Many would probably say that the title above is arrogant! However, we do not intend it to be. The Bible has stood the test of time, and despite all it’s critics, is still the most widely distributed religious book in the world! The present generation has been treated to all sorts of wild claims, from those who claim that "many books have been left out of the Bible” to the usual ignorant objections from atheists and unbelievers. Many try to claim that the biblical text has been changed, despite the fact that far more evidence exists confirming the accuracy of its text than Shakespeare, or any of the Greek philosophers. You may not be aware that we possess more than twenty thousand Bible manuscripts that date further back in antiquity than any document which exists today. Some of them are nearly complete, others contain certain books such as the gospels, and some are only fragments. One of the most valuable finds in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1946 A.D. beginning), is a copy of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah that dates at least to the second century before Christ! It is substantially unchanged.
There are literally hundreds of citations from the "church fathers.” These are Christians who lived in the first five hundred years of the Christian era, and it has been stated that nearly every single passage in our New Testament could be reproduced from these quotations. The apostle Peter wrote, "But the word of the Lord abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:25). Men have tried to destroy the Bible ever since it was completed, but have been unable to do so. Today it remains the most published book ever in the world. Every new discovery relating to incidents or places in the Bible has confirmed the historical accuracy of both the Old and New Testament texts. This writer has explicit faith that it will always be so!
Again, through the pen of the apostle Peter, God told us "… that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue…” (2 Peter 1:3, italics mine, ER). The Book we call the Bible has met all these critics and yet still stands as the Word of God! As Peter wrote above, "all things” pertaining to life and godliness are revealed in its pages. The Bible deals with every problem, and every difficulty that humans can face. It gives our very purpose in life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Solomon in his book of wisdom, Ecclesiastes, wrote, "This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, italics mine, ER).
Folks today seem to be searching for religious truth in strange places. While it is true that we can learn about God through His creation, or what some call nature, His will for mankind is revealed by the Bible. The apostle Paul wrote not long before his death the following, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate [complete, ASV], equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASV). God has revealed all religious truth in his Word, the sixty-six books of our Bible!
Ed Rodgers, Muskogee, OK.
