...Bibliology: Is the Bible credible? By Matt Massey Professor Ted Marvin Theology 3305 – Lectures in Systematic theology Outline I. Definition of Bibliology II. Importance of the Bible III. Reasons to trust the Bible A. The “A Priori Argument” B. The revelation of Jesus Christ C. Fulfilled prophecy of Scripture D. The suffering of the apostles E. The power of the message of the Bible F. The inexhaustible infinity of revelation G. Unity of the Bible H. Transcultural Appeal I. The honesty of the Scriptures J. The superiority and influence of the Bible K. The test of personal experience and the inward witness of the Spirit L. The indestructibility of the Bible M. History and archaeology gives credibility to the Bible N. The completeness and timelessness of the Bible O. The claims of the Scriptures themselves IV. Closing Bibliology is simply “the study of the Bible.” For Christians, the Bible is the most sacred of books and on it hinges the entire religion of Christianity. Were the Bible to ever collapse, Christianity would have no foundation on which to rest and it too would follow suit shortly thereafter. For the skeptic, the Bible is a book in which good ideas, morality, fables, myths, and oftentimes blatant lies are contained. It is the express purpose of this paper to examine the evidences which give rise to the credibility of the Biblical text. There are a great many different aspects of...
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...believe that The Bible is one of the world’s most influential pieces of literature to have ever been written in history. Many beloved American heroes such as Abraham Lincoln called it “the best gift God has given to man.” And Patrick Henry said, “It is worth all other books which were ever printed.” The Bible's impact on the history of civilization as a whole has been massive. As the text-book of two of the great religions of the world (Judaism and Christianity), it has unquestionably been a source of morality and enlightenment to millions throughout the centuries it has been relevant. It has been translated into nearly 1,500 different languages, and more recently it has been written in machine-readable format...
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...Historically, the bible is considered to be the world’s best seller and most distributed book. Its teaching is widely accepted and often considered the source for all morality. However, it also was written 3,500 years ago. Therefore, today, in 2018, our society is arranged completely different than when Jesus Christ walked the Earth. Although the bible can’t always be applied to contemporary social issues, it still can be a guideline for most walks of life. For example, in John Donahue’s book, Seek Justice that You May Live, he explains how in Economic Justice for All, The U.S. bishops “recognize the difficulty of bringing the bible to bear on complex economic and social issues,” (6). However, in this document, the bishops highlight many themes from the Bible that should be applied to...
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...learning to stop biting my nails. I’ve been biting my nails for a very long time and I haven’t really had any infections or anything of that sort. My grandmother has been telling to stop biting my nails ever since I was about seven years old and still haven’t stopped. Soon, as she sees me bite my nails she says, “I’ve been telling you stop and just won’t stop doing it”. Now that I’m older I felt it was time for change and why not stop the bad habit I been doing for ten plus years. I researched about nail biting and seen there’s more harm than good from doing it. To accomplish my goal of stopping I must stay positive and mentally focused on the task at hand. My secondary...
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...The Christian Church has been around for over six thousand years. The followers of Christ have, and always will be persecuted. From the beheadings, to the ruthless and contrived fights that the Roman forced the Christians to participate in to now, not much has changed for them. Christians are still victimized both physically and emotionally. Christianity is said to be the most persecuted faith throughout the world. The cause of this harassment towards them is because of their rapid growth (due to their missionaries), and their strong belief system which often goes against foreign countries cultures and the common desires of people. Christianity’s beliefs are based off the Bible. They use the Bible for reference as to what is ethical and moral...
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...The year is 1590; it’s a beautiful sunny day in France. You are walking below the Alps; the air is fresh and crisp – taking your breath away with its coldness. You wonder how you are going to climb this mountain, how you are going to survive here, how you are going to live for you are a Waldensian. You are running for your life, running because you have certain religious beliefs that contradict the Catholic Church and they are trying to hunt you down to torture and kill you. You are frightened and apprehensive, not knowing what the future holds, and yet there is a steady calmness. The Bible verse Psalm 121:1 comes to your mind which says, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” You know God will be with you and...
