Some Introductory Thoughts

 Remember -- It isn't wrong to be skeptical about the Bible.

No one has to accept it on "blind" faith. The Bible CAN stand up to honest questions. The God who said, "Come now, and let us reason together" (Isa.1:18) invites us to involve our hearts and minds to determine whether or not the Bible is indeed His inspired Word.

However, in order to understand how these questions will be answered, below are the established premises:

1. We must come to the Bible knowing there is a God.

a. Though the Bible no where argues extensively for the existence of God, it does tell us how we can know He exists.

b. Most pointedly, the Bible tells us that we can know God exists because of what we see in creation.

i. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. (Psalms 19:1-4 NKJV)

ii. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20 NKJV)

c. Though many seek to deny the effectiveness of the teleological argument for the existence of God (the understanding that there must be a purposeful intelligence that has created this world), it still remains unanswered by the atheist or agnostic.

2. We must come to the Bible believing that it is the place where God has spoken to man, perfectly and completely.

 a. We believe: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV)

i. We can study God, but we can't put Him under a microscope. We can only learn from Him what He chooses to reveal to us. What He tells us is profitable and useful for us.

b. We believe that the Bible must be understood literally - that is, as straightforward and true according to its literary context.

i. The Bible is much more than a book; it is in fact a library of books, and books written in different literary forms. Some portions of the Bible give a historical account; others are poetic; some are prophetic.  

ii. We must understand the Bible literally according to its literary context; for example, when David says in Psalm 6:6: All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears, he is speaking in a poetic literary form. We understand that he doesn't literally mean that he cried so much that he flooded his room and set his bed afloat.

iii. But, when the Bible speaks in a historical narrative, we understand it as literal history - not make-believe fables and myths meant only to tell a spiritual story.

iv. If we don't approach the Bible this way, then how will we approach it? Then it is all up for the most subjective interpretations possible. Though the teachings of Scripture may have infinite applications, they only have one true interpretation.

v. "The only proper way to interpret the Bible is not to 'interpret' it at all. That is, we accept the fact that it was meant to say exactly what it says." (Morris)  With respect given to the original languages.

c. We believe that the Bible is not a book of science, yet where it touches science, it speaks the truth. After all, if the Bible is false in regard to science or other things that we can prove, how can we trust its reliability in regard to things that we cannot prove?

3. We must come to the Bible knowing that the copies we have in our hands are reliable (though not perfect) duplicates of the exact writings that God perfectly inspired.

a. We can know this about the Old Testament by seeing incredible care and reliability of the ancient Jewish scribes, demonstrated by the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries.

b. We can know this about the New Testament by knowing that because of earlier manuscripts and a greater number of ancient manuscripts, the New Testament is by far the most reliable and exhaustively cross-checked ancient document we possess - really, no more than one one-thousandth of the text is in any question.

With the above stated, ……..

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