The Bible
Our society in North America has largely been trained to distrust authority in any form, an attitude we see reflected almost every day in the news. Whether it be politicians, the press, lawyers, religious leaders, or business tycoons, all seem to figure in our headlines, and normally to their detriment. Thus it is not surprising that when we refer to the Bible as an authority which governs our lives as well as our hope, many, especially the young, express skepticism.
The bedrock of our beliefs is trust in the message contained in the Bible. Not only the message, but the whole of the Bible, must be regarded as trustworthy, as infallible, for who can say, if some part is in error, which parts are true? In our Christadelphian community, disputes concerning this called forth a resolution passed by the Birmingham Ecclesia in 1885 which said:
“That this Ecclesia believes that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which now exist in all languages, were originally produced, in all parts of them, by inspiration of God, in this sense, namely, that the Holy Spirit moved and guided the writers either to use their own words conveying information of which they had no knowledge, or to record their own knowledge in words which it superintended; or to adopt and incorporate from outside sources whatever it might approve or require to be recorded for its own purposes — the writers being in no case left to their own unaided efforts, and the result being that their writing was free from error.”1
This is, I believe, quite a good description of the way our community understands the inspiration of the Bible. We believe in verbal inspiration, but not in the sense the Bible was dictated to the various writers of the 66 books of the Bible. (Of course, some passages record what is said to be the words of God, but we cannot know for certain whether these are actual “words”, or ideas which the writers transcribed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.)
Contradictions
Some will still insist that there are errors or contradictions in the Bible: but a careful study will show almost all such can be ascribed to either a misunderstanding of the text, or an apparent error in the many generations in copying of the text. There might, indeed, be a few errors or contradictions we do not understand, but they are so few we can rest in the comfort that all relevant knowledge is not yet revealed to humankind. Indeed, over the years discoveries in archeology, ancient history, and science have helped to illuminate and explain many formerly apparent contradictions.
It must also be pointed out that it is not necessary to come up with what is necessarily a “true” answer to any of the claimed contradictions. We cannot prove contradictions do not exist: Instead, all that is required of us is to come up with plausible, reasonable, or possible explanations, so that what is purported to be a contradiction is in fact not such in reality. Whether or not our explanation is the “true” one is not all that relevant in such contexts.
Outline of the issue
I must acknowledge that this issue was put together almost entirely by the efforts of Bre. Randy Davenport and Ted Sleeper, who encouraged a large number of other brothers to contribute their expertise and time. I thank all involved, and pray God will bless their combined efforts in addressing this vital topic of inspiration.
This issue is designed to introduce some evidence for the authority of the Bible, as a whole, not just some selected parts. It presents a few snapshots of such areas as:
- The Old and New Testament claims for the way God has inspired the writers to put forth His words.
- The way Divine Inspiration is, and has been, regarded by Christadelphians.
- Several proofs, from prophecy to creation, showing the ways history and the world around us offers proof of the veracity of the Bible.
- A brief consideration of some evidence to be found in archeology.
- A sample of the way to handle apparent contradictions in the Bible.
- How we got our Bible: the account of the way the books of both the Old and New Testament were recognized as inspired.
- And finally, why we can put our trust in the Bible as the true word of God.
Conclusion
It is hoped the Special Issue will let us look at the Bible we have, in whatever translation we use, in its true light: as an invaluable guide given to us by God, to guide us in the way we should lead our life. After all, the gift of eternal life we seek and hope for is indeed a treasure for which we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14).
The message one can take from this whole series of articles is that, as has been said more than once, “I want to make one thing clear at the outset. I am not here to defend the Bible. You don’t need to defend a lion in a fair fight. Let it loose and it is well able to look after itself.” There might be obscurities: there might be passages we find hard to understand or appreciate: but the overwhelming message of Truth rings clear and loud. No one who has read the Bible with an open mind can fail to discern the inherent simple message: it is the only true authority we have in this day and age.
So our challenge is to accept the truth in this inspired word of God, to study it for ourselves, and to draw from it both hope for our future and guidance for our lives. Let us pray this challenge is something we will all accept, both individually and as a community. We can get distracted from this goal by the challenges of our life, both individually and ecclesially. Let is all strive to shake off these distractions, and concentrate on these inspired words.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One