Is the Bible really the Word of God?

Let’s look at some of the proofs for the Bible’s claim to be the infallible word of God.

Archaeological evidence

The first proof we have testifying to the reliability of the Bible is the archaeological evidence. Nelson Glueck, a respected Jewish archaeologist claims: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical reference.”[1] The liberals made wild claims against the Bible a hundred years ago but now they are silent. This is not true of other religions. The Mormon claim for inspiration of the Book of Mormon has been categorically condemned by the Smithsonian Institute because of the fallacies shown by archaeology; this is not so with the Bible. A.N. Sherwin-White, a respected classical historian at Oxford says, “For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming…”, although, not being a Christian, he still regarded it as being “propaganda.”[2]

Historicity of Jesus

A case in point is the historicity of Jesus. Although many atheists state that Jesus never lived, He is mentioned by many contemporary, non-Christian historians. Let us look at the evidence.

Flavius Josephus, a first century Jewish historian wrote of Jesus and the Christians: “so he [Ananus, son of Ananus the high priest] assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before him the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others (or some of his companions) and when he had formed an accusation against them, he delivered them to be stoned.”[3]

Other Jewish rabbinical writings, including Rabbi Eliezer and writers of the Talmud, talk about Jesus and his miracles. Surprisingly to many atheists, they never denied that miracles took place, but attempted to explain them as a result of evil.[4] More information about Jesus in the Talmud can be found at Jesus Christ In The Talmud. Cornelius Tacitus wrote about Jesus and the first century Christians in his Annals (a history of the Roman empire): “Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”[5] Thallus, a Samaritan historian, wrote ca. 52 A.D. attempting to give a natural explanation for the earthquake and darkness, which occurred at the crucifixion of Jesus. Mara Bar-Seraphon wrote a letter to his son in 73 A.D. which tells of the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and of Jesus, “What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king?…Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given.” Jesus is also mentioned by Phlegon, a first-century historian, Lucian of Samosata (in The Passing Peregrinus), and Plinius Secundus, (Pliny the Younger).

Scholars have made statements such as, “no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historicity of Jesus .”[6] The latest version of Encyclopaedia Britannica says in its discussion of the multiple extra-biblical witnesses:

“These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.” [7] Even the atheist H. G. Wells spoke of Jesus, “…one is obliged to say, “Here was a man. This part of the tale could not have been invented.”[8]

Scientific evidence

Drs. Hendrik J. Bruins and Johannes van der Plicht reported in the prestigious British journal, Nature[9], that the destruction of Jericho was dated to 1580 (+/- 13 years) B.C. (using ¹⁴C dating). This date is significant, since several archaeologists have insisted that Jericho was destroyed by the Egyptians between 1550 and 1300 B.C. The recent study discredits the Egyptian theory, since the date is much too old.

What is even more exciting is that scientists, using ¹⁴C dating and tree rings, have found evidence of a volcanic eruption from the Aegean island of Thera, which recently has been dated to 1628 B.C.[10] This would place the eruption at 45 years prior to the destruction of Jericho, at a time which coincidentally corresponds to the time of the plagues the Lord unleashed upon Egypt. Check out Exodus 10:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. (Exodus 10:21-22) Even the researchers commented that the 45 years difference in events was “rather striking.”

The Bible‘s Uniqueness and Unity

The next proof is the Bible’s uniqueness and unity. The Bible was written by over 40 authors who came from just about every walk of life conceivable, including fisherman, kings, a butler, priests, and a tax collector. The 66 books of the Bible were written over a 1,500 year span in three languages on three continents with one theme and no contradictions. C.J. Sharp captures this miracle well:

“If a fragment of stone were found in Italy, another in Asia Minor, another in Greece, another in Egypt, and on and on until sixty-six fragments had been found, and if when put together they fitted perfectly together, making a perfect statue of Venus de Milo, there is not an artist or scientist but would arrive immediately at the conclusion that there was originally a sculptor who conceived and carved the statue. The very lines and perfections would probably determine which of the great ancient artists carved the statue. Not only the unity of the Scriptures, but their lines of perfection, suggest One far above any human as the real author. That could be no one but God.”[11]

