Is the Bible from God or Men?

The Bible is either the inspired word of God or it is not. If it is, then it is true and must be believed and obeyed. If it is not true, then it is of human origin and the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetrated, since it claims to be from God. By the Bible, I mean the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. This is not a study as to which books are canonical or if other books should be included in the Bible. These matters belong to another study.

Two basic questions concerning Christianity are (1) is there an eternal God who created the universe and man, and (2) did the Bible come from God? The purpose of this lecture is to examine the question of the origin of the Bible.

The Bible is here. Now, from whence did it come? There are only two possible answers: either the Bible came from God as Christians contend and believe, or the Bible came from man as infidels, agnostics, and atheists affirm. Is the Bible the result of unaided human wisdom, or of divine inspiration? Can we put implicit faith in the Scriptures as a revelation from God, or view the Bible as just another book of human origin? This is the most crucial question that confronts the religious world today.

The Bible itself claims to be from God. Either its claim is true or false. The apostle Paul wrote: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (2Timothey 3:16). This literally means “God-breathed,” or “breathed out by God.” This is a clear claim to plenary inspiration, that is, that the Bible is inspired in all its parts. The apostle Peter, speaking of the Old Testament prophets said: “For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved [or, “borne along,” PBC] by the “Holy Spirit” (2Peter 1:21 ASV). The writers of the New Testament were likewise inspired; the truth was revealed unto the “holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5; cf. John 16:13; 14:26; June 17).

If God gave the Bible we would expect Him to tell us so in that Book. If there is a God, and if that God is our Father, then we may be sure He has spoken to His children, for what earthly parent with a child away from home would not, if he could, communicate with him? About two thousand times in the Bible we find such expressions as, “Thus saith the Lord,” or “the word of the Lord came to me,” or “the Lord spake to me” (See, for example, 2 Samuel 23:2), Jeremiah 1:4-9; Matthew 1:22; 2:15; Acts 1:16, and many other passages.) When the Bible tells us plainly what kind of Book it is, we should not reject its testimony as unworthy of belief unless we have sufficient evidence. But how may we know that the Bible is inspired?

There are evidences, both internal and external, of the divine origin of the Bible. The Bible’s content bears marks of its own claim to be from God. There is unmistakable evidence that it is the inspired Word of God; the evidences are abundant that “God…hath…spoken unto us…” (Hebrews 1:1,2). We shall now examine some of the proofs whereby the Scriptures reveal their divine origin.

Inerrancy. The Bible is verbally inspired of God and is inerrant. The apostle Paul, speaking of the truths of Christianity said: “But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit…Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words” (1 Corinthians 2:10-13 ASV). A word is simply the vehicle through which thought is communicated from one mind to another. Inspired words were the means which God used to convey to man the thoughts of His heart. Through the medium of words He revealed His will. The things that the writers uttered were not their own, but were the very words of God Himself. The words of Scripture are divine words, and yet they are also the words of human writers. Hence, the original autographs of the Bible were verbally inspired as they came from the men guided by the Holy Spirit.

What is “God-breathed” must be inerrant for God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). The Lord said through David that the word of God is “pure” (Psalms 19:8; 119:140); that means it is free from all error. David also wrote: “Thy word is true from the beginning; and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalms 119:160; cf. 19:7). God gave to man a perfectly errorless Book, an infallible message, and the writers expressed the truth when they affirmed the divine origin of the Holy Scriptures. God’s men wrote exactly what the Lord wanted them to write, and God’s law is “the truth” (Psalms 119:142; John 17:17).

If the Bible is not to be depended upon when it speaks of itself, how do we know it is to be trusted when it speaks on other matters? If the Bible is not trustworthy, we have no assurance that our Christian faith is founded upon the truth. But if the Bible is the verbally inspired and infallible word of God, it follows we are listening to God, and not to man, when we harken to its teaching.

