Pastor Niki has begun a new series about the Bible being the actual Word of God. Even though our Christianity does not hinge on whether we believe the Bible to be the inerrent Word of God (it hinges only on our faith in Jesus), it is important for us to examine the reasons we are swayed one way or another. We all have different backgrounds and there are many beliefs within the church about whether the Bible is true in its entirety. Pastor Niki explained that the Bible cannot be proven with empirical evidence to an absolute resolution to be the Word of God; however, it can not be proven to NOT be the Word of God either. Thus to believe it is the Word or God or not takes a step of faith. Pastor Niki’s job is to lead us to the point where we can logically make the jump from reason to faith.
We also need to know why we believe so we can provide logical answers to those who are also questioning the truth of the Bible. Saying “you know that you know that you know” doesn’t help unbelievers the same way reason and fact do. Also, Jesus commanded us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:28-34.) Intellectually understanding why we believe what we do is learning to love God with all our minds, which is something many evangelical Christians leave out in favor of loving God with their heart or soul. It is equally important in order to love God wholly and completely.
If someone were to ask you, “do you believe the Bible to be the Word of God?” What would you say and how would you logically explain your answer?
I was raised in a Christian home and grew up in church so I’ve been taught that “of course, the Bible is truly God’s Word.” I also have the spiritual gift of faith, so even when posed with serious questions (from others or myself) I don’t struggle with wavering from that original belief. However, I have never needed to explain my faith in the Bible with words, so I am positive I could not do so coherently. I am excited to wash away any lingering doubts I may have.
In our discussion group after service on Sunday, we talked a bit about any passages or ideas that hinder us from believing that the Bible is God’s Word, here are a few:
1. It is believed that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, but didn’t he die during it?
2. If Moses wrote Genesis, then it was written long after many of the first events in the bible occurred. Thus it wasn’t exactly a historical account.
3. No one was actually there to witness the creation story, how do we know that’s what really happened?
4. Did God create everything in full adult form? If so then evolution can not exist.
5. Did God create humans from dust into full adult form, then what accounts for the existence of the human remains found in Ethiopia?
6. The Earth is said to be billions of years old and formed throughout those years, but didn’t God create the Earth in 6 days?
7. How were the books of the bible actually chosen to be the final Bible?
8. Did God control the whole Bible making process from who wrote the books, how they were canonized, to how they were translated – each time?
9. Why is there so much disagreement on which books really belong in the Bible?
10. Does each translation represent God’s actual words, including punctuation? Obviously each language doesn’t have the same idioms as Greek and Hebrew, so doesn’t this make it harder for other languages to reach the same understanding?
These are just a few interesting questions that often times lead us to doubt the Bible. I know there are scripted answers out there like, “God actually didn’t mean 7 days as a literal term”. Then how can you tell what God mean’s as literal and what God means as metaphorical? As I said in a post a few weeks ago, the “Christian world” sometimes doesn’t get to an actual answer, it usually ends up being something like, “God is a being without space and time and if you think like God then these small idiosyncrasies in the big scheme of things don’t hinder the overall message.” I’m tired of hearing the jargon – I want to know why and be able to prove that to someone. I’m excited to learn how.
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