Prophetic evidence

Yet another reason Christians believe God is the ultimate author of the Bible is the predictive prophecies in the Bible. This aspect is unique to the world’s religions because if one predicts something will happen and it does not, they are proven to be phoney. The Bible is literally filled with detailed prophecies that have been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. Here is a list of 85 Messianic prophecies along with their fulfilment through the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus:

Prophecies of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah

#	Prophetic Scripture	Subject	Fulfilled
1	Genesis 3:15	Seed of a woman	Galatians 4:4
2	Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18	Descendant of Abraham	Matthew 1:1, Acts 3:25
3	Genesis 17:19, Genesis 21:12	Descendant of Isaac	Luke 3:34, Luke 3:23-24
4	Genesis 28:14, Numbers 24:17	Descendant of Jacob	Matthew 1:2, Luke 3:23-24
5	Genesis 49:10	From the tribe of Judah	Luke 3:23-24, Luke 3:33
6	Isaiah 9:6, 11:1-5, Jeremiah 23:5-6	Descendant of David	Matthew 1:1, Luke 3:23-24
7	Isaiah 11:1	Descendant of Jesse	Luke 3:23-24
8	Ezekiel 37:24	Will shepherd His people	Matthew 2:6
9	Isaiah 9:7	Heir to the throne of David	Luke 1:32-33
10	Micah 5:2	His pre-existence	Colossians 1:17
11	Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:1	Eternal existence	John 8:58, 11, 14, Ephesians 1:3-14, Colossians 1:15-19
12	Psalms 45:6-7, Psalms 102:25-27	Anointed and eternal	Hebrews 1:8-12
13	Psalms 110:1	Called Lord	Matthew 22:43-45
14	Isaiah 33:22	Judge	John 5:30
15	Psalms 2:6	King	Matthew 27:37
16	Micah 5:2	Born in Bethlehem	Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-5, 7
17	Daniel 9:25	Time for His birth	Matthew 2:1, 16, 19, Luke 2:1-2
18	Isaiah 7:14	To be born of a virgin	Matthew 1:18, 24, 25, Luke 1:26-27, 30-31
19	Psalms 72:9	Worshipped by shepherds	Luke 2:8-15
20	Psalms 72:10	Honoured by great kings	Matthew 2:1-11
21	Jeremiah 31:15	Slaughter of children	Matthew 2:16-18
22	Hosea 11:1	Flight to Egypt	Matthew 2:14-15
23	Isaiah 40:3-5	The way prepared	Matthew 3:1,2, Luke 3:3-6
24	Malachi 3:1	Preceded by a forerunner	Luke 7:24, 27
25	Malachi 4:5-6	Preceded by Elijah	Matthew 11:13-14
26	Psalms 2:7, Proverbs 30:4	Declared the Son of God	Matthew 3:17, Luke 1:32
27	Isaiah 9:5-6, Jeremiah 23:5-6	God’s name applied to Him	Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:9-11
28	Isaiah 11:2, 61:1, Psalms 45:8	Anointment of Holy Spirit	Matthew 3:16, 17, John 3:34, Acts 10:38
29	Isaiah 9:1-2	Galilean ministry	Matthew 4:13-16
30	Psalms 78:2-4	Speaks in parables	Matthew 13:34-35
31	Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11	Temple becomes a house of merchandise instead of prayer	Matthew 21:13
32	Psalms 69:9	Zeal of Jews for the temple instead of God	John 2:17
33	Deuteronomy 18:15, 18	A prophet	Matthew 21:11, Acts 3:20, 22
34	Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 35:5-6	Blind, deaf, and lame are healed by the Messiah	Luke 7:22, Matthew 9:35, 11:3-5
35	Isaiah 40:11, 42:2-3, Isaiah 53:7	Messiah will be meek and mild	Matthew 12:18-20, Matthew 11:29, Hebrews 4:15
36	Isaiah 53:9	Be sinless and without guile	1 Peter 2:22
37	Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 49:1	Will minister to Gentiles	Matthew 12:18-21Luke 2:32
38	Isaiah 61:1-2	To bind up the broken-hearted	Luke 4:18-19
39	Isaiah 53:12, Isaiah 59:16	To intercede for the people	Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25
40	Isaiah 53:3, 8:14, 28:16, 63:3, Psalms 69:6, 118:22	Rejected by His own people, the Jews	John 1:11, 7:5,48, Luke 23:18, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:6-8
