The Bible – Fact or Fallacy

This is perhaps
one of the most controversial of all subjects,
in that many proponents of the scientific fraternity can produce
evidence for their arguments while Biblical scholars can produce
evidence to the contrary, opposing the same issues. Even amongst
Christian thinkers there is major difference between the rational
(you must be able to reason and explain it all scientifically)
and the gullible (believe anything because the Bible alludes to
it.) Both above mentioned positions are extreme, and therefore
open to bigotry or closed-mindedness.

My own position on this comes from a completely different
hypothesis, because I do not follow the traditional paths of
authentication. I do not hold with a large portion of the
Creation science (you must be able to reason and prove
everything) camp. Why? For one simple reason. They take a
scientific theory, form an intellectual scientific conclusion and
then set about to prove it by finding scriptural endorsement
agreeing with their point of view. Thus they become so dogmatic
they refuse to accept that there may be an alternative point of
view. I am not interested in what scientific analysts
theorise.

I remember back in 1965, I was studying via Knox Theological
College in Dunedin, NZ., for the ministry. For those who were
around then, you will remember a Dr Lloyd Geering denouncing the
virgin birth and the ascension of Jesus as myths, along with many
other Biblical doctrines. I was about to do my Old Testament
subjects under his tutorship. Needless to say, that is where my
association with liberal theology ended. The point here is that
many hypothetical, intellectual arguments were used in his
debates, as well as those of his unregenerate apostate
colleagues, especially the debates challenging the conservative
teacher Dr Blakelock, over the validity of the Bible.

Around that same time, I remember one such debate between
so-called intellectuals, who concluded that there had never been
any form of recorded writing in the Sinai Peninsula which Moses
had traversed, and that therefore, proved that writing had not
been developed at that point in history. By this conclusion, they
then put forward the hypothesis that Moses could not have written
the first five books of the Bible. Paradoxically as so often
happens, God divinely intervened with an archeological find
around the same time, which simultaneously blew their
hypothetical theories out of the water and proved beyond doubt,
writing had existed and predated Moses by many centuries. To rub
salt in the wound it was found on the very Sinai Peninsula, in
the very geographical area involved in which these apostates
debated the veracity of their intellectual theories.

At that time as a young man, I decided I would never allow
human intellect to determine or substantiate the validity of the
Word Of God, the Bible. On the contrary, any position I
subsequently would take would be to firstly, accept the Bible as
implicit fact and then any conclusion I or any other theorists
formulate around that must accordingly, align with it. In doing
so, God Himself will make sure, if it is truth, that it will
ultimately be scientifically, intellectually, historically and
most of all, doctrinally correct and provable.

Today’s so called conservative and Pentecostal preachers
have little if any historical understanding, certainly no
archeological acumen, and very little comparative religious
study. Added to this they are seriously lacking in their ability
to debate matters of doctrine and theology. Their capacity to
argue systematic theology, apologetics, and subjects such as
scriptural error in translation leave much to be desired and we
naively wonder why scriptural truth has been denigrated to a
level of irrelevance.

Many do not even preach from the Bible now. Humanistic
interpretation and motivational claptrap has replaced it. I
travelled recently through Malaysia and found that the Bible had
been replaced on many church pulpits by Rick Warren’s
"Purpose Driven Life" from which the related pastors would weekly
read and deliver their sermons. Warren now provides a service
that has made him a wealthy multi-millionaire enabling Pastors
around the world to download all their sermon and teaching
material without having to find it for themselves. George Barna
of the statistical resource "Barna Institute" states in actual
surveys taken in the conservative Western church circles that a
very small percentage of today’s pastors even possess a
biblical worldview.

Two of his surveys taken in recent days reveal alarming trends
which should send shivers up the pale lemon-shaded, depleted
vertebrae defined medically as a spine in these modernistic,
contemporary hype-preaching charlatans of modernism, motivation
and money. One such survey revealed alarmingly that only a tiny
percentage of all preachers today teach, let alone understand, a
biblical world view of society, family, business and monetary
working.

The second such survey revealed even greater cause for
concern. When many individuals were questioned on doctrinal
issues, nearly all agreed a Christian is someone who has to have
a personal encounter with God and become born again. The
questionnaire then proceeded down through a series of subsequent
questions to a final question that asked, "Do you believe that
Jesus Christ, when on earth, lived a sinless life?" Of those
surveyed who stated their belief that to be a Christian, one must
be born again, only a small percentage stated emphatically that
Jesus lived a life on earth without sin. That is appalling. In
other words, the vast majority who believe that the born again
experience is what makes a Christian, believed Jesus to be a
sinner."

