Foundations of Faith
THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES (II)
Have you ever wondered about those long lists of names found so many times in the Bible–names of people and names of places? They seem awfully boring, don’t they? But yet they are extremely important in helping to establish the authenticity of the Bible. We shall come back to this in a moment.
Last month we presented several lines of evidence to support the claim that the Bible is the Word of God. These included:(1) the Bible’s own claim to be inspired by God; (2) the realistic view of man given by the Bible; (3) the consistency of the Bible’s teachings from Genesis to Revelation; (4) the acknowledgment by the Lord Jesus of the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures; and (5) the fulfillment in New Testament times of a large number of Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. To this last, had there been space, we might have added many additional Old Testament prophecies concerning cities and nations such as Tyre, Sidon, Nineveh, Babylon, and others that have been fulfilled precisely. And we certainly would have mentioned the prophecies concerning the dispersion of the Jewish people among the nations (Deut. 28:25; Hos. 9:17), their persecution (Jer. 24:9) and their restoration to their own land (Isa. 11; Jer. 31; Zech. 8; etc.), the latter having begun with the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. That brings us to the sixth point which will occupy most of this issue.
6. It is common to hear in college classrooms, “The Bible is just one of many religious writings. Every culture has its deities and its creation and flood myths.” Not so! In many, many ways the Bible is unique, different from all other religious writings.
One thing that particularly sets the Bible apart from most other “holy books” is the fact that the Bible is a book of history–a book of real people with real names who lived in real geographical places at specific points of time in the history of mankind. In the Bible we can follow the history of man from our earliest ancestors, Adam and Eve, on down to Noah (Gen. 5), to Abraham (Gen. 11), to Judah (Gen. 12-38), to David (Ruth 4), to Jehoiachin (2 Chronicles), to Christ (Matt. 1)–a span of about 4,000 years. (See Assignment 7)
The Bible likewise contains many geographical details, thus permitting verification through archaeological excavations (more about this in the next issue). Thus, for example, we find a complete itinerary of the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness (Num. 33), and detailed information concerning the boundaries of the portions of land divided among the 12 tribes in the land of Canaan (Num. 34; Josh. 13-21). (See Assignment 8)
In addition to details of persons’ names and place names in the Bible, we often find details of time. The timing of different events in the children of Israel’s wilderness journey is given in Exod. 12:3; 19:1; 40:17; Num. 9:3; 10:11; Deut. 1:3; and elsewhere. And a very instructive time line may be constructed from the numbers of years given in Gen. 5; 9:28,29; and 11:10-26. (See Assignment 9)
The Bible is different from the literature of the various polytheistic (“worshiping many gods”) religions which flourished in Old Testament times in places like Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia. The gods of these nations were the forces of nature (for example, the sun god, the moon god, etc.), personalized, and given names. The religious literature of these nations was not primarily concerned with history or with the life of man on the earth, but with the life of the gods, which was the life of nature. When polytheists thought about history, they often considered it a series of cycles, dependent upon nature’s rhythms (for example, seasons, years, and periods between floods and other calamities). In contrast, the Bible is definitely historical literature and the God of the Bible reveals Himself through historical events such as the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, restoration after the Babylonian captivity, and the most important events in all history–the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gods of the polytheistic religions are a part or personification of nature. But the God of the Bible is the Creator of nature and all that exists and is totally distinct from all that He has created. Equally important, the God of the Bible is holy and righteous, and requires holiness and righteousness of His people. These attributes and requirements did not characterize the pagan gods, whose alleged behavior was sometimes worse than that of their followers.
There is a definite uniqueness about Israelite prophecy that is recognized even by secular (or non-religious) scholars, for the Old Testament prophets often spoke out against the religous and political establishments of Israel, whereas in other countries in Old Testament times the prophet was an employee of the king or religious cult. (Balaam and King Ahab’s prophets are examples of this kind of prophet–Num. 22-24; 1 Ki. 18.) The true prophets of Jehovah told the king and people of Israel that Jehovah was going to judge them for their sin, as well as the surrounding nations. Personal suffering resulting from their delivery of God’s message adds authenticity to the prophets’ “Thus saith the Lord.” Being a prophet brought suffering, but God’s hand was upon them and they had to speak. As Jeremiah said, “I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me…. But if I say, `I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,’ then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it” (Jer. 20:7-9 NASB).
No doubt the most important contrast between the Bible and other religious writings is that the Bible contains the good news of a salvation already accomplished by God through the sacrificial death of His Son. Salvation in all other such writings is accomplished through man’s self-effort.
To illustrate further the sharp contrasts with the Bible, brief descriptions of three of the most common of other religious writings or “holy books” are given in the following article.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF OTHER “HOLY BOOKS”
Hinduism is a confusing mixture of pantheism (that is, everything that exists is part of “God”), polytheism, and various philosophies. But the Veda, the most ancient body of religious literature, is recognized by almost all Hindus as an absolute authority revealing fundamental and undeniable truth.