41	Psalms 118:22	Be rejected by the Jewish leadership	Matthew 21:42, John 7:48
42	Psalms 2:1-2	Plotted against by Jews and Gentiles alike	Acts 4:27
43	Psalms 110:4	Priest after the order of Melchizedek	Hebrews 5:5-6
44	Zechariah 9:9	Enter Jerusalem on donkey	Mark 11:7, 9, 11, Luke 19:35-37
45	Haggai 2:7-9, Malachi 3:1	Entered the temple with authority	Matthew 21:12, Luke 2:27-38
46	Psalms 8:2	Adored by infants	Matthew 21:15-16
47	Isaiah 53:1	Not believed	John 12:37-38
48	Zechariah 13:7	Sheep of the Shepherd scattered	Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:50
49	Psalms 41:9, 55:13-15	Betrayed by a close friend	Matthew 10:4, Luke 22:47-48
50	Zechariah 11:12	Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver	Matthew 26:14-15
51	Zechariah 11:13	Betrayal money used to buy Potter’s field	Matthew 27:6-7
52	Psalms 35:11	Accused by false witnesses	Mark 14:57-58
53	Isaiah 53:7	Silent to accusations	Matthew 27:12, Mark 15:4-5
54	Isaiah 50:6	Spat on	Matthew 26:67, 27:30
55	Isaiah 50:6	Beaten	Matthew 26:67, 27:26, 30
56	Micah 4:14	Struck on cheek	Matthew 27:30
57	Isaiah 49:7, Psalms 35:19, Psalms 69:4	Hated without reason	John 7:48, 15:24-25
58	Isaiah 53:5	Wounded and bruised	Matthew 27:26
59	Isaiah 53:5	Vicarious sacrifice	John 1:29, 3:16, Romans 5:6, 8
60	Daniel 9:24-26	Cut off, but not for Himself	Matthew 2:1, Luke 3:1, 23
61	Isaiah 53:12	Crucified with malefactors	Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27-28
62	Zechariah 12:10, Psalms 22:16	Pierced through hands and feet	Luke 23:33, John 20:25-27
63	Psalms 22:7-8	Sneered and mocked	Matthew 27:31, Luke 23:35
64	Psalms 109:24, 25	Fell under the cross	Luke 23:26
65	Psalms 69:9	Was reproached	Romans 15:3
66	Psalms 38:11	Friends stood afar off	Luke 23:49
67	Psalm 109:25	People shook their heads	Matthew 27:39
68	Psalms 22:17	Stared upon	Luke 23:35
69	Psalms 22:16, 69:21	Given vinegar for His thirst	Matthew 27:34, John 19:28-29
70	Psalms 109:4, Isaiah 53:12	Prayer for His enemies	Luke 23:34
71	Psalms 22:17-18	Soldiers gambled for His clothing	Matthew 27:35-36, John 19:23, 24
72	Psalms 22:1	Forsaken by God	Matthew 27:46
73	Psalms 31:5	Committed Himself to God	Luke 23:46
74	Exodus 12:46, Psalms 34:20	No bones broken	John 19:32, 33, 36
75	Psalm 22:14	Heart broken	John 19:34
76	Zechariah 12:10	His side pierced	John 19:34
77	Amos 8:9	Darkness over the land	Matthew 27:45
78	Isaiah 53:9	Buried with the rich	Matthew 27:57-60
79	Psalms 3:5, 16:10, 49:15	To be resurrected	Mark 16:6-7, Acts 2:31
80	Isaiah 44:3, Joel 2:28	Sent the Holy Spirit	John 20:22, Acts 2:16-17
81	Isaiah 55:3-4, Jeremiah 31:31	Establishes a new covenant	Matthew 26:28, Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:6-10
82	Psalms 68:18, Psalms 110:1	His ascension to God’s right hand	Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9, 1 Corinthians 15:4, Ephesians 4:8, Hebrews 1:3
83	Psalms 29:11, Micah 4:3	Peace proclaimed by disciples	Luke 2:14, John 14:27, Acts 10:36
84	Isaiah 60:3	“Light” to Gentiles	Acts 13:47,48
85	Isaiah 11:10, 42:1, 49:1-12	The Gentiles will seek the Messiah	Romans 11:25, 15:10

Although some of these prophecies are vague and could have been deliberately fulfilled, many are very specific: 16. Place of birth (Micah 5:2). 17. Date of birth (Daniel 9:25). 18. Manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14). 62. Manner of death (Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22:16 prophesied before the invention of crucifixion). 76. Piercing in side (Zechariah 12:10). 78. Burial (Isaiah 53:9).