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...Board 1 Questions related to the authority of God’s Word are prevalent in our society. If the Bible is God’s Word, then we should read it with care and apply its precepts to our lives. If it is simply a book devised by man, then we are not accountable for appropriating the precepts that it teaches. After reading the article “Arguments that the Bible is the Word of God” by Elmer Towns and watching the Module/Week 2 presentation, respond to the following prompt: Of the 10 arguments that the Bible is the Word of God presented by Dr. Towns, which argument do you find the most convincing? Explain why you think that it is a strong argument. Include at least 2 quotes from the article to support your points. The argument in which I found the most convincing from this week’s reading and presentation from Dr. Towns was, the unity of the message from different human sources. It is almost an unheard of task that there would be such unity in a book with a minimum 36 authors, over 1600 years, from such diverse occupations and regions. Elmer Towns states, “The Bible was written over 55 generations, yet there remains a singular unity. Only God who transcends all time could be its source.” Towns also wrote, "There is a unity of literary emphasis, even though there are numerous authors, so that the reader gets the impression that there was one mind that guided the preparation of the entire Bible." There are many different time periods, circumstances, situations, geographical, occupational...
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...Why is there so much confusion over when the rapture happens? Most Christian’s don’t know this, but in Mathew chapter 24, JESUS predicts the end times for us in exact chronological order!!! All we have to do is read the chapter slowly, and carefully and the LORD will tell us exactly when he will come back in the Eastern sky and rapture his Church body!!! Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus Foretells the Future 1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2 But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” (This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD!) 3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (Ok Reader! JESUS will give us the signs of what will happen first before his return) 4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. (Like Reverend Sun Myong Moon) - Leader of one of the largest churches in the world headquartered out of South Korea - He says JESUS failed in his mission, and he now calls himself the messiah!) 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go...
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...The last book in the New Testament is the book of Revelation. It is a probably one of the most discussed and debated books of the entire Bible. The book of Revelation is one of the books of the Bible that most everyone seems to have an opinion about, but yet it is a book that is often misunderstood. This is mostly due to misinterpreted because it contains symbols that must be interpreted, along with different meanings of words. Many scholars of the Bible have studied the book of Revelation and still will have different opinions on what this book represents. We often find ourselves getting very frustrated when trying to figure out what this book is trying to tell us. One thing that most can agree on is that we know for sure is that this book is the final chapter in God’s plan for the human race. We can spend all day trying to figure out what these different things mean but the bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what we think and what we believe is going to happen. God is in control and God’s plan will be fulfilled regardless of what anybody thinks or believes might or might not happen. So how do we go about interpreting and understanding the book of Revelation? Dr. Cornelius Venema, president and professor of doctoral studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and associate pastor of Redeemer United Reformed church in Dryer, Indiana published in his article in the Table Talk magazine, dated January 1, 2012. In this article he gives us a five examples...
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...that Adam and Eve “must not eat from every tree of the garden.” Next, Satan got Eve to think about herself and how she could supposedly improve her lot in life, becoming “like God.” Eventually, he got her to focus on the tree and its fruit rather than on her relationship with the One who had given her everything. (Read Genesis 3:6.) Sadly, by eating of the fruit, Eve showed that Jehovah was not the most important Person in her life. 2 The apostle Paul was inspired to say this about Abel “Through it he, although he died, yet speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4) Through what does Abel speak? Through faith, Abel was the first human ever to develop that sterling quality. So powerfully did he demonstrate faith that his example is alive, a vibrant standard that we can apply today if we learn from his faith and seed to imitate it, then the record of Abel is speaking to us in a very real and effective way. Imagine Abel seeing those cherubs when he was a boy. In their materialized form, their appearance surely bespoke immense power. And that “sword.” ever flaming, ever turning, inspired awe as well, as Abel grew up, did he ever find that those cherubs got bored and left their post? No. Day and night, year after year, decade after decade, those intelligent, powerful creatures stayed right in that spot. Avel thus learned that Jehovah God had righteous, steadfast servants. In those cherubs, Abel saw a kind of loyalty and obedience to Jehovah that he could not find in his own family. Surely that angelic...
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...Atheism vs. Catholicism For some reason or another Atheists feel they need to beat you over the head with their view of creation, laws, the Bible, God, the Constitution and more. They consistently tell Christians that they are wrong. Atheists, agnostics and other nonbelievers will always seem to quote science, scientists, NASA and others. Using scientific theory to disprove the Bible is like using gasoline to put out a fire, The reverse of that would be using the Bible to prove the existence of UFO’s, it cannot be done. The Bible is “the” source of explanatory information about all of the things that the Atheists attempt to debunk with scientific theory. Atheists seem to have a mental block about the reality of the real truth about who is responsible for even their own existence. They are more than willing to put their trust in Charles Darwin who wrote a book 150 years ago titled “On the Origin of Species” and is now commonly known as the Theory of Evolution. Atheists have no problem putting their full trust in the fact that we all descended from a common ancestor, which is what Darwin’s book was really about. Even though there is no proof to this date that Darwin was correct 150 years ago, when labs and science were in their infancy; Atheists believe he was right but they just cannot believe the Bible. The Bible is filled with witnesses to the events describe in it. Additionally, it is filled with witnesses to prophecy; both to prophecy as it was being fulfilled...
