Do We Still Need the Bible Today? Part 2 by Samuel H Johnson

Do We Still Need the Bible Today? Part 2  

 Our teaching today is part 2 of the answer this question DO WE STILL NEED THE BIBLE TODAY? let me repeat that question DO WE STILL NEED THE BIBLE TODAY?  

Before I begin let me do a quick review of Part 1.

I am looking at the seminal explanation of why you can trust the Bible which was first done by the great Bible Apologist and Scholar Dr. Voddie Baucham, who is currently the Dean of the Seminary at the African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia in Southern Africa. He stated that - The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other witnesses, who reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies, and claim that their writings are of divine and not human in origin.

In Part 1, I demonstrated that the Bible was a reliable historical document which was a collection of the writings of more that 40 authors. I explained why the idea that the Bible has errors to be false. I showed that the Bible had more manuscripts, earlier manuscripts and more reliable manuscripts than any ancient books of in the libraries of universities and institutions of higher learning. I also explained that one reason people don’t want the Bible to be true is because they don’t want to be held accountable to the Bible’s moral and ethical standards.

Today we will look at the three remaining points.

• 1.    The Bible was written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other witnesses
• 2.    The writers reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies.
• 3.    The writers claim that their writings are of divine and not human in origin.

Let us begin with point # 1 – The Bible was written by eyewitness during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. Now there is no doubt that eyewitness testimony is best and most reliable evidence of the truth for any ancient book of the first century. It is the best evidence to confirm what really happened. The great majority of the writers of the New Testament were eyewitnesses.

Let me demonstrate why eyewitnesses are so vital to the authenticity of any historical writing. Suppose a college student was doing research about the life of US President Abraham Lincoln. The student would look at the writings of current historians who wrote about President Lincoln. The student would also look at the writings of those who lived during that time, observed and worked with Mr Lincoln. Who would likely to be the most credible writers? Of course – those who lived at the time President Lincoln was alive. The same rule must be applied for the writers of the Bible.

Let us look at the writings of some of the eyewitnesses who wrote about the Bible. Of course, the most credible authors would be the disciples of Jesus.

Look at Peter, the most well-known of the twelve apostles of Jesus. The Apostle Peter was one of the leading disciples of Jesus and this is what he wrote in 2 Peter 1:16 - 18 “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty”.

Peter is saying that he did not make up stories and fables, but he was an eyewitness among the twelve. He was there with Jesus throughout Christ’s three and a half years ministry. He saw the healings and miracles. He then further writes in the next two verses:

17 For He (that’s Jesus) received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

He is testifying of a specific event which took place when Jesus and his inner circle of disciples (Peter, James and John) were on the Mount of Transfiguration. This event was also documented by another disciple, Matthew.

Matthew also documented the arrest and trial of Jesus under Pontius Pilate, the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. These were actual events which were corroborated by non-biblical, historical sources and archaeology.

Let’s turn to another eyewitness, Apostle John. Now look what the Apostle John writes in his eyewitness testimony. In I John 1:1-4 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life"  John is saying the they heard Jesus, they saw Him with his eyes, touched Him and proclaimed what all he observed and experienced This is bold, this is clear.

He then writes in the next three verses; read carefully "2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our [a] joy complete."

-       This is eyewitness testimony; he emphasizes seeing, touching, fellow-shipping with Jesus. Then he also states that it gives him joy to report his testimony. These men are not shy to report their actual experiences.

So far, we have identified the eyewitness testimonies of Peter, Matthew and John, three disciples of Jesus. Let us look at the other writers of the four gospels, Mark and Luke. These two men were closely associated with the apostles. Mark traveled extensively with the Apostle Paul and was very close to the Apostle Peter. He was an eyewitness to the events of the life of Jesus.

