Is it possible to describe the infinite in finite terms?

 

This text is from a transcript of a talk by David Gooding, entitled ‘Inspiration, Authority and Interpretation’ (1973).

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As far as I can understand the question, this is in reference to the doctrine of inspiration. The words in our Bibles are human words in human languages. Is it possible that an infinite God should be able to get his infinite ideas into human words? Surely we cannot claim that the Bible is the word of God, because the Bible is a finite book and God is infinite. Is the doctrine of inspiration therefore a little bit doubtful? The answer is, No!

Of course you can't get infinite things into finite, but let me use an analogy. Take a father and a child. The father is a Nobel prize-winning physicist; his knowledge of physics goes utterly beyond his four year-old, who probably doesn't even know where he came from. Does that mean the father can't communicate anything to the child, or talk to him? Suppose the child has begun to read and can spell some words if they are not more than six letters. He gets a note from his father, 'Went to a party and had jam for tea.' Will the child say to himself, 'I couldn't believe that's the word of my father, because he is a Nobel prize-winning physicist!' It would be nonsense to say that by definition he won't be able to understand anything his father says.

God is infinite and among all his other infinite abilities is his infinite ability to talk to his creatures and make them understand.

 
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Why did you spend so much time in apparent flaws in the King James Version and no time in showing the flaws in modern translations? Are you not showing a clear bias?