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...accomplished that in only six days. Genesis 1 explains the creation and the interpretation is so utterly clear and one writer states “Thus, any interpretation that goes beyond a clear plain meaning of the text is considered to compromise Biblical authority and capitulate to evolutionary theories”. One look at the Young Earth View is said to be formed from the Modern English Bible. Jon W Greene also writes that “Two Christian apologists state this problem well: “When the ‘young earth’ creationist insists that the biblical evidence indicates an earth only six to ten thousand years old, all communication bridges to the secular science community break down. The communication gap widens and such reactionary creationist views are labeled as ‘folk science.’ The scriptures and the gospel are consequently dismissed as meaningless.” And, “Many non-Christians are driven away from the God of the Bible by the young-earth claims which are, frankly, ridiculous to most people who love science. It is a shame that people who love science, who would like to know the One who created the universe, reject, out of hand the Christian God, because they see Christianity as so unscientific. Old - Earth View The scripture shows only six literal days used to create earth and at the hands of God; which is found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 5. The English Bible based the Masoretic findings 1656 years passed from the creation of the flood. The Jewish calendar provides similar dates from the 2nd century which is...
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...what we are, why not show them? Show them through action. Actions still speak louder than words. I do not care if you are a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew, a follower of the many Pagan paths; or any of the countless other faiths, traditions, paths, or religions that are spread throughout this World. We are all one. During the years of the historical Jesus' life, there are eight or nine years that his whereabouts are not accounted for. These are referred to as the 'lost' years. It was after returning that he truly began to teach his wisdom. Many scholars believe he was in India studying Buddhism during these 'lost' years. Who was Jesus? The Indians say He was a great yogi, the occultists and Theosophists say He was a great initiate of the arcane science, while Spiritualists regard Him as a great medium or a very high guide. I know who many say he was. Why can they not all be right? I do feel that if he was a real person, Jesus was a great man. His teachings are full of truth. It is some of the people that think they are following his teachings, that I sometimes have problems with. These people are not truly representative of the entire Christian path though. Just as there is good in everyone, there is also a tendency to - well, not so good. Jesus taught love, not hatred. Jesus taught tolerance, he treated all as equals. What I do with people is show them what I am. Let them see for themselves. Try to get them to learn for themselves. Let them know what I really...
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...For years and years people all over the world have tried to predict the end of the world. There are multiple dates every year that are possible winners, some more popular than others. This world will come to an end, but of that day no man can predict. Of the many apocalypse predictions, a few stick out more than others. One being the Mayan Apocalypse of 2012, or December 21, 2012. The name gives off the impression that the Mayans were the people to predict the world ending on this day, but it was not actually them. In fact, the Mayan never actually predicted an end to the world. The Mayan Apocalypse was simply a misunderstanding between the Mayan and the rest of the world. The Mayans believed that this world was not the first world created,...
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...Therefore, my only belief is that of faith and my faith is in God and him alone. The bible is a history book of the universe. It tells us how the earth came to be and how God has a person and plan for everything in the world he created. However, the bible is much more than a history book. It is a written inspiration of God. Since God is the one that created the Earth, then he is the only one that knows how old the earth really is, therefore, instead of listening to human( evolutionist) who is imperfect and makes many mistakes, I put my faith in God and his word and take the creationist view. Although its been said that the bible isn’t a science book, it is a good thing because all the science books that I have read are based on human knowledge and ideas. These ideas have been changed over and over again because people discover new evidence and realize that they have been wrong before. That is why a new science or history book has to be written again. For example, in old history books and in the days of Columbus people thought the world was flat and people where afraid of falling off the earth. It wasn’t until an explorer traveled around the world to prove it was round. (Siegel, 2011) However, if they would have turned to the bible, Isaiah 40:22 states “circle of the Earth” proving that the Earth was round. It could have saved a whole lot of time and money. Looking at the bible, it never changes or has been proven wrong. It doesn’t need to because God created it...
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