Luke was special, he was a medical doctor and historian. He was detailed, orderly and comprehensive in writings of his gospel and the book of Acts. Hear how Dr. Luke introduces his gospel in the first chapter of Luke:

"Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us.  It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed"

This is awesome testimony from Luke as he makes several points: 

• Luke is writing to an official named Theophilus, providing his reasons for writing his gospel 
• Many people were writing about the events surrounding Jesus and Luke needed to do this also. But he was relying on the original eyewitnesses.
• He wrote an orderly report after first investigating and researching everything
• His goal was to give the reader a clear understanding of what took place

Luke also wrote the Book of Acts which is a documented narrative of the activities of the early church. He traveled extensively with the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys. In the book “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler, they noted that Luke “correctly recorded the names of local politicians, local slang, local weather patterns, local topography, local business practices; and even the right depth of the water a quarter mile of the island of Malta, where their ship was about to run aground. In fact, Frank Turek and Norman Geisler wrote that Luke documented over 84 such details in the last half of the book of Acts. Classical scholar and archaeologist William M. Ramsey was skeptical of Luke’s writing, but he wrote “I began with a mind unfavorable to it [Acts] … but more recently I found myself often brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities and society of Ancient Minor. It was gradually borne in upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth”. Luke was indeed a master historian"

I gave you the writers of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as eyewitnesses who were authors in the Bible. Some of you may ask - why these writers did not all write the identical things about Jesus. Think about this – if you were to ask four authors to write about the Presidency of Barack Obama you would not get the identical document. The point is that each writer may have a different focus or goal. Independent sources usually tell the same story with differing details depending upon their emphasis and goals. This is exactly the point with the four gospels.

Matthew’s goal was to demonstrate to the Jewish audience that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.  Matthew traced the genealogy back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. Mark’s goal was to show Jesus as the servant who came to serve, and his gospel is brief and straight to the point. Luke, the doctor and historian, wrote a detailed gospel in a chronological order. Luke’s genealogy goes all the way back to Adam and Eve which demonstrated his goal of an orderly gospel. John, on the other hand, wanted to show that Jesus was God in the flesh. So, you find Jesus making statements like these in the Gospel of John:

Before Abraham was, I am – John 8:58

I and my Father are one – John 10:30

I am the resurrection and the life – John 11:25

I am the way, the truth and the life – John 14:6

So, it is a normal expectation that the gospels were four perspectives on the same story, the life of Jesus Christ. In addition, all four gospels mentioned women as eyewitnesses naming Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joana and of course Mary the mother of Jesus

Now there is another eyewitness whose writings are vital to this discussion, the only and only Apostle Paul. Hear what Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:3-8

"3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time"

Paul made several points 

1    - He identified the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- He identified the early eyewitnesses, the twelve apostles
- He identified 500 eyewitnesses of Christ activities after His resurrection of which the overwhelming majority were alive when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians. 
- He also said he was an eyewitness who met Jesus supernaturally on the road to Damascus

Now skeptics may question the truthfulness or bias of the eyewitnesses. How do we know that these writers did not have something to gain personally? I will look at a couple of reasons (there are at least 10 reasons of explanation). First, remember that there were hundreds of eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. If the writers were not truthful, they could be easily exposed as charlatans by some of those eyewitnesses. Also, by following Jesus, writing and proclaiming His messages, all these Bible writers were risking everything – their lives, their livelihood. They abandoned their centuries old Jewish faith to follow Jesus, only to be hunted and persecuted. Almost all of them were martyred (hanged, murdered, crucified, stoned to death). No sane person would risk life and limb to write and promote a false faith knowing that they are signing their death warrant. The New Testament writers must have seen strong evidence for the gospel to turn from Judaism to the gospel of Christ.

There is also the principle historians call “the principle of embarrassment” It states that – generally authors do not write or embellish facts that are a personal embarrassment or make themselves look bad or foolish. The New Testament is full of embarrassing, negative, compromising facts about the writers. The Gospels are full of this – the disciples flee and left Jesus, Peter denied Him three times, they failed many tests, were fearful, showed little faith, lied and were cowards. Many reports showed them as uncaring, selfish cowards. They even wrote embarrassing things about their leader Jesus, who they were willing to give up everything to follow, and even willing to sacrifice their lives for the promotion of the message of Christ. The men ran away and hide when Jesus was arrested and crucified. It was the women were first to visit Jesus tomb. Writers tend to leave out such embarrassing facts. The writers of the Bible did write about all these unflattering moments.