The Bible is one Book. Though composed of sixty-six books, there is a golden thread of unity running throughout this entire volume. The Jews, through whom the Bible came, were not noted for any scientific or literary fame. Some of the writers were fishermen, tax-collectors, and shepherds, and most of them were never beyond the narrow limits of their native land. But, despite all this, these “unlearned and ignorant men” (Acts 4:13) gave to the world a Book of perfect harmony and free of all mistakes. Although they differed greatly from each other and knew not that they were engaged in writing a single book, when all of their works are put together there are no contradictions or errors. Surely this is proof of the Bible’s divine origin; one Master Mind controlled them all. Otherwise, how could forty men, different in habits, languages, and education, over a period of sixteen centuries – from Moses, the first writer, to John, the last writer – produce such a book unaided by divine power?

The enemies of the Bible have gone over it with a microscope, seeking to find inconsistencies; they have paraded alleged contradictions, but no contradictions have been proved. Unlike the books written by men, every word of the Bible is absolutely reliable. The Bible is in its entirety the word of God. Therefore, the Bible differs from all other religious books in the world in that it has a divine Author. On this ground we rest our faith, believing we can trust the Bible implicitly as the verbally inspired and inerrant word of God.

Fulfilled prophecies. Next we shall examine the powerful proof of prophecy. Fulfilled prophecies are facts which establish omniscience. Prophecy is nothing but history written in advance. What the prophets stated by inspiration concerning the individuals, nations, and cities, long before the events occurred – sometimes centuries before – undeniably attests to the fact that the Bible is from God as we see their complete fulfillment. Let us notice a few examples.

Without doubt, the most important prophecies are those which relate to the coming of Christ. There are more than three hundred thirty distinct prophecies in the Old Testament about our Savior, every one relating to His earthly life, which have been fulfilled. He was to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 21:2; Galatians 3:16), of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14), and of the family line of David (2 Samuel 7:13-16). The place of His nativity was to be Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2). All the main events in His personal ministry were minutely and accurately predicted. He would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12). In His death, His hands and feet were to be pierced (Psalms 22:16). He was to be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). He was to arise from the dead and to ascend into heaven (Psalms 16:10; Daniel 7:13,14). He was to appear and set up His kingdom during the fourth universal monarchy (Daniel 2:44), which was the time of the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1; Mark 1:15). All of these and many more prophecies were made concerning Christ hundreds of years before His birth, and were fulfilled, according to the records given in the New Testament.

In fact, Jesus claimed that all the Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Him (John 5:39; Luke 24:44-49). He once made a defense of the Scriptures when He said: “And the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). He believed that the Scriptures were infallible. It was customary for the apostles, in their preaching after the church was established, to prove from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Christ (e.g., Acts 13:23-37). This agreement of prophecy and history cannot be explained away. That the prophets were inspired is the only explanation. How could these various prophecies have been made centuries before their fulfillment if there was no divine foreknowledge of these future events?

The prophecy of Moses concerning the final overthrow of the Jewish nation, recorded in Deuteronomy 28, is of remarkable interest. Moses said the Lord would bring against the Jews a nation from afar “as swift as the eagle flieth,” speaking a strange language. They would besiege Jerusalem until all her walls would come down. In this siege the people would suffer unparalleled horrors. The “tender and delicate woman” who would not so much as set her foot upon the ground would secretly kill and eat the flesh of her own child. Great numbers would perish in the siege. This was all fulfilled when the Romans, under Titus, destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, fifteen hundred years after it was spoken. The exactness of this fulfillment was recorded by Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived during the time of the siege and the fall of the city. Jerusalem was conquered, the walls torn down, and over a million Jews were slain. So hungry were the people that many ate the flesh of their own sons and daughters.

Moses also predicted that the Jews would be removed and scattered throughout all the kingdoms of the earth, and that they should become a proverb and a by-word among the nations. And yet, notwithstanding all this, they would never be destroyed. In what country are they not found today? And in what land are they not a by-word? In what land have they not been persecuted? Yet the Jews remain. Moses must have given all of these prophecies guided by the Holy Spirit. Frederick the Great of Prussia once demanded proof in one word that the Bible was inspired. The answer given was “Jew.”

A man cannot name the President of the United States one hundred fifty years from today and reveal what he will do in office, yet one of the Bible writers called the name of a Persian ruler and foretold what he would do. Isaiah, the prophet of God, called Cyrus by name one hundred fifty years before he was born and said he would give the proclamation for the Jews to return from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 44:26-28; 45:1-4). The kingdom of Judah was not even in bondage at this time, yet Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled.

The prophecy concerning Babylon , given by Isaiah (13:19-22; cf. Jeremiah 50), is also most interesting. At the height of Babylon’s glory the prophet of God predicted that the city would be entirely overthrown and never be inhabited nor dwelt in from generation to generation; that the Arab would not pitch his tent there, nor shepherds make their fold there; that wild beasts of the desert should lie there and owls and doleful creatures should infest it. Babylon , founded about 2234 B.C., was then one of the most beautiful cities. Its walls were fifteen miles square, three hundred fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet thick. It had hundreds of gates and towers, beautiful hanging gardens, and splendid palaces. There in the fertile valley of the river Euphrates she was the capital of the great Babylonian Empire. There were no signs of decay. But after two hundred years from the time the prophecy was given, in 536 B.C. at the drunken feast of Belshazzar (Daniel 5), proud Babylon bowed her head to rise no more. The Medes and the Persians took over and to this day Babylon has never been rebuilt; it is a heap of ruins. For ages it has been uninhabited. Not one word of the prophecy has failed.

Likewise, Ezekiel prophesied against Tyre , located on the Mediterranean Sea , at a time when there were no signs of her destruction (Ezekiel 26:1-14). But the city was taken and destroyed by the Chaldeans. Later, Tyre was rebuilt on an island in the sea, to again be taken and destroyed. Alexander the Great was the second destroyer, making a causeway in the sea by scraping the dust from the mainland, just as the prophet predicted. For centuries Tyre has been a bare rock, a place where fishermen spread their nets, never to be rebuilt.

These prophecies are only examples among many others in the Bible. Centuries lie between the predictions and their fulfillment and, in every case, the agreement is perfect. They cannot be ignored. No human guessing or prognostication of the signs of the time can account for this remarkable train of prophecy. The only sufficient reason why these predictions were so accurately fulfilled is that “men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). In an age of attacks upon the inspiration of the Bible and the credibility of the Christian faith, we dare not let go of one of the strongest evidences which we can employ in its defense, namely, its fulfillment of prophecy.

Scientific accuracy. The Bible is not a text-book on science (its these is man’s salvation from sin through Jesus Christ), but in it we do find incidental references to various branches of science, and all that it says on the subject is scientifically accurate. Although there are some who claim that the Bible is opposed to science, it proves itself to be the inspired Word of God because of its scientific wealth and accuracy. In fact, we could say that the Bible is pre-scientific; it anticipates scientific discoveries. These scientific allusions were made hundreds of years before they became known to man by discovery, and yet we marvel at the accuracy with which Scripture presents these various subjects.

The word science simply means knowledge. What is commonly called science is frequently nothing more than certain theories and conclusions based on man’s limited and imperfect knowledge of God’s perfect laws. The Bible does not always agree with all of man’s theories of science (1 Timothy 6:20). If the Bible agreed with all the theories of science it could not possibly agree with true science. But when a truth has been discovered, we find the Bible, if it speaks on that subject, has already declared that truth.

The world is interested in the origin of the universe and man. The idea is presently much discussed. There are three verses in Genesis 1 that answer more satisfactorily the questions people are asking than all the books written by men. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (v. 1). “And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind…and it was so” (v. 24). “And God created man in His own image…male and female created He them” (v. 27; cf. 2:7). Christ also said: “…from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6; cf. 1 Timothy 2:13). Man did not evolve from lower animals. He is the “offspring of God” (Acts 17:28, 29); God is the Father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9).

The theory of evolution pertaining to the origin of man is unscientific. It has never been proved, nor shall it ever be proved. Life does not come from the non-life. The theory of evolution is nothing more than the “flat earth” syndrome of modern man. It is embraced in spite of the evidence – not because of it. Too, the earth is not eternal; it was created. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is” (Exodus 20:11). “For every house is builded by some one; but he that built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4; cf. 11:3). As to the age of the earth, no one knows it: nor does the Bible say. The Almighty Jehovah who could create Adam and Eve full-grown could instantly create a full-grown bed of coal or minerals. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth…For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalms 33:6, 9). No scientist can prove that this is not true.

The Bible is clear and accurate, therefore, as to the origin of things; the majestic first chapter of Genesis contains the only authentic account of creation. It is not a myth or a fable. If it is, then how can any part of the Bible be trusted? Besides, who is to judge where myth begins and where it ends? or what is truth and what is error? One’s view of the Bible is important; it determines his attitude toward its teaching.

Man, for thousands of years, did not know that the earth was round; believed it was flat. Yet Isaiah, seven centuries before the birth of Christ, spoke of God as: “He that sitteth above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). This was scientific foreknowledge. The patriarch Job, speaking of God, declared: “He stretcheth out the north over the empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). Today every school boy and girl in America knows that the earth is round, poised in space, hanging “upon nothing,” and that astronauts have circled the earth and looked down upon it from their spaceships. We ask, how was it possible that the writers of the Bible described physical phenomena with such amazing accuracy? There is but one plausible explanation: He who planned and made the vast universe inspired the writers, and that which they recorded was not ancient wisdom but divine revelation.

There is not a real scientific principle known that is in violation of, or contrary to, the Word of God. Nothing that any scientist knows today in any way contradicts any statement of the Bible. A true understanding of the Bible and a correct understanding of the facts of science are always found to be harmonious. When one adds all of the scientific evidence he is overwhelmed with the proof that the Bible must be, as it claims, a divine book.

Miracles. Miracles attest to the divinity of the Bible. Miracles were works of supernatural character such as could not be produced by natural agents or means. For example, when a blind man is healed by medicine, then it is natural; but when a blind man is healed instantly (as the blind man mentioned in John 9), then it is a miracle. The raising of Lazarus from the dead was a miracle (John 11). The miracles performed by Christ proved that His message was from God so that men might believe in Him (John 3:2; 20:30, 31). Miracles were used to show that certain others, as the apostles, had divine power and spoke God’s word; their words were confirmed by “signs and wonders” (Hebrews 2:3, 4). After the ascension of Christ, the apostles “went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed” (Mark 16:20). Also, Moses proved by miracles before the children of Israel and Pharaoh that he had the word of God (Exodus 4:1-9, 29-31; chapters 7-13). Miracles were an indelible stamp of God’s approval of His word and of His messengers. The pretensions of men today pale into insignificance when compared to the miracles of the Bible; they are only “lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). However, infidels deny in vain the miracles of the Word of God because they are a strong proof of its divine origin.

Exalted moral and ethical teaching. The Bible has given the finest teaching on morals and ethics the world has ever known. Scripture clearly teaches that the highest duty of man is to God his Creator, and this is given in the Bible. The duty man owes to others is also set forth, and the duty man owes to himself is defined. The Bible demands the denial of every vice and the practice of every virtue. The degree of enlightenment in the world is in exact ratio with the prevalence of those ethical principles.

In the realm of law there is no higher code of ethics. The Greeks and Romans never produced such moral and ethical teaching. Where shall we find a legal code that excels the Mosaic Law (Exodus 20)? Where did Moses get this law which surpasses the wisdom and philosophy of the most enlightened ages? Where did Jesus get the moral teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) and the idea to fear God and to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:36-40), as well as the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12)? Where did the apostle Paul get the beautiful psalm on Christian love (1 Corinthians 13)? It is impossible to account for the exalted qualities of this teaching on any other hypothesis than that the writers were under the special influence of God. Surely the Bible bears its own witness of its divine origin. Paul said: “The gospel which was preached by me…is not after man” (Galatians 1:11).

Influence. The teaching of the Bible always ennobles, elevates, and purifies. There is a universally accepted principle stated by Christ which can be applied to the Scriptures: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Think of the fruit the Bible has borne and is bearing today. Wherever this Book has gone, civilization has been lifted to a higher plane. It has made better husbands and wives, better sons and daughters, better employees and employers, better neighbors and nations. Its truth sweetens the home, exalts womanhood, sanctifies childhood, and redeems man. The spirit of this Book is the spirit of love, kindness, and goodwill. Without the Bible’s influence for good, our world would be a tragic place in which to live. Surely this influence does not come from a source which is itself a collection of false claims and fables.

Some claim that human culture, philosophy, and science are better for man than the Bible. If so, the map of the world would show it. But when one looks at the history of the nations he sees that human wisdom fails to purify and build up the morals of the people. Look where the Word of God has gone, been loved and obeyed, and there we find the noblest men, the purest women, the greatest liberty, and the best government. Especially do we see woman, so often the degraded beast of burden, loved and honored as mother, wife, sister, or daughter. Name the nations of the earth that have been more advanced than others – such as America and Great Britain . There one would find an open Bible and a ministry that upheld the Christ in all of His glory and excellence of character. Now name the countries where the people have long been half-enlightened – such as China , India , and Russia . There one will find that the Bible has been kept from the People. Think of the large portions of the earth now in the darkness of sin and paganism. There the Word of God is not being read, loved, and obeyed by people. The Bible contains the only teaching that can lead mankind to the highest forms of conduct. No height of worldly wisdom and culture can purify the heart and make people what they ought to be. The Bible is worth more to man’s spiritual progress and the happiness of the human family than all other books that have ever been written; it has done more to change man’s nature for good than all the philosophies of men. Every step away from the moral teaching of this Book is a step, not forward, but backward to materialism, animalism, and barbarism. He who tries to lessen the influence of the Bible over the nations is an enemy of mankind. Furthermore, any nation that neglects teaching the Bible to her children (as is largely being done in America today) will sooner or later reap the horrible results of it.

Hence, the very teaching itself is proof of the Bible’s divine origin, and we do not hesitate to say that we believe the Bible is the word of God because of the great good it has done and continues to do in the world.

Indestructibility. The Bible has been in the world in its complete form now for almost two thousand years, yet it is unlike all other books in that it has not become obsolete. It is today more highly respected and more widely printed and sold than any book in all the world. I has been translated into more languages than any other book. Books, like men, are born, have their day, die, and are soon forgotten. They were once useful, but better books have taken their place and they have become outdated. Not so with the Bible. Age has failed to affect its power; as always, it vibrates with life (Hebrews 4:12; Romans 1:16).

The Bible has always been fiercely attacked by those who do not wish to obey it, but it has withstood its furious foes and false friends. Never has there been a book like the Bible that has incurred the hatred of man. It has been the anvil on which many a hammer has been worn out. It has passed through many fiery trials in its course of history as men have attempted to destroy it.

For example, the Roman Emperor Diocletian in A.D. 303 issued an edict to destroy the Bible. He thought he had accomplished his goal but twenty-five years later Constantine, the new emperor, commissioned fifty copies of the Bible to be prepared at government expense. Voltaire, the French infidel, in 1887 predicted that in one hundred years the Bible would be lost. But about twenty-five years after his death the British and Foreign Bible Society was founded and this one Society alone has given to the world millions of copies of the Bible in several hundred different languages. One hundred years later, Voltaire’s own printing press, on which his infidel literature had been printed, was used to print Bibles, and the very house in which he had lived was used as a storage room for the Word of God. Thomas Jefferson, in his book on Western Virginia published about the time of Voltaire’s death, predicted that fifty years from then there would not be a Bible in America unless found in some curiosity shop. Likewise, Thomas Paine, in his book The Age of Reason, predicted the end of the Bible. These men, too, have gone the way of all men of the flesh, but the Word of God still lives. The American Bible Society in New York City has, for many years, been printing and distributing millions of copies of the Bible and portions of God’s Word all over America , and today it would be hard to find a home in the United States where there is not at least one copy of the Scriptures. Also, Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), another noted infidel in America , highly criticized the Bible. He gave lectures on “The Mistakes of Moses.” Today we can turn to the books of Moses and learn of “The Mistakes of Ingersoll.”

Indeed, a relentless warfare has for centuries been waged against the Bible, yet in spite of what these, and many others, have done to destroy it, the Bible is still here. After all the storms of persecution have been hurled against it by atheists, infidels, and higher critics, it lives. Jehovah has providentially preserved His Book through all the centuries. Jesus once said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Peter wrote: ”…the word of God…liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23-25). Critics have come and gone, nations have been born and passed away since the Bible was written, but it still stands. The Bible will live to the end of time. Nothing can destroy it. All the power that could be brought to bear on it to blot it from the earth has been tried, and yet it survives. The poet has beautifully expressed this truth in these words:

Century follows century -- There it stands.
Empires rise and fall and are forgotten – There it stands.
Atheists rail against it – There it stands.
Agnostics smile cynically – There it stands.
Profane prayerless punsters caricature it – There it stands.
Unbelief abandons it – There it stands.
Higher critics deny its claim to inspiration – There it stands.
The flames are kindled against it – There it stands.
The tooth of time gnaws but makes no dent in it – There it stands.
Infidels predict its abandonment – There it stands.
The Word of God which liveth and abideth forever.

These are some of the indisputable proofs that the Bible is the infallible word of the living God: (1) inerrancy, (2) fulfilled prophecies, (3) scientific accuracy, (4) miracles, (5) high moral and ethical teaching, (6) great influence for good, and (7) indestructibility.

Since the Bible is a perfect, complete, infallible, and an inerrant revelation from God to man, needing no revision, we should love and obey its precepts. God alone knows what is right for man, and the Bible is just as relevant to people today as it was in the first century. It is a guide for all men and for all time. The inspired Scriptures are able to furnish us completely “unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17; cf. 2 Peter 1:3). The Bible is our only authoritative rule of faith and conduct, the only rightful creed and book of discipline for the church, the only basis of unity which the Lord has authorized, the only Book that reveals God’s plan of human redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23; John 3:16), and the only Book that will judge us in the last day (John 12:48; Revelation 20:11-13; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Not only does the Bible reveal man’s origin, nature, and duty, it is the only telescope that reveals the world beyond the grave. We know that we face imminent departure from this life, but what then? Scripture declares that this life is but the morning of existence. In John’s apocalyptic vision we have a picture of a man redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and of heaven, the eternal home of the soul (Revelation 7:9-17; chapters 21 and 22). If our confidence in the Bible as a divine Book is destroyed, then the future we must face is all darkness; we would have no hope, for in the words of Scripture are to be found the only message of “life and immortality” (2 Timothy 1:10; cf. Psalm 23).

Therefore, we believe that no group of men, unaided by a higher power, could have written the Bible, for man cannot write such a book. The Bible is, without exception, the world’s most wonderful Book (Psalms 119:129). It is preeminently the “Book of books” – the literary firmament as the sun outshines all planets that move in their orbits. If we will respect and obey its commands, some sweet day heaven will be our home.

Have you ever stopped to think what the world would be like without the Bible? The “dark ages,” when the Bible was literally chained to the pulpit and the common man did not possess it neither could he read it, was a time of ignorance, superstition and disregard for humanity. Take a peek into the atheistic countries under Communist control and view the pitiful state of mankind there. Those who dare to believe are often treated unmercifully.

On the other hand, wherever the Bible has gone the social status of man has been improved. The Bible has transformed the naked-head hunter of Africa into a clothed soul-seeker for Christ. It has lifted the immoral narcotic out of skid-row and made him a decent and useful citizen of the community. Because of its influence the hardened criminal has learned to love his neighbor as himself, the greedy miser to give to those who have not, and the proud ruler to humble himself in the sight of the Lord. Bodies have been clothed, stomachs satisfied, broken hearts mended, tears wiped away and lives have been filled with love, joy, kindness, goodness, understanding and peace all because of the Bible.

The influence of the Bible has always been for good. No man was ever made worse by reading it but millions have been made far better by doing so. There is no greater book in print and never will be.

Do you have a Bible? Most homes do. Do you study your Bible daily? Many do not. Use not your Bible to adorn the room but the soul, let it not become shelf-worn but hand-worn, and give it not lipservice but reverence. Believe, love, and obey it all the days of your life, for it is truly the inspired word of God.

The Bible is written by God through the agency of men.

This means that it does contain things that are erroneous because the people that wrote the Bible had some misconceptions at the time, such as describing the reign of Babylon as universal.

This does not impact the spiritual Truth of the Bible as mankind is still the same moral creature as he ever was and so needs the same virtues, restrictions and mandates.

That does NOT mean that each and every poetic reference or hypbolic statement should be taken literally.

Yes, and the Bible also says that those who try to obtain the truth about the mysteries about GOD , and the Bible without being a Christian, and having the Holy spirit, that GOD will hide ( and has hidden ) the truth and mysteries of GOD and the words of the Bible from man's " Human reasoning, Man's Carnal mind , and Human wisdom " .
GOD will just frustrate and confound, anyone ( mankind ) even more so , who try and go about approaching GOD and his word on their own and in their own human thinking.
The Holy Bible is only meant to be understood by and with the Holy Spirit of GOD.
GOD reveals his mysteries and secrets to those who are : meek, humble, simple, lowly, and down trodden.
The mere fact that Israel and God's word has lasted through the millenniums and centuries is a testament that the Bible and the Church is from GOD.
Jesus said " upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it "

***ya ya. Only those whom God favors. Bless you my son.***

No, it's quite true.

Before I was converted, the Bible was extremely boring to me. I had been force to read quite a bit of it. It seemed like a buch of stories about men running around with towels on their heads!

After I was converted it was a completely new book. Almost everything in it spoke to me - both revealing the sin in my heart, showing me the right way to live and encouraging me about God's love for me.

It became, quite literally, alive to me - unlike any other book I have ever read.

This happened essentially overnight. It was totally unexpected and really blew me away.

This experience has continued now for nearly 20 years.

The Bible is not inerrant. In Joshua it claims that G-d made the sun stand still in the sky to afford the hebrews a longer day for a battle. It is the earth that rotates under the sun. This is an error. One error and the Bible is not inerrant.

I make no statement regarding the Bible's value. I do make a statement that it is not inerrant. No work of man is.

The Bible is not inerrant. In Joshua it claims that G-d made the sun stand still in the sky to afford the hebrews a longer day for a battle. It is the earth that rotates under the sun. This is an error. One error and the Bible is not inerrant.

And you refute this how? Were you there? You cannot offer any definitive testimony. You reject this because you have an anti-supernatural bias. I accept the claim based upon ample eyewitness testiomony of other miracles - i.e. the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The creator of this system can override 'physical laws' when it suits His purposes.

I am encoraged by the observation that no single group ever controlled all copies of the New Testament. The early, wide dispersal of the church after the stoning of Stephen resulted in the side effect of early, wide geographic dispersal of the text. The minimal variations in extant copies testifies to the validity of today's copy. Yet another case of God using the sinful actions of man to accomplish His pure, holy purpose - the preservation of the text of the NT.

To be without error the Bible would have had to say, "The earth stopped rotating", not that "The sun stood still" since it is the earth that rotates not the sun that rises and sets. This is an error. The man-made bible is not without error. The evidence is in Joshua. All you have to do is read it.

To my understanding of inerrancy (I am not a fundamentalist, of course), it refers to faith and morals. That God uses human knowledge of the time to teach us various things about morality and His saving love, not a book of history or science. Would you have expected that God tell the writer of Genesis the theory of quantum physics, etc., so the writer could accurately explain the scientific method of how the earth was created?

No, God uses various human devices, literary genres, to teach His people of His saving love, etc. In the Joshua case, we are meant to take this (in my opinion) as a legendary story that shows God fulfilling His promises to the Israelites. It is not meant to be taken literally. Proof of this is comparing Joshua and Judges (two different literary genres describing many of the same events). Another example are the two creation stories. They both cannot be literally true, as they describe a different creation order!

If one believes that every single word is inerrant in the Bible, it can be difficult to explain such occurrences as Joshua, etc. Notice how defensive many people can get when confronted with your question. However, it should not have any negative effect on our beliefs that God loves us and has saved us from our wounded human condition. That is why, I think, it is important to regard such stories as what they are, a literary device, one of many, that the Bible writers use to give us a teaching.

To give a modern day example, I think you will see various styles of writing in the newspaper. The comics, sports, news, editorials - they are all using different literary genres, and all have something to teach us. Sometimes, we learn more from the comics than the front page!

Regards

Let me make a correction before everyone gets upset! Every word of the Bible is inerrant. But not in every single category of human knowledge. Genesis 1 and 2 are inerrant, but not in the scientific fields. They are inerrant regarding teaching us what God wants us to learn from them. So every word of the Bible is inerrant, just not in every field of human knowledge. Sorry about the misunderstanding in my previous letter.

Regards

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