The Bible made several prophecies of the complete destruction of cities. Many of the cities it said would be rebuilt and several it claimed would never be rebuilt – The Bible is 100% accurate in both categories as archaeology shows. One amazing example is the city of Tyre. Ezekiel 26:3-5,7,12,14 and 16[12] predict:

Nebuchadnezzar will take the city.

Other nations will participate in the fulfilment.

The city is to be made flat like the top of a rock.

It is to become a place for spreading nets.

Its stones and timber are to be laid in the sea.

The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt.

History records that Nebuchadnezzar took the city but the people escaped out to an island. Later Alexander the Great took the Island off the coast by taking the old cities rubble and throwing it into the sea making a land-bridge (this caused the old city to look flat like a rock due to the scraping of the material). The old city is now a place for fisherman but no city has been planted there even though there is an excellent water supply to support a major city.

Survival in the Face of Persecution

A final indicator of the reliability of the Bible comes from the lengths disciples of Jesus went through to proclaim the gospel. In spite of extreme persecution, people were willing to die for Jesus, who predicted the persecution of the church:

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.” (Matthew 24:9)

An example of fulfilment of this prophecy came at the hands (and writings) of Pliny the Younger as governor of Pontus/Bithynia from 111-113 AD. He wrote to the Emperor Trajan regarding the early Christian church, their devotion to Christ, and how he persecuted, tortured, and murdered them:

“They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god… Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition…. Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished.”[13] Pliny readily admits that they “were denounced to me as Christians” (“they will deliver you to tribulation”) and executed (“and will kill you”) just for “the nature of their creed” (“on account of My name.”). This is a chilling fulfilment of prophecy, which testifies that early Christians knew the truth of the gospel and were willing to die for it.

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[1] Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy, New York, 1959, p. 31.

[2] “For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Yet Acts is, in simple terms and judged externally, no less propaganda document than the Gospels, liable to similar distortion. But any attempt to reject its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd.” A. N. Sherwin-White. 1978. Roman Society and Roman law in the New Testament. Baker, Grand Rapids, p. 189.

[3] Flavius Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1

[4] Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15, Flavius Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 18:63, Talmud P. Ta’an. 65b, and the Sanhedrin 3a

[5] Cornelius Tacitus Annals 15.44 from The Tech Classics Archive translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb

[6] Otto Betz. 1968. What do we know about Jesus? SCM Press, page 9.

[7] Encyclopaedia Britannica (Article on “Jesus”)

[8] H. G. Wells, Outline Of History.

[9] Bruins, H.J. and J. van der Plicht. 1996. The Exodus enigma. Nature 382: 213-214.

[10] Friedrich, W.L., P. Wagner, and H. Tauber. 1990. Thera and the Aegean World III Thera Foundation, London, UK.
Kuniholm, P.I., B. Kromer, S.W. Manning, M. Newton, C.E. Latini, and M.J. Bruce. 1996. Anatolian tree rings and the absolute chronology of the eastern Mediterranean, 2220-718 BC. Nature 381: 780-783.
Renfrew, C. 1996. Kings, tree rings and the old world. Nature 381: 733-734.

[11] Shelly, Rubel. 1990. Prepare To Answer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, p 114.

[12] Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘ Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations.’… For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army…. Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water…. And I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the Lord have spoken,” declares the Lord God…. “Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be appalled at you.” (Ezekiel 26:3-5,7,12,14,16)

[13] Pliny, Letters 10.96-97

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Proverbs 31:8

This is a matter of life and death.  The sanctity of human life is an essential article of the Christian Faith.  The Bible makes it clear that life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:2; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41).  At conception the pre-born baby is genetically, physiologically and organically a distinct person.  Life begins at conception.  At about three weeks after conception the baby’s heartbeat can be detected.  Six weeks after conception, the baby has it’s own life-long brainwave.