So, I just addressed that the Bible was written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other witnesses. Next, we said that the Bible "Reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies"

There are many supernatural events in the new Testament that confirmed specific prophecies made by the Old Testament prophets. The prophesied birth of Jesus is one of the greatest supernatural event that fulfilled Old Testament prophesies. The first prophecy of Jesus birth can be found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, specifically Genesis chapter 3:15 “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel”   That seed that will strike the serpent Satan’s head is Jesus.

The virgin birth of Jesus was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah over 700 years before the birth of Christ. Hear what the scripture says in Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel”

-       That was a supernatural prophesy that was fulfilled when Mary gave birth to Jesus recorded in gospels of Mathew and Luke. Emmanuel means God with us

The prophet Isaiah prophesied the coming birth of Jesus through the line Israel’s king David.  Isaiah chapter 9: 6-7 "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

-       A part of this prophesy was fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus to die for the sins of all humans to give them a chance for salvation and redemption from hell. The second part of this prophesy will be fulfilled with the second coming of Christ to rule the earth, beginning with the 1,000-year rule described in the Book of Revelation 20

 The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was prophesied in Isaiah 53, over 700 years before the event occurred. There is hardly any Bible scholar who would dare dispute that Isaiah 53 speaks specifically of Jesus' death on the cross.

There is a fascinating prophesy in the Book of Psalms Chapter 22, written by David, which described some of the events occurring during the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross. We can read the confirmation of this in the book of Matthew chapter 27 which was written over 1,000 years after the prophecy.

Prophecy	Fulfillment
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring?	Matt 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Psalms 22: 8 [Old Testament, 1,000 years earlier] “He trusted in the Lord, let him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”	Matt 27:39-40 [New Testament, 1.000 years later] And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Matt 27:42 He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God
Psalms 22:18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.	Matt 27: 35 “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots

 There are several other passages in Psalms that you can read on your own. There is no question that the prophecy of Psalms 22 was fulfilled over 1,000 years later in the Gospel writings

Now we know that Christians celebrate Pentecost as the marker for the beginning of the New Testament church. This was documented in the Book of Acts chapter 2 by Luke when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus and they spoke in languages (tongues) that they did not learn or know. The result was that Jews who were visiting Jerusalem from many foreign nations could understand the apostles in their own language. For example, it would be like if I was invited to Portugal to speak at a conference. I am speaking in English and I have a translator who translates what I say into Portuguese. If suddenly I started speaking in Portuguese, a language I did not learn or know. This basically is what happened to the apostles in Jerusalem that day. This supernatural event was prophesied by the Old Testament prophet Joel in Chapter 2 which the Apostle Peter confirmed.

 There is one other supernatural event that I want to mention. This was a prophesy by the Old Testament prophet Daniel. In Daniel 2, he prophesied about three future world empires before they came into existence – the Medeo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire (founded by Alexander the Great) and the Roman Empire.

The final point is that the authors of the Bible claim that their writings are of divine and not human in origin

The authors of the Bible who I demonstrated were eyewitnesses stated clearly that they were inspired by God to write. Very few of them were men of higher learning – most were farmers, fishermen, warriors, former killers and shepherds. The Apostle Paul, kings David and Solomon were exceptions. The authors of the Bible were vessels used by God to write the scriptures with the message of the restoration of humankind back to God so that His Kingdom can be reestablished on earth

Several of the Apostles clearly stated that they were moved or inspired by God. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

Again, Paul confirms he did not get his revelation from human origin. He wrote in

Galatians 1:11 "For I make known to you, brothers, the gospel that has been proclaimed by me, that it is not ⌊of human origin⌋. 12 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ"

The Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:21 (NKJV) 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit

When you read many of the Books of the Old Testament prophets you find this common phrase “And the Word of the Lord came to me saying….”