DO YOU REALISE THAT IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT JESUS LIVED A SINLESS
LIFE ON EARTH YOUR BASIS FOR REDEMPTION IS INVALID AND YOUR
SALVATION IS NULL AND VOID?

All this is happening in our Churches, because we are not
discipling or emphasizing the absolute truths of scripture any
more.

A point that is noteworthy of mention here is this. While I
was in the USA in 2004, I met many folk whom I know in ministry,
with degrees in religious study and theology, who had read Dan
Brown’s best selling novel "The Da Vinci Code." I was
appalled to find that many had concluded that the story line,
which was so well written, substantiated the fact that Jesus
sired a child to Mary Magdalene which according to Brown and
others is factual. I challenged many of them concerning this and
they responded by saying words like, "What does it matter if
Jesus had a child to Mary Magdalene? It doesn’t change
anything that is totally acceptable."

My shock was impacted by the realization of the readiness of
so-called learned minds to believe a lie. Then I remembered the
apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 10 and 11
saying, "…them that perish; is because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie." Here the scripture makes plain that the problem
was that the people had no solid love of truth therefore they
were deceived and God himself allowed them to believe the lie.
This is exactly what I witnessed in the USA and the same thing is
evident around the globe.

Another survey was taken of Pastor’s perceptions as
opposed to their congregation’s perceptions. Pastors said
they believed that around 80% of their conservative congregations
would without doubt seek Divine approval before making decisions
concerning their lives, business, and families on all levels.
When the people who made up the congregations were surveyed, only
a very small percentage said they would consider involving God in
their decision making. Barna’s conclusion was that very few
Pastors have any sense of where their own congregations are at.
He noted many Pastors are totally out of touch with their
people.

At this juncture, let me return to the title of this article,
"The Bible - Fact or Fallacy?" It is imperative you know what the
Bible teaches and know your subject. Say no more and say no less
than that which it says as fact. Speculate if you must, but do
not preach as fact what is only speculation, and never confuse
the two. Good teaching should present all views and then
systematically eliminate what is unbiblical or doctrinally
unacceptable. Truth will stand or fall on its own merit. It does
not need man to defend it. I know there will be reaction from
some to what I say, but hear me out - Let scripture interpret
scripture.

We must not deviate from what the Word of God, the Bible
states, when it is absolutely defined. That is non-negotiable.
But when the Bible is not emphatic, allowing room for
interpretation, and it cannot be absolutely defined from
Scripture, you must explain the options, (not blinkered one-eyed
bigotry) and then put your position or supposition forward. You
must not take as absolute truth what actually is supposition,
which represents just your personal Biblical interpretation of
that truth. Peter tells us no prophetic utterance is given for
the personal interpretation of any man. Today’s biggest
problem as far as I can see is humanistic twisting of scriptural
truth to fit a preacher’s personal philosophical
persuasion. That is heresy.

Take the argument concerning the length of time accorded to
the Biblical days of creation, Creation scientists state
emphatically that those days were twenty four hour solar days
measured by our frame of time reference used today. Even the
Jewish calendar is different from ours, with twelve months of
thirty days, so whose calendar did Adam use? Even the earth was
regulated then by a different ecological atmospheric system.

The Bible does not state that the six days of creation spanned
a twenty four hour period of measurement. On looking at our
existing measurement of time, we understand the sun and the solar
cycle of earth’s revolution and its seasons both daily and
annually are determined by our sun and stars and our movement
around them. We need to realize that those spheres were not even
in existence when God created Earth.

The sun, the moon and stars were placed in orbit in our solar
system on the fourth day of God’s creative demonstration as
mentioned in Genesis, therefore those spheres did not dictate
time, season or division of light from darkness until the fourth
day of creation (Genesis 1;14 - 19) Note the sun and moon were
created on the 4th day to RULE, meaning to determine, or have
dominion over light which was called day, and darkness called
night, after the fourth day).

When eternity begins the sun moon and stars are no longer even
needed to rule our new worlds and thus will not determine a
measure for our new creation. My summation of what is written
here – with regard to God’s Word, don’t be
naïve, gullible simpletons, and don’t become narrow
minded bigots.