If the absence of a heartbeat is considered a sign of death, why then is the presence of a heartbeat not accepted as a sign of life?  If the absence of a brainwave is considered a confirmation of death, why then is the presence of this brainwave not accepted as a confirmation of life?

Birth is not a magical act that turns a non-human into a person.  Birth is only a change in environment for a life that began many months before.  Every abortion stops a beating heart.  Every abortion ends a brainwave.  Every abortion is the murder of a helpless and innocent human being.

It is a matter of logic.  It is of the utmost hypocrisy for us to denounce the atrocities committed under various political systems, if we allow the abortion holocaust to continue in our own country.  In the name of human rights, pro-choicers are depriving pre-born babies of the right to life.  Instead of discrimination based upon race they advocate discrimination based upon age.  How can anyone condemn discrimination based on race, while allowing discrimination based on age?

Of what worth is human dignity, if babies are denied the right to life?  The right to life of pre-born babies is one of the most urgent and important issues confronting society today.

What kind of convoluted logic and mental gymnastics can interpret the Right to Life clause in the constitution to protect guilty murderers from execution, but not prevent innocent babies from receiving the death penalty through abortion?

If the right to life of the most helpless and innocent members of society – pre-born babies – is not upheld then the Bill of Rights is a worthless piece of paper.

Any society that is capable of burning, smothering, poisoning or dismembering little babies deserves the wrath of God.

How is it possible that a highly trained and experienced judge – after careful deliberation of all the evidences and arguments, presented by both prosecution and defence, in the calm and objective environment of a court of law – cannot choose to impose the death sentence upon a duly-convicted murderer.  Yet a young teenager, without the permission, or even the knowledge, of the parents, can make an emotional and spur-of-the-moment choice to have her innocent unborn baby killed through abortion!  A tragic decision she will regret for the rest of her life, and for all Eternity.

By making the murder of pre-born babies legal, easy and taxpayer funded, the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act defies all logic.

It is a matter of love.  The heart of Christianity is love.  Love for God and love for our neighbour (Mark 12:30-31).  The Golden Rule of Christ by which we must all live is: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” Matthew 7:12

If you as a mother would not like to be attacked and torn to pieces – then don’t allow it to be done to your baby.

If you as a doctor would not like to be poisoned to death – then don’t do it to a baby.

If you as a member of parliament would not like to be snatched from your home and dismembered – then don’t legalise and finance such violence against babies.  “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”

If you do not stand up and oppose abortion then the blood of innocent babies will be upon your own head (Ezekiel 33;1-6).  Christians must love their neighbour – and this includes our pre-born neighbours.  Caring for the fatherless, protecting the helpless, defending the innocent and speaking up for the voiceless is true Christian love in action.

“Rescue those who are being led away to death; hold back those staggering towards slaughter.  If you say, but we knew nothing about this, does not He who weighs your heart perceive it?  Does not He who guards your life know it?  Will not He repay each one according to what he has done?” Proverbs 24:11-12

We need to rebuild respect for life.  Everyone is made in the image of God and has the right to life – irrespective of their degrees of awareness, health or development.  Everyone has been endowed by the Creator with the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty – except where they have forfeited that right by unlawfully taking, or posing an immediate threat to, the life of another.

“Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts…let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!” Amos 5:15, 24

Those who are advocating a man-centred, humanist worldview are self-destructive.  If a group of people had actually planned how to most effectively destroy a society, they could hardly have done a more effective, or rather destructive, job than what the humanists are doing at this time.  Every item of the secular humanist agenda is self-destructive.

By promoting the theory of evolutionism, humanists are promoting a senseless existence in a chance universe: “You came from nothing, you are going nowhere, life is meaningless!”

By campaigning for abortion, the pro-choicers are destroying their own descendants.  They are, in effect, aborting their futures.  Abortion is an economic disaster which deprives the economy of the productivity, wage-earning, tax-paying contributions and innovations of each life ended.  In terms of economics, abortion kills long-term growth.

