The Bible:
A Relic or Reliable Revelation?
(This is the ninth part of The Bible: A Relic or Reliable Revelation? I've broken the whole talk up into smaller sections, the rest of which can be found through the links on the Bible Section page. For online reading I recommend reading the shorter sections successively. To view the document with the whole talk in it Click Here. To view the rest of the parts of the talk Click Here. It does not contain numbered endnotes but you can find a list of references used at the end.)
Why is history so important in Christianity?
Today, I have argued that the Bible is an accurate picture of what really happened to real people in history. But why is history so important in Christianity? Why is it so important that the facts in the Bible really happened? The answer is, that is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions and their sacred books. The other religions are based on rituals, superstitions, philosophical principles, the teachings of men who never claimed to know the truth, myths and legends. By contrast, Christianity is based on real historical events involving real people. It is not how much faith we have in something that is important but the integrity of the object we are placing our faith on.
Can you picture the elderly apostle John remembering as if it was yesterday what it was like to be with the Jesus he vividly remembers? He wrote this in 1 John 1:1-5a:
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. 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. 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. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you.
When we read the NT and we see how Jesus worked in the lives of real people in another time and place we realize He can work in our lives as well. We see how Jesus overcame sin for all people, times and places. Christianity has solutions for real life back then, right now and tomorrow. But the scriptures of all other religions leave us in confusion, doubt, fear and despair.
How the sacred books are to be used is different as well. The Hindu scriptures are supposed to be interpreted by gurus, the Buddhist scriptures by priests and the Islamic scriptures by clerics. Go to the library sometime, sit down and try to read the Hindu Bagavad Gita and try to understand it for yourself. But the Bible was written in a way that is clear and straightforward so we can understand it on our own. John, in his biography of Jesus wrote plainly,
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The authors speak to us personally, individually, directly.
Finally, the Bible leaves us with a solution and a hope. Not only does the Bible fairly and accurately define our state of being completely lost and without hope of eternal life, it records the solution that Jesus provides. Here is a sample you've heard countless times before, but as I read it, think about the clarity of it:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
That is based on an accurate account of what really happened not myth or superstition. And that's why I put my faith in Jesus Christ for my salvation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe we have answered the very important questions we asked at the beginning: (1) Can and does the Bible accurately transmit the records and content of God's revelations to us. (2) Can and does the Bible accurately communicate what God is like, what His absolute truth is, what His absolute standards of morality are and how we are to live in light of them? The answer is a resounding "YES!"
But in the future, you will hear or read about some problem with the Bible that will cause you to panic and think, "Oh no, I'm a fool to believe this!" This still happens to me occasionally. But remember there's another side to the issue and competent scholars have addressed it, and, if you want, you can find the solution that restores faith.
This is the end of the last section of the full-length article The Bible: A Relic or Reliable Revelation.
For a list of references used please Click Here.
Copyright 2005. Gary C. Burger and New Media Ministries. This article may be reproduced and distributed freely as long as it is done so in its entirety. If quoted it must be properly cited as a reference.
