.BrotherAlan, you wrote:Thus, if the Scriptures are truly inspired-- and, according to Scripture itself (2 Tim. 3:16), they are-- whatever is asserted as true in the Scriptures is asserted as true by God..
Well, let's see. Matthew wrote:
Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” (Matt 27:9,10 ESV)
This sentence asserts that the quoted words come from Jeremiah. But they are nowhere found in Jeremiah. Similar words are found in Zechariah 11:12,13.
So the sentence is false. It won't do to try to wiggle out of this by saying that Matthew didn't say that Jeremiah WROTE these words; he said that he SPOKE these words. This won't do. For this is the way that Matthew wrote. When he quoted from an Old Testament scripture he always said the words which a prophet wrote were SPOKEN by the prophet. Other examples from Matthew: 1:22, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 3:3, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, and 24:15. In each case, Matthew wrote that the words were SPOKEN by the prophet, but they are found in the prophet's writing. The only exception is 2:5 in which Matthew states that it was WRITTEN by the prophet.
Another example:
Jude wrote:
It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:14,15)
Similar words to these quoted by Jude are found in the book of Enoch, Chapter two:
The early Christian writers believed that the book of Enoch was written by the historic Enoch, the seventh from Adam. The author CLAIMS to be the historic Enoch, referring in Chapter 105 to "my son Methusaleh" with the words, "After a time, my son Methusaleh took a wife for his son Lamech." But the book is a forgery. The author was certainly not the historic Enoch, the seventh from Adam. The author writes of that which would be unknown in the times of the historic Enoch. For example in Chapter 54:9, the author writes, "Then shall princes combine together, and conspire. The chiefs of the east, among the Parthians and Medes, shall remove kings, in whom a spirit of perturbation shall enter." The Parthians were unknown until about the 250th year before Christ. It is believed that the book of Enoch was written around that time. The book also contains fanciful "astronomy" with the sun and moon passing through gates, etc.Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him.
So the scriptural writer, Jude, was mistaken in thinking that the historic Enoch, the seventh from Adam, had prophesied the words which were taken from the book of Enoch, and believed to have been written by the historic Enoch.