Growing up in a Christian family that had me in a Southern Baptist church I was always one to believe that the Holy Bible is fully true. As I matured in life, mind and faith I began to recognize that the Bible was not necessarily true because my parents or a pastor claimed it was, but because God proclaimed its inerrancy Himself. Better yet, God is the author of history’s most incredible writings and knowing that He is the one infinite and perfect being in existence it is rather impossible to question His authority on the Bible. In the past few years I have really come to grips with my faith and devoted time each day to divulge in the Bible and it has caused me to really consider the fact that God so perfectly pieced together the Bible so His believers would not only have historical background behind the foundations of the Christian faith, but also instructions for how to be faithful and properly live a life that glorifies Him. In the Disciple’s Study Bible summary of the doctrine of Holy Scripture I latched onto the statement that claims that “God, the Holy Spirit, worked through humans to produce the authoritative Word of God” because it opened up my mind to a larger understanding of how God gave us scripture. By this I mean, it was in reading this that I genuinely recognized that the entire Holy Trinity was a part of authoring the Bible. God is all three of parts of the Trinity but He used Jesus to provide many wise and insightful statements as verbatim scriptures and the …show more content…
And ultimately He is the God that made scripture happen. In discussing God’s piecing together of such a massive work of
There is much debate over the accuracy and the inerrancy of Scripture. Pertaining to this debate there exists an underlying question as to whether or not the New Testament is considered part of the canon or for that matter if it is actually given by the inspiration of God. How did the books that are in the New Testament get there? Who decided which books should be added or taken out? Do we have all the books that we should have? Many ask these questions, but Christians are ill equipped to give an answer. For centuries, Christians have claimed that they have the absolute truth, are saved only by faith, and claim the Scriptures as inspired by God. In spite of these claims many Christians are not able to clarify the origins of what they place all of their faith upon. The questions asked above are profoundly significant since they have eternal consequences. They have consequences because in order to trust and obey God there must be certainty in the accuracy of God’s Word. This testament will attempt to answer the question: How Do We Know The New Testament is God’s Word?
The Bible holds first God’s identity and who he is, labeled as the creator. By understanding
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and useful for teaching, for conviction, for correction and for disciplined training in righteousness in order to fit and fully equip the man from God for every good task. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)”16,17
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
According to Janet Chismar, of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the Bible is a “collection of books, written by dozens of authors over many hundreds of years…. But in spite of their diversity, when you examine them, you discover they all have a common theme: God’s relationship with the human race.” The Bible is believed to be the inspired word of God. Chismar continues to explain the Bible’s significance by stating, “The Bible isn’t just a collection of men’s ideas about God, nor is it a guidebook for living that people developed over the centuries. It is the Word of God–and that makes all the difference. This means the Bible is our authority in everything it touches. This means the Bible is our guide to show us how to live. Most of all, this means the Bible is our instructor, teaching us about God and His plan of salvation in Christ.” Those of Christian faith believe that the Bible is God’s definitive doctrine.
For centuries now Christians have claimed to possess the special revelation of an omnipotent, loving Deity who is sovereign over all of His creation. This special revelation is in written form and is what has come to be known as The Bible which consists of two books. The first book is the Hebrew Scriptures, written by prophets in a time that was before Christ, and the second book is the New Testament, which was written by Apostles and disciples of the risen Lord after His ascension. It is well documented that Christians in the context of the early first century were used to viewing a set of writings as being not only authoritative, but divinely inspired. The fact that there were certain books out in the public that were written by followers of Jesus and recognized as being just as authoritative as the Hebrew Scriptures was never under debate. The disagreement between some groups of Christians and Gnostics centered on which exact group of books were divinely inspired and which were not. The debate also took place over the way we can know for sure what God would have us include in a book of divinely inspired writings. This ultimately led to the formation of the Biblical canon in the next centuries. Some may ask, “Isn’t Jesus really the only thing that we can and should call God’s Word?” and “Isn’t the Bible just a man made collection of writings all centered on the same thing, Jesus Christ?” This paper summarizes some of the evidences for the Old and New Testament canon’s accuracy in choosing God breathed, authoritative writings and then reflects on the wide ranging
To begin with, what does it mean when someone says that the Bible is the inspired word of God? It means quite a few things. While god did not directly write the Bible, he certainly had a hand in its creation. To be blunt, God divinely influences the human authors of the Scriptures in a way that they wrote the very Word of God. The Bible is written by people who are inspired by God to write the scriptures. He does not directly control what they write, but he nudges them in the correct direction with his divine influence. He is not controlling them, but inspiring. God inspired people to write the very words of himself.
