In the long-ago biblical ages, there were occasions when God spoke personally to men (Gen. 3:9; 12:1ff; cf. Heb. 1:1). That method of communication is not operative today. Eventually, the Lord had his will committed to written documents (collectively known a the Bible). These literary narratives can be investigated and verified, thus establishing their claims of divine origin. There is a sense in which written revelation transcends miraculous communication (see 1 Cor. 13:9-12).
There are three ... more
When one opens the New Testament, he is introduced to four narratives which are concerned with the activity and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. These records are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Why are there four accounts that cover so much of the same material? Are the records harmonious or do they conflict?
When Jesus was crucified, a superscription was placed above his head proclaiming, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” It was written in three tongues—Hebrew, La... more
Some years ago there was a movie that chronicled the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The title of the production was, “Tora, Tora, Tora.” “Tora” is a Japanese term meaning “tiger.” The expression was a code signal back to Tokyo, signifying that the stab-in-the-back mission was complete. That wordplay is not an inappropriate title for this article, which addresses certain hostile attacks currently being perpetrated upon the first five books o... more
Q.
Critics have claimed that the Bible contains all kinds of factual errors. Is the Bible trustworthy when it speaks of historical matters?
A.
The Bible contains two kinds of information. Some of it can be checked; some of it cannot. For example, it is not possible to “check” scientifically the accuracy of Genesis 1:1—“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” While the affirmation is not in any way inconsistent with available scientific data, at t... more
Horace (65-8 B.C.), a Latin lyric poet, wrote: “Sometimes even the noble Homer nods” (Ars Poetica, 1.359). Homer was the blind Greek poet of the eighth century B.C., so well known for his works, the Iliad and the Odyssey. What Horace suggested was this: As accomplished as Homer was, he sometimes erred with reference to the facts of the incidents he mentioned.
More than a quarter of a century ago, the late B.C. Goodpasture, respected editor of the Gospel Advocate for some thirty-eigh... more
"What do Bible scholars mean when they speak of the ‘inspiration’ of the Scriptures?"
The Bible makes a claim that most books do not. It claims to be from God. Unlike the few that make the claim, the Bible’s claim is true. This is the concept called "inspiration." There are several things involved in considering the "inspiration of the Bible."
First, "inspiration" of the Bible means that it had a divine origin. The term "inspiration" is found in the New Testament one time (2 ... more
The phrase, “word of God,” is found some forty-four times in the New Testament (ASV). It is most interesting to examine the significance of this expression as viewed by the different teachers who employed it in their sacred instruction. In so doing, the reverent student will discover that the biblical use of this phrase is vastly removed from the scholastic irresponsibility so common in the modern community of “Christendom.”
Modernists repudiate the contention that the S... more
