was in such a hurry to record what he saw that he did not take the time to polish it up. Whereas, the gospel shows definite signs of artistic intension in the grammatical structure

 

[xdisciplex]

Wow, this sucks! How can this be??
When God inspired them and told them what to write down then there should not be any differences.

 

[Chemnitz]

God uses each person according to their gifts and skills. Paul who was well versed in Greek and Rhetoric reads like a legal argument before a court. It doesn't suck as you say but is quite miraculous that God can still communicate His word as he wants despite human limitations while still having them operate at their skill level.

 

[Deacon]

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
Wow, this sucks! How can this be??
When God inspired them and told them what to write down then there should not be any differences.

This is really not such a big problem.
An excellent document to study regarding biblical inerrancy is:
THE CHICAGO STATEMENT ON BIBLICAL INERRANCY [LINK]

Here are some pertinent sections:

Article III.

We affirm that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God.

We deny that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity.

Article VII.

We affirm that inspiration was the work in which God by His Spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. The origin of Scripture is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us.

Article VIII.

We affirm that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared.
We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.

Rob

 

[xdisciplex]

Hi Rob!

We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.


Does this statement mean that the believe that God told them exactly what words to use without overriding their personality or do they mean that God did not tell them every single word and God gave them some freedom to express certain things?

 

[Deacon]

Yes

"The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us."

Rob

 

[xdisciplex]

Hi!
Is this true?

1 Timothy has some of the best Greek in the New Testament.
2 Timothy has some of the worst.

 

[xdisciplex]

How do we even know who wrote Timothy?

I mean did the writers of the books of the bible write down their names on top of every page?

 

[Deacon]

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
1 Timothy has some of the best Greek in the New Testament.
2 Timothy has some of the worst.

I've never heard this before.
It's not something I'd notice though.
I'm not terribly proficient in Greek, (more precisely I'm just terrible in Greek).

Where ever did you hear this?

Then you ask: "How do we know who wrote Timothy?"
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, (2 Timothy 1:1 NAS)

Rob

 

[xdisciplex]

Somebody in a christian forum said it.
I don't speak Greek so I cannot check it.

 

[xdisciplex]

I also found this here.
But why should God allow confusion about the bible? Why should God allow books being attributed to people which did not write them?

The Pauline Corpus:

Note: those considered to be the "prison-letters" are marked with an asterisk (*).

Undisputed Pauline Epistles (almost certainly authentic)


Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Philippians*
1 Thessalonians
Philemon*


The "Deutero-Pauline Epistles" (a majority of scholars believe that these were not written by Paul, and hence give them this name)


Ephesians*
Colossians*
2 Thessalonians


The Pastoral epistles of Paul (sometimes considered a separate category; and suspected by over two thirds of scholars not to be of Pauline authorship)


1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus

 

[NateT]

But why should God allow confusion about the bible? Why should God allow books being attributed to people which did not write them?

God doesn't keep us from any number of stupid sins. If someone wants to disbelieve the testimony of scripture, God doesn't prevent them from doing so.

 

[Dustin]

xdisciplex, try having a little faith instead of fretting over who wrote what in the Bible.

 

[gb93433]

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
Hi!
Is this true?

1 Timothy has some of the best Greek in the New Testament.
2 Timothy has some of the worst.

Some people believe in the "repeat after me" principle of learning instead of studying it for themselves. So often the ignorant are leading the just as ignorant.

 

[El_Guero]

Any writer that writes much & writes over a period of time will write in different styles.

Even in the same paper, or speech, there is often quite a difference in style, grammer, content, vocabulary, and purpose.

 

[Jeff Weaver]

A couple of observations.

1st El Guero has it about right, writing styles change. Don't believe it, take a look a something you wrote in 6th grade and something else you wrote in high school.

As for the Pauline letters, some of them were scribbled by Paul personally, others were dictated. Perhaps the scribe for the latter was not as polished as Paul personally was.

As for the book of John and the Revelation of John. I am not convinced Revelation is by the same John as the Gospel of John, but if it was, then more exposure to Greek learning and culture over a number of years or the frailties of old age would change the way one writes.

 

[xdisciplex]

Eh? Why should the John from revelation should have been a different John? This makes no sense in my opinion.

 

[BobRyan]

Originally posted by xdisciplex:
Eh? Why should the John from revelation should have been a different John? This makes no sense in my opinion.

Agreed. They are one and the same.

A lot of "guesswork" no matter how much fun it is to do - does not equal "one fact" that is reliable.

 

[tragic_pizza]

I find discussions about authorship and such to be interesting; however, I am careful to begin from a standpoint of trust in God and in His Word as an infallible guide for doctrine and spiritual truth.

Bruce Metzger had a fascinating comment in his commentary on Revelation concerning the dispute over authorship of that book.

"It doesn't matter."