Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Another Reader Question: Isn't the Bible fallible, written by mortal men?

 Reader question: 
"You had quoted bible in your comment. Everybody knows bible was written after Christ's death, invariably by fallible, mortal men. Then how can you trust Bible? How can we be sure that everything written in bible has actually come from God? Many such religious texts have been written, before and after bible, some with much more philosophical wisdom than bible."


 Answer: 
I would invite you to read two books that might help you understand the supernatural nature of the Bible:

(1) A Case For Faith - by Lee Strobel
(2) Evidence That Demands a Verdict - by Josh McDowell

These books are a good place to start if you really want to understand why Christians state emphatically, over and over, that the Bible is inerrant and written infallibly by God.  Ponder this: if in fact there is a God supernatural and powerful enough to create things as complex as zebras and eyeballs and ecosystems and blue whales, with that kind of power, couldn't this God have found a way to create a Book, using human agents inspired by his Holy Spirt, that revealed who He was and what He requires of us?  I would submit that He did, and a careful, comparative study between the Bible and the "holy writings" of other religious traditions reveals this.

As my friend Dwayna Litz (Lightingtheway.blogspot.com) writes on this topic:

"As for the reliability of the Bible, there is no other book (66 books, actually, but all with the same message) written over a span of 1500 years, by more than 40 different author  - from kings to fishermen - who have written about a "plan" for mankind which demeans man and offers a salvation not based on works or any merit of man. What man would make up such a thing to make himself so powerless with no capability of getting to heaven, or even a relationship with God, by means of any work of his own?

No other book has as many early manuscripts which match; consider the Dead Sea Scrolls. These recently discovered scrolls prove the Bible has stayed intact with the same message as in the earliest manuscripts.

Then, there is the resurrection of Jesus. Roman guards were assigned to his tomb, yet He still left it and appeared to over 500 witnesses. If those witnesses knew they were lying about such a story, why did they die martyrs' deaths for a lie? They would have been crazy.

Last, but not least, Jesus had to have been a lunatic and a liar if He was not God in the flesh. He could have never been "good" if He had claimed to be the only Savior by fraud.  Interestingly, He fulfilled over 300 prophecies from the Old Testament to the New Testament. No other "holy" book can compare, and no other so-called "god" can compare to the testimony and deity of Jesus.

But, the most profound reason of all that people don't believe in Jesus is because they have a love for their own sin and are in rebellion against a holy God. Man wants to remain autonomous, but he cannot. He can't escape his guilty conscience, no matter how he tries."

Let me close, dear Reader, by telling you that, despite this wretched condition in which mankind finds itself, today can be the day of salvation for you, if you will repent and place your faith in Jesus's sacrifice on your behalf.  But, if you do not, you will perish on the day of Judgment. You say that it's not fair for so many to hear this message and reject it.  Well, you yourself have now clearly heard the gospel message and the way of salvation.  What will you do with this knowledge? How will you respond?  I urge you to humble yourself and bend the knee before a high and holy God.  He is mighty to save.