The Veda was composed between 1500 and 500 B.C. It is considered by Hindus to be eternal itself, not even revealed by a god or gods. The gods promoted the inspiration of gifted men who were able to “see” this eternal truth directly without use of normal sense perception and to express it in a human language, Sanskrit. The earlier books of the Veda are similar to the polytheistic literature mentioned in the previous article; the later ones devote less attention to stories of the gods and more to philosophical speculation on the nature of reality. The Veda does not claim to be the revelation of a supreme, personal God (for, according to the Hindu religion, the Ultimate and Supreme is in itself impersonal). Neither is the Veda considered by Hindus to be an absolute necessity for one’s spiritual well-being as the Bible is by true Christians.
The Buddha Gautama (563-483 B.C.) (“Buddha” is a title) did not write out his teachings but taught them orally to his disciples. His disciples also transmitted them orally, but in the centuries following his death, these teachings were written down so that now there are Buddhist scriptures which contain the teachings of the Buddha. Gautama did not claim that his teachings had been given to him by a god or gods (in Buddhism the existence of various gods is acknowledged, but they have little importance in the basic Buddhist teaching), but he gained the knowledge of them through disciplined, determined meditation combined with personal virtue.
In contrast to the sacred Hindu and Buddhist writings, the Bible makes the claim for itself to have been inspired and given by the one true, living, and personal God.
According to Muslim tradition, the Koran (Arabic for “reading” or “recitation”) was revealed to Muhammad (570-632 A.D.) over a period of 20 years. The Koran states that the angel Gabriel was sent by God to reveal the Koran to Muhammad. While he was receiving these revelations, Muhammad appeared to be in some kind of trance. When he returned to normal consciousness, he recited the words to those present and on some occasions had them written down. Many people memorized the words of the Koran. After Muhammad’s death, Muslim authorities gathered all the written sources of the Koran available, and in consultation with those who had memorized Muhammad’s recitations, prepared an authoritative text.
The Koran generally appears as the speech of God, who speaks in the first person singular or plural. Many passages emphasize that the Koran is a direct revelation from God. In numerous passages the Koran states that God previously revealed the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) and the New Testament Gospels, and that the Koran confirms these previous Scriptures. However this raises a big problem, namely, the obvious differences and even contradictions between the Koran and the Bible (for example, the teaching of the Koran that Jesus did not die but was carried alive to heaven by God while someone else with the appearance of Jesus was crucified at Calvary). The Muslim view is that the Bible has become corrupted in the process of being handed down over the centuries and that the Koran is the true word of God.
Is there any way of refuting this charge made against the Bible? Indeed, yes! First, there are thousands of manuscripts of both the Old and New Testament dating from the first century B.C. (Old Testament) and 2nd century A.D. (New Testament) to the days of Muhammad in the 7th century. No substantial differences have been found among the manuscripts–thus no evidence of corruption of the Scriptures–over this span of time. In fact, by means of manuscript analyses and historical study, Biblical scholars have affirmed that for at least 98 percent of the text of the New Testament, we have today exactly the words which the original authors wrote. Thus, the Muslim position is obviously untenable.
All three of the examples of “holy books” just presented contain much in the way of moral teachings. However, none of them manifest the many and varied marks of divine inspiration that are found in the Bible.
Running the Race
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING THE BIBLE (II)
Last month we introduced this topic by indicating that in order effectively to study the Bible and enter into the truth that it contains, the reader must be “born again,” trusting Christ as his/her personal Saviour and Lord. (See Assignment 10) We shall now proceed under the assumption that the reader is truly saved.
2. The most complete and logical methods of Bible study, pursued in the most diligent manner, are all worthless apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
3. Our study of the Bible must be accompanied with much prayer and not depending upon our own wisdom. We must beware of the tendency to have our own thoughts, and rather seek to have a mind open to the thoughts of God. We must try not to use the Scriptures to confirm our preconceived notions, but rather to learn the mind and will of God.
4. Set as a top priority of life the daily, regular reading of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, repeatedly and throughout life. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of having the mind and heart thoroughly saturated with the knowledge of Scripture from beginning to end. If you have never done this before, we recommend that you begin with the New Testament and then go back to the Old. If only one chapter a day can be read, the entire Scriptures will have been covered in the course of three years.
5. On days in which a little more time is available, it is useful occasionally to try rapid survey reading. This is the practice of reading an entire book through at a sitting. For instance, the Gospel of Mark can be read as we would an article in a magazine, and in as short a time. In this way we get a good general idea of the contents of the book which might be missed through reading one chapter at a time.
Assignment 7: Matthew 1 and Luke 3 both give genealogies of Christ, the first through His foster father Joseph, and the second through His mother Mary. In what ways are these genealogies alike? In what ways are they different?
Assignment 8: Read Josh. 19:1,9 and 21:1-42. How does the information given in these verses tie in with the curse which Jacob put upon his sons Simeon and Levi in Gen. 49:5-7?
Assignment 9: Have you ever wondered about Noah’s father and grandfather–whether they perished in the flood? Let’s test your mathematical skills. Using the numbers of years given in Gen. 5:25-31 and 7:6, see if you can figure out whether Noah’s father, Lamech, and grandfather, Methuselah, were still alive when the flood covered the earth? The name Methuselah essentially means “when he is dead it shall be sent.” How does this meaning tie in with your calculations?
Assignment 10: Suppose you were to die tonight and be taken to the gate of heaven, and suppose the Lord Jesus standing at the entrance were to ask you, “Why should I let you in here?” What answer would you give?