It is widely accepted through the theological study of the Bible that the gathering and the selection of information included in the final compilation was an extensive and controversial process. Specifically, the events and movements that were influential in the recognition of the canonical books. According to Britannica, the canonical books are recognized as the quintessential corner stone of the New Testament, which also means that they are a foundational part of the current beliefs and practices of most of today’s Christians. Even more important is the process, culmination, and the compilations of events that lead to what Christians currently accept as the Word of God.
( 1 Corinthians 13:12, New International Version). This shows that humans may not able fully comprehend all of the matters associated with such an emended topic, but they may do their best. The Bible can be very helpful and it is especially helpful in finding truth. The Bible has achieved this through both direct and indications that point strait to one answer. The Bible is from God. The first example of an indirect example is that in writing 2 Timothy, Paul calls the bible sacred writings. (2 Timothy 3:15, New International Version). On the other hand, a direct example of the Bible declaring itself the word of God may be discovered when one reads Hebrews. The author of Hebrews describes the Bible as "the very word of God". ( Hebrews 4:12, New International Version) One of the greatest examples of this is in the very beginning of Hebrews. It starts out by stating, "spoke along time ago to the fathers in the prophets." ( Hebrews 1:1, New International Version) This passages is uniquely profound for not only does it give context of the awareness of the Old Testament, but it also recognizes the ability of God to inspire writing. Another subtle way the Bible declares its inspiration is through the way it quotes God or the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 6:16, Hebrews 3:8, New International Version). One of the clearest ways to know that scripture is inspired is the disciples ability to speak through the a Holy Spirit. Many times throughout the New Testament, the disciples embrace the Holy Spirit whether it is conducting miracles or speaking in tongues. One of the most notable times is found in Mark when Jesus instructs the disciples to go and speak by the Holy Spirit. ( Mark 3:11, New International Version). As one keeps this in mind, it only makes sense that the disciples may also use the Holy Spirit to write books of all their amazing and divine
There is considerable debate about the extent to which Humankind has received the Revelation of God. The term revelation deals with how God has revealed himself to humanity or in other words, how he made himself known to that which he has created. Theologians generally distinguish God’s revelation in two ways General, and Special revelation. Many theologians agree that something can be learned from the study of human nature. However, most evident is the moral and spiritual qualities found within humankind that reflect the character of God. One could argue the point that the nature of revelation depends on whether revelation is given or understood through experience, proposition, culture, scripture or all four. Numerous studies show that revelation has been received by humankind through scripture. The influence of scripture has allowed humankind to find out not only about God, but themselves as well. Therefore many people believe that scripture is the one and true way that God have made himself known. Research indicates that through scripture God has inspired, communicate, and revealed himself to humankind through the elements of the world. Through these studies humankind has come to believe and understand that there is a greater source that can give and take away that which he has created. R.C.Sproul states “for whoever or whatever God may be he is altogether beyond our knowledge. Being limited in our ability to think as God does, one must believe and trust through the faith which has be built through the very word that has been written. With that being said, the writer Timothy share with his readers that all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (Ti...
“Whether we are reading the Bible for the first time or standing in a field in Israel next to a historian and an archaeologist and a scholar, the Bible meets us where we are. That is what truth does” (Bell, 2005). The Bible is a testament of what has happened and what is happening. The Bible teaches us about our lives today through the meanings of its historical events. It is our interpretation of binding and loosing that broadens our awareness of God, allowing us to differentiate from Him and embody the image of Him.
...eed to rely on the scriptures because Christian doctrine is not just another point of view and it’s not a fable. The Holy Scriptures can be trusted because they were written by prophets and apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit. We are not to be swayed by people who are guided by unbiblical ideas because judgment is guaranteed for all those who oppose the truths written in God’s Word. We should remember to exercise good judgment by the Holy Spirit to detect false teachings and alluring promises of the ungodly. If anything God’s promises of judgment should prompt us to encourage others to repent and believe in Christ.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.
One of the major points stressed by Hodge in this essay is that the scriptures are infallible because they were written by the inspiration of God and the Holy Ghost. Hodge begins to describe the attri...