Hi folks. If I may be allowed to interject.
Quite a long time ago, I had to come to grips with some gnawing questions concerning the Bible, and what it says. As a reasonably intelligent person ( I know to come in out of the rain...unless I'm fishin'!), and one who likes to find answers, I found myself beginning to question the pervasive idea among the intelligentsia and academics concerning the ephemeral nature of the Bible. According to post-modern thought, and "higher criticism", it was dangerous to be too literal with what was written, and we "really need to examine the intended spiritual applications of these non-historical events..."
For awhile, it was a good exercise in mental gymnastics....bend this, fracture that, re-combine the essence of that thought and this thought, etc.
Unfortunately, I began to see that not only was this kind of exercise unfruitful in finding answers, it propagates the exact mindset that scripture is intended to combat.
All humanity desires, even if they don't recognize it, a measure of stability...an anchor point of some kind that is capable of standing up to, and overcoming any kind of storm, or problem, that may come against it. In other words, man wants to know.....TRUTH. That's Truth with a capital T, Truth that is unchanging, immutable, and impeccable.
Does such Truth exist? Or is truth something that is subject to change or re-interpretation according to circumstance, or how modern or intelligent or learned we become?
If truth is subject to change, then it cannot possibly meet any reasonable definition of what truth is. This kind of truth could better be described as situational, in flux, constantly changing according to the whims or dictates of anyone and everyone according to whats going on.....and that does not seem to be any truth at all.
Truth must be absolute, and if not, it needs to be called something else. When I'm 95, I NEED to be able to KNOW that 2+3=5, EXACTLY as it did when I learned of it at the age of 5.
As it applies to God, and to His Word, lets examine a couple of things. Either God is absolute, or He cannot be God. Anything less than absolute would render God not worthy of being called God. Anything less than absolute perfection would then imply less than perfection, and therefore not worthy of being considered God....unless, of course, your concept of God is that He's the same as your next door neighbor. Would you call your neighbor God?
God gives us a few clues to go by in the Bible, in terms of determining how absolute He might be.
Num 23:19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Well, He tells us here that He is not like us, and because of that, He doesn't have to (or will) lie. He leaves that up to us imperfect men to do. He also says that He is not one of our kids, who is required to turn away from childish activity, or horse-play, or mistake making. He also says that when He says a thing, He does it. Period.
OK, so God is not a liar; when He speaks, what He speaks comes to pass, and He guarantees it.
Mal 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Ahhhh,....one step further. Not only does He not lie, and what He says happens, He tells us that He DOES NOT change from day to day, or circumstance to circumstance. No situational ethics with Him. Black and white, no gray, and it doesn't matter what era, eon, year, century, epoch or dispensation we're in. He is the same through them all.
Hbr 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Same thing again, right? No change.....immutable.....solid as a rock.....
So we begin to see a pattern, and that pattern is that what God speaks is, to all intents and purposes, unchanging, and unchangeable.
Next we see that over the years, He did speak a few things, and those things were written down.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
It's important to note that the words "given by inspiration" is, in the Greek, theopneustos. From theo, meaning God, and neustos, for breathing, we then have "God breathed." Another way of saying that God spoke the words.
2Pe 1:20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.
Here Peter makes it known in no uncertain terms that selected (by God) holy men spoke (or wrote) AS they were moved by God through the Holy Spirit, and spoke or wrote the things that God was "breathing out,".....in other words, they were an instrument speaking on behalf of God. Please not that in vs. 20, the words "private interpretation" are "idios epilusis," and should best be rendered as "personal unloosening". These men did not speak of or by themselves.
Finally, Jesus said:
Jhn 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Summed up all together, it seems that what we have is direction that what God has said (prophecy->scripture) is truth, with a capital T....and that Truth is immutable...not subject to change.
Every reasonable and thinking person alive who approaches the Word of God can recognize that over the millennia, copyists and scribes have introduced some errors in words and translations....but the existence of those errors are considered very minor, actually being less than 1/5 of 1% of ALL the words in the Bible.
It is also being shown more and more that the scoffers and nay-sayers of the "higher criticism" group who like to claim that the Bible is not historically accurate are being proven wrong on almost a daily basis.
We can make a choice. We can choose to believe that what God has said, and caused to be written down IS His word, and therefore inviolable, and unchanging. If we do, we can then "take it to the bank!", or hang our hat on it. If we don't, then we are left with the unenviable task of trying to figure out what it "really" means, and to apply our OWN interpretation....and that then becomes an entirely subjective approach, dependent upon our own whims, desires, leanings, emotions and faults....and those might change tomorrow!
I like what Jesus said about John the Baptist, when He asked the people "what did you come out for to see? a reed shaken in the wind?"
I like being able to have something to hold on to, that won't change, that gives me stability, and an anchor. Without it, then my life is just like the house on shifting sand...................
Guess I'm a fundy.
Author