Why accept the authority of the Bible?
November 9, 2003 | 12:00am
"I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book." - Revelation 22:18, 19, The message
Every week men and women around the world gather to study a book much of which was written more than two thousand years ago–the Bible! A portion of this book from the Psalms was the first text ever to see printer’s ink as the result of Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type. Traditionally, the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely read book. Why do so many accept the authority of this book?
The case for the authority of Scripture is like two columns that meet in heaven, which I would label internal evidence, or what the Bible says about itself, and external evidence, or the argument for Scripture outside of what the Bible says.
First, I accept the authority of this Book because of the correlation of biblical prophecy and secular history. Also the abundance of manuscript evidences convinces me of the purity of the text. More than 4,400 ancient biblical manuscripts exist today, forty of which are more than one thousand years old.
Reason three is the findings of archaeology. While not an exact science, archaeology is nonetheless a valid source of truth. The spade of the archaeologist uncovers the ruins of ancient civilizations and rolls back the centuries of time, confirming the existence of biblical figures such as David, Caiaphas the high priest who condemned Jesus, Pilate the Roman ruler who condemned Jesus to His death, and other figures who played major roles in the drama of the Book.
The fourth reason I accept the authority of this Book is the uncanny way in which science today has confirmed statements from Scripture which were completely out of synch with accepted theories of the writer’s day. For instance, Acts 7:22 tells us that Moses was schooled in the wisdom of the Egyptians. The learned Egyptians of Moses’ day believed the world came from an egg; yet Moses wrote, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." Who taught Moses this truth? Not the wise men of his day, for sure.
The final reason that I accept this Book without reservation is that it changes the peoples’ lives for the better. From C.S. Lewis, the Oxford professor who was an agnostic, to the condemned murderer who wrote me from prison telling how he was ready to take his life until he found a Bible and began reading it, the story goes on and on.
Like medicine that lies in a cabinet or drawer, unopened and unadministered, the Bible can’t impact your life until you read it and open your heart to its message. It’s time to let the Book touch your heart. - Resource Reading: 2 Peter 1
Every week men and women around the world gather to study a book much of which was written more than two thousand years ago–the Bible! A portion of this book from the Psalms was the first text ever to see printer’s ink as the result of Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type. Traditionally, the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely read book. Why do so many accept the authority of this book?
The case for the authority of Scripture is like two columns that meet in heaven, which I would label internal evidence, or what the Bible says about itself, and external evidence, or the argument for Scripture outside of what the Bible says.
First, I accept the authority of this Book because of the correlation of biblical prophecy and secular history. Also the abundance of manuscript evidences convinces me of the purity of the text. More than 4,400 ancient biblical manuscripts exist today, forty of which are more than one thousand years old.
Reason three is the findings of archaeology. While not an exact science, archaeology is nonetheless a valid source of truth. The spade of the archaeologist uncovers the ruins of ancient civilizations and rolls back the centuries of time, confirming the existence of biblical figures such as David, Caiaphas the high priest who condemned Jesus, Pilate the Roman ruler who condemned Jesus to His death, and other figures who played major roles in the drama of the Book.
The fourth reason I accept the authority of this Book is the uncanny way in which science today has confirmed statements from Scripture which were completely out of synch with accepted theories of the writer’s day. For instance, Acts 7:22 tells us that Moses was schooled in the wisdom of the Egyptians. The learned Egyptians of Moses’ day believed the world came from an egg; yet Moses wrote, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." Who taught Moses this truth? Not the wise men of his day, for sure.
The final reason that I accept this Book without reservation is that it changes the peoples’ lives for the better. From C.S. Lewis, the Oxford professor who was an agnostic, to the condemned murderer who wrote me from prison telling how he was ready to take his life until he found a Bible and began reading it, the story goes on and on.
Like medicine that lies in a cabinet or drawer, unopened and unadministered, the Bible can’t impact your life until you read it and open your heart to its message. It’s time to let the Book touch your heart. - Resource Reading: 2 Peter 1
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