How We Got the Bible
The Bible is really a library and the
word Bible means “books”; 66 of them in fact. It contains a variety
of types of literature from the literal narrative of history to the
figurative expression of poets. It includes letters between
individuals and between an individual and different churches that
existed in different countries with different cultures. The Bible
covers a wide span of history, about 1500 years, and is recorded by
40 different men. These had different backgrounds and were from
different countries. Some were educated, some were fishermen, some
were kings and some were shepherds. What is amazing about these men
is that they wrote the same thing on some pretty controversial and
profound themes. For instance, they agreed that man’s problem is sin
and that the solution is to obey God. They were able to write these
66 books with amazing consistency concerning God’s plan of
redemption for mankind realized in Jesus Christ. The prophecies of
Jesus alone are adequate proof of the harmony and agreement that is
typical of the Bible. From Genesis 3 through Revelation 22, we see a
distinctive and unmistakable thread of prophecy concerning many
different aspects of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Remember our statement in the first
paragraph, “We believe the Bible is inspired because it shows
evidence of being from God” as well our statement from the second
paragraph, “If men did write out of their own experience and
imagination, then we would expect there to be mistakes” ? Now we are
ready to see some reasons for why we believe the Bible is uniquely
from God; things that will contrast the wisdom and knowledge of God
with the wisdom and knowledge of man.
The Bible is trustworthy in
its historical accounts.
- Skeptics once denied the
existence of a Hittite nation until Hugo Winkler unearthed their
ancient capital at Boghaz-koi in 1906-07.
- Scholars once doubted the
reference to Sargon in Isaiah 20 till 1843 when Emilo Botta
discovered the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad and much
information has become known about Isaiah’s prophecy since that
time.
- Skeptics once questioned the
failure of Sennacharib to capture Jerusalem but excavations of
Nineveh revealed a monument that boasts that he only had “shut
up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage”.
- Sir William Ramsey, British
historian and archaeologist, began a study of the apostle Paul
under the conviction that the book of Acts was full of errors.
His studies changed his mind and he came away with a deep
conviction of the historical accuracy of Luke’s account of the
early church and he even wrote an excellent commentary on Acts
detailing these. It is called St. Paul, The Traveller and Roman
Citizen and can still be purchased today in print as well as an
electronic version.
- These and other examples too
numerous to list, give us a sense of the historical accuracy of
the Bible as compared to the assumptions of men. When men
attacked the Bible as being historically inaccurate (therefore
not inspired), they were constantly being embarrassed by
discoveries that verified the biblical account. We close this
section with this quote, “The reviewer has spent many years in
biblical archaeology, and in company with his colleagues, has
made discoveries confirming in outline or in detail historical
statements in the Bible. He is prepared to go farther and say
that no archaeological discovery has ever been made that
contradicts or controverts historical statements in scripture.”
Dr. Nelson Glueck, The New York Times, “Book Review”, Oct. 28,
1956
The Bible is scientifically
trustworthy even though it is not a science textbook.
- In our day of complete and blind
acceptance of evolution as the explanation for the universe,
this particular aspect of the Bible is proof positive to some
people that the Bible is not inspired of God but just a book of
myths.
- Conflicts between science and
religion are legion according to some but there are at least
three points that need to be considered:
- The Bible and theories of
science may conflict.
- Facts of science and
theories of the Bible may conflict.
- Truth of the Bible and the
facts of science do not conflict.
- We would like also to observe
that since Nature and Scripture both came from God, there can be
no real contradiction between Natural truth and Biblical truth.
- Rotundity of the earth-Isaiah
40:2 (discovered in 15th century)
- Earth suspended in space-Job
26:7 (discovered in 1650)
- Paths in the sea-Psalms 8:8
(discovered in 1854)
- Life is in the blood-Leviticus
17:11 (discovered in19th century)
- Principles of quarantine,
disinfection, covering mouth in treatment of infectious
diseases-Leviticus 13 & 14 (discovered in 17th century)
QUESTION: How did the Bible writers
know these things centuries before science discovered them?
ANSWER: God told them!! |
|
