The foundational clause of the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith reads thusly:
That the book currently known as the
Bible, consisting of the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles,
is the only source of knowledge concerning God and His purposes at present
extant or available in the earth, and that the same were wholly given by
inspiration of God in the writers, and are consequently without error in all
parts of them, except such as may be due to errors of transcription or
translation.—2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:13; Hebrews 1:1; 2 Peter 1:21; 1
Corinthians 14:37; Nehemiah 9:30; John 10:35.
Commenting
on this, Peter Hemingray (who wrote a very good biography of John Thomas, John
Thomas: His Friends & His Faith ) and Peter Bilello wrote the
following:
Consequences
We can summarize these as follows:
·
The Foundation
Clause recognizes that over the long period of the Bible’s history there may be
difficulties created by errors of transcription or translation
. . .
·
Given the meticulous
process of copying later developed, and the diligent labors of translators who
believed that they were handling the Word of God, we may be sure that the LORD
has overseen the preservation of the word, although we must be careful not
to ascribe to this any particular Hebrew or Greek manuscript or to any
particular Bible Translation. (Peter Hemingray and Peter Bilello, Doctrines
to Be Rejected: A Study in the Second Section of the Birmingham Amended
Statement of Faith [Simi Valley, Calif.: The Christadelphian Tidings
Publishing Co., 2023], 44, emphasis added)
Further Reading: