Doubting The Bible?

"The Bible has more marks of authenticity than any profane history."--Sir Isaac Newton
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."--Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist
"There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition."--Dr. William Albright, famed archaeologist

The Bible is like a caged lion that can defend itself.  It is self-authenticating, meaning that the highest authority it appeals to is itself because if it appealed to any outside source, that would become the highest authority and arbiter of truth.  When they ask you to prove the Bible, just tell them, "No, you do it!"  They can do it themselves by reading it--it reads you as you read it!  All documents without apparent self-contradiction or reason to disregard legally must be accepted with the burden of proof going to the skeptic--otherwise, it's assumed true and genuine.

It sure is a wonder that if a secular historian says one thing and the Bible another the secular one is considered legit?  The Bible has never been found mistaken historically and that should be ample reason not to doubt its historicity on any fact.  Christianity is primarily a historical religion or it's nothing, and there are no historical absurdities or inaccuracies in it.  You would think with all the historical references there would be some mistake, but none have been verified, though many have tried to discredit the Word and in the process have become believers.

You don't need to believe the Bible to become a Christian; after all, the Greeks Paul appealed to, didn't either; however, if a person doesn't believe it he should be able to tell you what its main point is and what it's about and why he doesn't believe.  The Bible is one of those books like Das Kapital by Marx, The Origin of Species by Darwin, and Mein Kampf by Hitler, that people refer to, but have not read or studied--their knowledge is second-hand and unverified.

The Bible is alive and powerful and can radically change a person from the inside out through faith, repentance, and regeneration.  A person is never the same after an encounter in the Word and finds out for oneself that it's for real.  The Bible claims to be able to divide asunder soul and spirit and can discern the thoughts, intents, and attitudes of the heart (cf. Heb. 4:12).  It's the sword of the Spirit (cf. Eph. 6:17) as the offensive weapon of choice for the believer and knowing it gives us the answer to life's issues.  Even Thomas Jefferson said that it makes men better citizens, fathers, and husbands.  It doesn't become the Word of God upon an existential encounter but is the Word of God regardless of your experience with it.  The Bible feeds you, but then makes you hungry!  It is applicable to all of life and life's academic disciplines.  It is God's voice and method of communication to the believer and He promises to speak to us via the Word.

Even a casual observer will notice the uniqueness of Scripture.  It's inspiration from God and propositional truth; it's canonicity or selection as to which books belong--the Church Fathers didn't vote on it, but recognized them as genuine using key checkpoints or criteria as standards; and it's faithful transmission and copying, showing utmost fidelity and integrity to the originals--indeed the evidence shows it has been preserved and not corrupted, as the Muslims claim.

The Bible's very existence is a miracle since it has withstood many attempts at annihilation and suppression.  It's the most loved and probably the most hated book on earth because there is room for little middle ground of attitude.  With over 2,000 predictive prophecies fulfilled, it shows accuracy and not a few lucky guesses. Archeology has confirmed it's historicity with over 25,000 digs without a contradiction!  There is much corroborating evidence in extra-biblical sources to verify key facts of Jesus' life.   Indeed, the stones cry out, as Jesus testified (cf. Luke 19:40)! Thousands of times Scripture directly claims divine authorship as it quotes God, saying: "Thus saith the LORD," or its equivalent.   If it can be verified on so many levels (there are no scientific absurdities either), then why not trust it on the level of spiritual truth and revelation?  It's more than great literature, though some do see it that way, and you don't just read it once and put it aside; it's a lifelong adventure that you never put back on the shelf for storage or show.

It's blind faith not to have credible and rational reasons and facts to support one's faith or to believe for no sound reason.  The skeptic who is just playing mind games or engaging in a power trip has blind faith if he's not willing to reading it with an unbiased, open mind. You don't need all the answers to believe the Bible--all knowledge begins in faith (cf. Prov. 1:7)!  We believe in order to understand according to Augustine.  

The trouble is that many have preconceived notions and opinions and only believe what they want to believe and reject all other facts.  The Bible has withstood centuries of criticism and attack, and no one will come up with some question that hasn't been encountered and answered, or cannot be reconciled after nearly 2,000 years of preaching.  It's a miracle we even have the Bible!  We don't need to be reformed nor informed, but transformed!  Finally, the Bible wasn't written to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives!

   Soli Deo Gloria!

God Is With Us

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"  (Col. 2:9, NKJV).


His name is Jesus (meaning "this Lord is salvation"), but He is "God with us" ("Immanuel") in the flesh or incarnated.  The full nature of God is manifest in Christ (cf. Col. 2:9) and God is personified for us to see, all we need to know is in Him and what we can know.  The whole revelation of God, as He is to be known and worshiped, is in Christ Jesus--to see Him is to see the Father and to accept and worship Him is to do so with the Father. Jesus left us, but not as orphans, the Holy Spirit was given as a Comforter and Paraclete to guide and enlighten us.

We are actually better off with the Holy Spirit within us than when Jesus walked the earth as the God-man among us.  We have both the whole counsel of God and the inward witness of the Spirit to be our inner comfort and witness.  Christianity is about Christ and to remove Him is to disembowel it and neutralize its teachings and reality.  You can remove Muhammad from Islam or Buddha from Buddhism and the religions stay intact, but not so with our faith: it is about Jesus beginning and ending, all else is circumference--every other issue is peripheral.  We could not know what God was like except for the incarnation, and our access to Him would be limited without His intercession and meditating on our behalf. 

We need to know what God is like to know how to live and Jesus is the express image of God with skin on for us.  Of men inspired by God or inhabited by God, there have been many, men called by God and lead by God numerous, men of God and godly men countless, but Jesus stands out unequaled and unsurpassed as the God-man, unlike any of His predecessors and disciples--you simply cannot improve on Him.  He is not a lord nor a god, but the Lord and God personified--the Word become flesh, and the Word is God.

According to Francis Schaeffer, Christianity is about "the God who is there."  Sometimes we may wonder where God is, but He is right here as close as His name, and we might wonder and realize He was there all the time.  Surely, He was there and we knew it not--that is the commentary on some people's spiritual life. For wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there He is!   As the title implies, Immanuel, Christians have the Holy Spirit and God with them wherever they go never forsaking us (cf. Matt. 28:20).

We must endeavor to attempt great things for God and expect even greater blessings in return because we can be assured that God is with us and will guide us all the way.  When God is in something, it will succeed.  There is a story of Saint Theresa, who said she desired to erect a convent, and when asked of her resources, said she had twelve pence.  They told her that even Saint Theresa couldn't do much with only that; she replied that God and Saint Theresa could do anything.  We can see that the only important thing is whether God is in it or not; we don't bring our plans to God for approval, but find His will and do it and He will provide the resources.  If we are led to do something from the Spirit, God will provide.

Jesus became what we are and what He was not, but continued to be what He was--He never gave up His divine nature, but became man as the God-man.  He is not a deified man nor a humanized God, nor a man with divine attributes, nor a God that acts or appears as a man.  He is not a God in human disguise either, but fully man and fully God, perfect man, perfect God--two natures united mysteriously into one nature forever.  He feels our pain because He Himself experienced the worst man could dish out Himself.  Could you identify with a God who knew no pain nor had any first-hand experience as a man in our world?  Not only can we relate to Him, but He identifies with us and is in a position to make intercession for us.  God is with us when we need Him most, and whatever happens, we will not be overwhelmed because of His presence through the Spirit abiding in us.

We must be careful not to limit Him nor put Him in a box:  He was a great teacher; He was a divine Healer; He was a miracle worker; He was a great leader, etc.  You cannot speak of Him in comparative nor superlative terms, such as saying He is Jesus the Great, or even the greatest leader, teacher, model, nor influence man has ever seen or for that matter, it diminishes Him by saying these things, for He cannot be compared but must be contrasted, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in His nature for our benefit so we can know God personally and have a relationship with one that identifies with us on our level and we can resonate with Him, which is mutual.  He feels our pain!  Pronouncing Him in human terminology such as Jesus the Great doesn't do Him justice and no man can be what He was nor step into His shoes and do what He did (a regular man could do what Muhammad did, but no man can do what Christ did!).

Jesus took on the infirmities of man in the weakness of the flesh to identify with us and dwell in our midst.  He always was, is, and will be the Lord of all and couldn't be our Savior, if not God with us!  He emptied Himself of the independent usage of His divine attributes and obeyed the Father's will and didn't act independently on His own--for He could do nothing of Himself.  The wonderful thing is that we can taste and see the Lord is good and find it out for ourselves and experience His presence in the same Spirit that His disciples did, opening our eyes to spiritual truth and showing us the way.  In the final analysis, Jesus will not barter away His nature nor cease being God with us in the flesh!     Soli Deo Gloria!