The prophets are all announcing that it is God’s words they are writing. Therefore, all Christians must be very careful when they claim “The Lord told me to tell you this or that…”

-       God is too much God for people to take this lightly claiming conversations with God. God is so awesome that you would literally faint if God really spoke to you as often as some people claim. Just be careful.

Well I believe that have demonstrated that the Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies. They claim that their writings were of divine and not human origin.

So, do we still need the Bible today? The answer is a definite Yes, the Bible is very relevant and vital in our society today.

I want to thank all of you for reading. Please share this information with others, your family and friends. We  provide foundational principles so we can to see advancement in our lives, the lives of our young people and in our communities. 

Remember that you always need to Hear and Do the Right Thing. Knowledge is powerful, but the wisdom of God is the principal thing. Until next time, Peace 

Do We Still Need the Bible Today? by Samuel H Johnson

My task is to answer this question DO WE STILL NEED THE BIBLE TODAY? This is a

fascinating topic. We are living in a generation and an age where the idea that the Bible is irrelevant, continues to gain momentum. The attack on the reliability and truth of the Bible is promoted in every area of life in our society – in schools, colleges and universities, in the media, on television, in politics, business, social and community organizations of every kind. One of the most radical thing that happened to America is the increased bias against the biblical viewpoint in schools. And people are convinced that this is good because of the separation of church and state. Children are taught evolution, that man came from apes, and that science disproves the Bible. Many people accept these ideas as truth without any question. There are even Christians who believe in evolution, an idea which opposes the Bible truth of creation. If creation is false, then how can anybody believe anything else in the Bible?  

Let us first examine this prevailing strategy that the Bible is irrelevant in the public square of ideas, particularly in schools and universities. This methodology is not an accident. If the children are taught that the Bible is not relevant today, by the time they become the adults of the society, a ban of some parts of the Bible will be easier to make the law of the land.  You may think that I am crazy but there are organizations proposing laws to make some sections of the Bible hate speech, mainly because it condemns certain lifestyles and practices. This trend to make some parts of the Bible hate speech is gaining momentum in many parts of the Western world including America. 

There is one organization I want to warn people about – the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC is based in Montgomery, in the state of Alabama, USA It was founded on great principles as an offshoot of the civil rights era. It is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation, dedicated to "fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society”. Overall it does a fantastic job in exposing hate groups, especially the Klu Klu Klan (KKK) and other Nazi and white nationalists groups. However, it has labeled several non-profit Christian, socially conservative organizations hate groups because of their stand on the definition of marriage and other moral issues based Bible principles. Now the SPLC lumps these Christian conservative groups in with the Ku Klux Klan and other Neo-Nazi based organizations as hate groups. Yet the Southern Poverty Law Center did not label the Catholic Church, a hate group even though the Catholic Church has the same views as those conservative groups on those moral questions. In August 2017, the Washington Post reported that a federal lawsuit was filed by the Dr James Kennedy Ministries of Fort Lauderdale, FL against the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. SPLC tracks and publicly names organizations it considers hate groups. The list included Dr James Kennedy Ministries, also known as Coral Ridge Ministries Media Inc. for its stand against LGBT practices.

I believe that we should be for the competition of ideas instead of trying to ban or stop an idea by labeling an organization a hate group. Share your ideas on moral issues and let people decide. Give people a choice and that is why I am going to show why you can believe that the Bible is relevant today. It is the responsibility

of the parents and the church to teach Bible truths and equip the children for life. Our children need a proper biblical foundation to compete in the arena of ideas about the purpose of life, the Bible and its relevance in our society and the eternal life of mankind.

There is a fundamental reason why the world wants to eliminate the Bible from public life. According to the Bible every person is born with a sin nature and naturally wants to disobey any moral law or at least reduce or eliminate any restrictions. Some even believe that any moral restriction is an attack of their freedom of expression. However, many do not realize that this is a subjective outlook because my freedom of expression could be completely opposed to your idea of freedom of expression. So, who sets the standards? Is it the church? Is it the rich and powerful? Is it the political elite or the consensus of the regular people? This is a fundamental purpose of the law, to set an objective standard for the society.

What most of us fail to understand or remember is that the foundations of our laws in America were the Bible and English Common Law. And what was the root of English Common Law? The Bible of course. So, the Bible is at the root of all our laws. Yet in our society in 2019 our educational, political and civil systems are bombarded with calls to remove the Bible from everything. It is like uprooting your foundation. How do you uproot and overturn your foundation without any consequences? And where do you think it will eventually lead? Obviously chaos and eventually "every man for himself." The book of Judges in the Bible gives us many examples of what happens in society when everyone thinks that their personal rights and viewpoint is the sole measuring yardstick. Yes, you guessed it – chaos in society. The famous sentence in the book of Judges is – "And everyone did what was right in his own eyes". This breeds selfishness and pride. This outlook brings division and social disruption in our society. We see this scenario playing out every day in our politics in 2019. When will we learn?

As I have been saying, most people want to live as they feel without any moral standards or restrictions and without any accountability. Every individual believes that their personal moral standard is best. Their motto is - whatever feels good do it or just do you. However, for Christians, the Bible provides an objective standard outside of human reasoning, human intellect or human bias.

Unfortunately, this continuous attack on the Bible and its relevance is affecting Christians in that too many of us are not able to effectively explain why we believe the Bible to others as we should. We must be able to explain what we believe and why we believe what we believe in a winning manner. We find it easier to distribute Christian tracts and share bible verses on social media than defending the foundations of our belief. If I were to ask most Christians, why they believe the Bible I think I know how many of us Christians will respond. Two of the top five answers most likely answers will be

1.    I believe the Bible because that is the way I was brought up

2.    I believe the Bible because I tried it and it works for me

While these answers are good and reasonable, they do not justify nor confirm that the Bible is true, relevant today or reliable. What am I saying? They way we were brought up or our experience does not confirm the authority of the Bible. What am I saying? While our testimony of the way we grew up or how our belief provides the foundation for how we live, this cannot prove the authority of the Bible. The authority of the Bible must be independent of how we feel, independent of our experiences or independent of how we were raised. Now remember Christians are about sharing the gospel with unbelievers to win them to Christ.

Reason 1: I believe the Bible because that is the way I was brought up.

What about people who were brought up to believe another book? another philosophy or another religion? They are justified in their belief and their religious book has just as much authority as the Bible. In addition, you know that some of the things you were taught by your parents and guardians turned out not to be correct or true. So, the authority of the Bible cannot be based on the way you were brought up because your parents and guardians will make errors.

Reason 2: I believe the Bible because I tried it and it works in my life

Now what about the person who tried the Wicca religion? Or voodoo? Or a palm reader? Or obeah? And it works for them. Why should they listen to your Bible?

What do you say if someone asks - How to do you know the Bible is true or accurate? The point is that the Bible must be independent of how you feel or your experience. I know that truth can be hard on Christians, but we must be forthright and strategic about how we explain what we believe and why we believe the Bible. The souls of non-believers are at stake.

We live in a modern world where young people have access to a lot of information and they question everything. We must be equipped to show the reliability and truth of the Bible.

During my research I came across the writings of Dr. Voddie Baucham currently the Dean of the Seminary at African Christian University (ACU) in Lusaka, Zambia. I believe that his rendition of Why Christians Can Choose to Believe the Bible is one of the best methods we can use to share the Bible and Christ with non-believers.  He wrote:

The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other witnesses, who reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies, and claim that their writings are of divine and not human in origin.

Let me repeat that for you. The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other witnesses, who reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies, and claim that their writings are of divine and not human in origin 

I am going to go through this definition step by step to help us build up our ability to defend our faith in the Bible.

Let me assure you that every Christian can understand this, can do this, can build their confidence when sharing the gospel of Christ.

The apostle Peter wrote the following in I Peter 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

This verse is saying that it is important to know what you believe and why you believe it, so you can give clear, simple and effective reasons for your faith, so you can win others to Christ. All Christians must be ready to give a reasonable defense of their faith without an argument but in a calm, peaceful manner.

Generally, people have the idea that anyone who believes the Bible is narrow-minded, "coo coo", even weird. Some would even ask - How could take that old book literally? Even when archaeology proves the truth of the Bible events to be accurate, many people would not accept that proof. Their response generally is to ignore the proof and bring up another question. Obviously, such people are not interested in truth, they just want to prove the Bible wrong or irrelevant in today’s society. We are not here to prove the Bible just to show why you can believe the Bible. Personally, I believe that the Bible is the law and constitution of the Kingdom of God and the Bible is the highest authority

#1. The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents

First, the Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents. We are saying that it is reliable, it is a collection and it is historical.  All these three points are important because this demonstrates why the Bible is different from all other religious and ancient books.

The Bible was written on three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe. It was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and some Aramaic.  It contains 66 different books written by over 40 authors from many different walks of life – kings, shepherds, reformed killers, warriors, tax collectors, fishermen, historians and lawyers. These are 40 authentic authors who heard from God and inspired by the Holy Spirit. It's not one person who claims to hear from God and wants everyone else to believe him. The time span between the time the authors wrote the Bible was over 1,500 years. Imagine the time between when the first book was written, and the last book was over 1,500 years yet all the parts fit together into one book with one message – the restoration of the kingdom of God which Adam lost due to disobedience in the garden of Eden. Now that’s a collection. Today you can hardly get four eye-witnesses in a courtroom to give the same testimony about an incident. Imagine 1,500 years with consistency and no contradiction! That is the true definition of a collection.

The Bible is different from other ancient religious or secular books. It is not one author who says he heard from God and so people should follow him. The difference between the Bible and other holy books, is most holy books have one author who states he received a message from a god, an angel or nature. The Bible with 40 authors with the same message over 1,500 years is reliable. Compared to the Bible with 40 authors within 1,500 years, other ancient books are not as reliable.

The Bible is filled with names, dates, places and events. There are over 25,000 archaeological digs relating to the subject matters reported in the Bible. None has contradicted the Bible, and most have affirmed the scriptures. No other ancient books comes close. 

Many times, you see front page news about some archaeologist who claim that he/she found an artifact that proves the Bible untrue. We always read these claims on the front page of newspapers and magazines or breaking news on television. However, when further investigation proves their claims to be false, it is rarely reported on the front pages. It is usually hidden in some obscure page. Like I said before, people are constantly trying to find errors in the Bible but when they are given the truth their response is typically to look for another error. They never say, "You know maybe I was wrong about that claim". The typical response is But what about this or what about that.  The truth is people are not interested in the truth of the Bible, they are interested in justifying their own preconceived ideas about the Bible.

False Claims #1 There was error in translation

The Bible is not like a rumor – one person tells another who tells another so by the time we get to the 8th person, the original information is lost.  The Bible is sourced from the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic manuscripts which can be tested. All copies and translations are from the same source, compared and verified. Look at this chart which provides a typical demonstration of how the books of the Bible were copied

This generic example is about the Apostle Paul who wrote the book of Romans.  In ancient times skilled copiers called scribes copied the original manuscripts of the writer. There were usually 8 to 12 scribes who copied the book. Then there would be a comparison between the copies and the original. If one scribe made an error, all the copies were destroyed, and the scribes would repeat the process until all the copies were accurate. This is how the integrity and reliability of the Bible was preserved. Archaeological artifacts bear this out.

