Curtis Hutson And the Time Machine

   All this talk about "only the original autographs were inspired,"
and "we try to get as near to the originals as possible in our
translations," and "no translation is inspired," and so on, etc . . .
can be solved simply.

   Let's make a time machine, and send someone back to when Moses first
wrote his "original manuscript." We will arrive before Moses wrote,
hang around him and after he finishes the autographs, simply take them
(seal them), and bring them back to the present through the time
machine.

   But wait! After that is done, is there any way possible that we can
prove they are the "originals of Moses." All right, let's say a
cameraman went also in the time machine and recorded the event, and
everyone believes the film.

   But wait! Now we have the "originals", meaning since the Bible is
still here with no books missing, Moses must have rewritten his missing
autographs (double inspiration?). Or if his books were missing from the
Bible, then we have done the world a great disservice by keeping those
books from the Bible. We have the "originals," but what good does it do
us, since they are not in the Bible anymore, therefore, they cannot be
said to be "inspired."

   If the books are not missing, then which are inspired? The first
autographs written or the second set that Moses rewrote? Would both be
inspired or only the first, since "inspiration is only for the
originals"?

   But wait! Moses spoke to Pharaoh in Egyptian in Exodus, and the
"original" we have is in Hebrew. Should we have tried for Egyptian
manuscripts written by Moses? Did he ever write what he said in
Egyptian?

   Wait again! What about the "originals" written by the prophets and
read to the people? Did the people hear and read the actual original?
Are we to believe that once the "original" was written, that it was
taken, say, from Antioch, to other towns, then brought back to be taken
to other towns? That is, since only the "original" is inspired, if the
people read and heard any copies, the "inspiration" is void? If copies
were not made to be taken out of Antioch, how is the word of God to be
taught to "all nations"? Should "all nations" be forced to come to
Antioch in order to hear the word that is inspired "only in the
originals"? And once those "originals" are worn out, is "inspiration"
ceased?

   Did Jesus say "All power is given me in heaven and in earth," or did
He really mean "just in the Antioch area"? And would we be disobeying
the command of Jesus by keeping the "originals" in only Antioch, when
He said "Go Ye therefore" (with the scriptures)? Did He say "take the
originals with you", or did he say "teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you," that is by words (speaking)?

   And since copies "are not inspired," what in the world was wrong
with Jesus when He said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears," since He had a "copy" that "was not inspired"? I mean, if we
could be there with our time machine, and record every word that Jesus
spoke, and since He quoted the Hebrew Old Testament, and since that was
copies of copies, and we know "copies are not inspired," then those
words could not mean anything, and Jesus was wrong in calling those
"copies" scripture. Now the problem is that since God CANNOT lie, and
since Jesus is "God manifest in the flesh," is He a liar or just
deceived?

   Perhaps we have been going about this all wrong. Maybe what we need
are actual words spoken by Moses (and other writers of the Bible).
Doesn't the Bible say, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the
will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost."

   That's it! The "words" were inspired as "holy men of God SPOKE as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost." All we need do to have the
"originals" is to record the actual words of the prophets. Back into
the time machine. Back to hang around Moses with a tape recorder and
record every word he says.

   So we return with hours of tape, the "originals"!! And we sit down
with everyone to listen to them. But wait! No one listening knows
Hebrew. Hurry, call in a Hebrew scholar and he can translate for us.
But wait! If he translates the Hebrew from Moses into English for us,
isn't that a "translation"? Isn't the "inspiration" from Hebrew into
English lost now? All right, let's do this. Train everyone in the world
for the Hebrew language. Can't be done? Sure it could, only while the
world is learning Hebrew, and only about one percent of the world
speaks Hebrew so it would take awhile, millions are still dying without
hearing the "original inspiration" from Moses. Is that fair? I mean,
don't we need the "originals" in order to understand the truth of the
Bible? And if anyone translates the Hebrew for us from the tapes, isn't
the "inspiration" void? So, we are back where we started.

   But wait! Since the "inspiration" is only by "holy men of God" who
SPEAK, that means only the "original words" are inspired, but we have a
RECORDING (a copy) of those words. Therefore, the "inspiration" is
again lost because a "scholar" has told us that "no copies can be
inspired". What to do?

   Simple. Build a larger time machine to ship all the people in the
world back to the time the prophets "spoke," so they could listen to
them. But wait! The whole world does not know Hebrew, nor Egyptian.
What to do?

   Simple. Take the time back to Moses and train him in the English
language, so that when he SPEAKS, it will be in our language. But
Pharaoh can't understand English . . . and all his people. . . and all
the Hebrew people. Now, when they SPEAK, they will say it in English,
and we will hear those words by "inspiration" in our language . . . and
when they write it down, we will have those words (although those words
are not "inspired" since they are "copies" of what really was SPOKEN).
This would also do away with the Hebrew Old Testament, now we will have
the English Old Testament, which would not be inspired, but we will
have it.

   It seems then that the only way for us to have the "original
inspired words" is to be there when those words are spoken. Since we
cannot be there (until the time machine comes along), it looks like we
are lost since we can't know what God really said, they will say it in
English, and we since we only have copies, since translations are not
inspired, etc. But wait! There is another way. That is for us to
believe (by faith) that God can and will preserve for us (in our
language) the words (plural) that are available in the King James Bible
(without proven error), and these words from God are infallible. Any
other way (a time machine, the searching for the originals that have
turned to dust by now), is a waste of time, and really is, in effect,
denying what God has already said in His "Holy Scriptures", which are
the WORDS THAT WE READ. The term "scripture" is not a reference to
original autographs, but to what we can read (copies) in Matthew 21:42,
Mark 12:24, Luke 4:21, Acts 8:32,35; 17:11, Rom. 15:4, and 2 Tim.
3:14-17.