False Claims #2 Men wrote the Bible

We can compare the source manuscripts of the Bible and some of the ancient books found in colleges, universities and institutions of higher learning. The ancient writings of Aristotle and Socrates, the writings of Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars and the Homer’s classic Greek poem, the Iliad, are recognized as some of the pinnacle writings of the ancient world and these writings are central to the foundations of Western civilization and thought. We will compare the Bible to these writings.

We have documentation for the New Testament as early as AD 50 to 120 years of the writing of the original manuscripts. The New Testament has over 6,000 manuscripts.  Aristotle's poetry has about 12 manuscripts with earliest manuscripts written about 1,000 years after they were written. Julius Caesar Gallic Wars has less than 12 manuscripts and are about 1,000 years after the originals. Homer’s Iliad has about 640 manuscripts, the earliest being about 2,150 years after the original. There are zero, yes it's not a mistake, zero manuscripts about Socrates and Alexander the Great, yet no one doubts that the authenticity of existence of them as real people!

 Let me show you a chart which will demonstrate what I just wrote:

Here is a comparison of source manuscripts of the bible and other ancient books. The New Testament has over 6,000 manuscripts authenticated today which many scholars can corroborate, Aristotle 12 manuscripts, Julius Caesar 12 manuscripts, Homer’s Iliad 640 manuscripts  and Socrates 0, (yes 0).The comparison is explosive. 6,000 verses 640, 6,000 vs 12. This is laughable yet many professors in universities still claim the Bible is out dated but the teach about the reliability of Julius Caesar, the ancient Greek philosophers and even Alexander the Great. This is educational hijacking on the highest order and poor scholarship. The Bible has more manuscripts, earlier manuscripts and more reliable manuscripts than all other ancient books in our colleges, universities and institutions of higher learning. It is a no contest.

If the Bible is not considered trustworthy then there is no ancient document or book in the world today in any institution of higher learning that is trustworthy.

This is Part 1 in answering the question Do we still need the Bible today? We demonstrated that the Bible is a reliable historical book and more reliable and more accurate than all the ancient books in the colleges and universities in Western countries. I hope that the truths I shared will give you additional confidence in explaining why you can choose to believe the Bible and it is relevance today. The next time in Part 2, I will look at the three other truths about the Bible. 

The Bible was written by eyewitnesses, during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. 
The writers reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies. The writers claim that their writings are of Divine and not human in origin

Please share this information with others, your family and friends. We want to see improvement in our lives, the lives of our young people and in our communities. You can reach us with your comments, your ideas and your suggestions by sending an email to hadtrt@gmail.com . We would like to hear from you.

And remember that you always need to Hear and Do The Right Thing. Knowledge is powerful, but the wisdom of God is the principal thing.

African Church Father and the Trinity by Samuel H Johnson

 Athanasian Creed Synopsis

Athanasius of Alexandria was one of the African Church Fathers who lived at the 

time of Roman emperor Constantine. He included a treatise of the Trinity in his Athanasian Creed. This Creed is one of the best explanation of the Holy Trinity. It exposes two false doctrines about the Trinity. 

The first is Arianism - the belief that Jesus is not God but a created being and not coeternal with the Father. 

The second is Sabellianism or Modalism.  They believe in transition and not separate persons of the Godhead. So the Father became the Son who became the Holy Spirit. The tip-off for false doctrine is when  they say "The Father in creation, the Son in redemption and the Holy Spirit in sanctification” In these last days, Christians must be able to defend the Bible and expose false christs.

Here is a synopsis of the Creed: (Please read more than once)

"Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the global faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the global faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. 

The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. 

"The Father is God, The Son is God, The Holy Spirit is God; God is the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit; The Father is not the Son, The Son is not the Father, The Father is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Father, The Son is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Son.

That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord"

Personally this definition has helped me tremendously in understanding the Trinity, which cannot be understood by human reasoning. The central issue is Jesus where critics want to make Him just a prophet, a good person or a great teacher. Their main problem is that Jesus is God. So beware of false teachers, especially those who want to minimize Jesus. As Jesus said on many occasions, "I and the Father are one"

* Image source - ntcanon.org