The inevitable result of rejecting God’s eternal Law are written all over the pages of recent history and our local newspapers: the crime explosion, the pornography plague, increasing rape and child abuse, high taxes, escalating inflation, rising unemployment, the break up of marriages, the breakdown of society, sexually transmitted diseases and the AIDS epidemic.

“Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit…his mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:13-18

Even more terrible have been the vicious massacres perpetrated by secular humanists such as Robespierre, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Mengistu and others and the abortion holocaust promoted by the humanist founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, and Marie Stopes.

“The fool has said in his heart, there is not God.  They are corrupt.  They have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” Psalm 14:1

Humanism offers no God, no future and no hope.  “Evil will slay the wicked…” Psalm 34:2

The Need for Companionship

The need for companionship is fulfilled by the God-ordained relationship of marriage. Genesis states, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God created man and woman as social beings. He never intended for a person to be independent, cut off from the fulfilling relationship of being a companion to one of the opposite sex. Thus, “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Adam and Eve had become partners for life.

In a real sense, the Song of Songs is a dramatic commentary on marriage. Throughout the Song, the mutuality, reciprocity, and partnership of the relationship between the lovers is emphasised as the dialogue is initiated first by one and then the other.

Marriage is symbolically described as being “glued” or “yoked” together (like two oxen; Matt. 19:5-6). For the person who is still single, however, this need for companionship must be satisfied through other fulfilling and creative relationships by which God’s grace can be manifested. Through community one finds fulfilment.

Matched to One Another

Through marriage one learns the uniqueness of maleness and femaleness by the one being matched to the other. One of the vital functions of marriage is to complement (not to compete with) one’s spouse. Genesis 2, states that the woman is created to be “helper,” actually means “power“(or “strength“), as demonstrated by its use elsewhere in the Bible. Thus, when God says he will make a “helper suitable for him [i.e., the man],” he likely means that woman is a power equal to a man; she is his match; she corresponds to him in every way. Indeed, “woman was not intended to be merely man’s helper. She was to be instead his partner.” Man and woman are symbolically matched to one another in a mutually dependent relationship-hence the expression “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

What is right and wrong?

Ethics may seem to be a popular subject however “Christian” Ethics are definitely unpopular. In the late 1990’s concern for corporate social responsibility and for ethical decision-making was a growing trend in our culture.[1] At the same time, Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship observes an increasing divide between secular and non-secular ideas of morality. On one hand, there is an obvious need for accountability in public and private life. On the other hand, post-modern culture has abandoned the Judeo-Christian ethic as a means for that accountability.[2] In the name of tolerance and moral relativism, a new intolerance has arisen in society that shuts out ethical decision-making based upon a belief in absolute truth.[3] A pluralistic Society says, “Yes, we need to have values, we need to have standards by which we can hold people accountable, but we don’t want a Christian belief system imposed on us!”

The most terrifying aspects of the foundational shifts in our time are not just the line between right and wrong, as all of a sudden, been made unclear. Not just that morality had its boundaries altered. What has happened is for those who have believe in God are not only asked to leave their religion out of the public but it is now being demanded that we join in the celebrations of those who feel that they are shaking of morality that religion had once bound them. We are demanded to accept their views, which are contrary to God’s word and join in their celebration. The church is no longer touching the culture as it used to because in many instances to cultures are now infiltrating the church. Hence, there is such an increase of immorality, abortion, euthanasia, lawlessness, divorce, prostitution and much more. All society will crumble once God’s laws are removed from a nation.

Conflicting Circumstances

Christians should be salt and light in society, and as a result there will be times when they must speak and act in protest. Perhaps there will be occasions when they must even break the law. When those decisions arise, believers should seek the direction of the Holy Spirit as to whether to disobey and as to the appropriate means for registering displeasure. They should also remember that they are members not only of a secular community but also of a religious, spiritual community, the church. Counsel and prayer with other members of the body of Christ are advisable not only when planning strategy for representing God in society, but also when the option of acting beyond the law presents itself.

The Christian life is lived by principles, principles drawn from the character of God as revealed in sacred Scripture. It is good for us to study these principles. But we fight a battle on two fronts. First, we must discern what is good, that is, we must know the right thing to do. Second, we must muster the moral courage to do the good. Each step of our theological growth requires active commitment. We may learn all there is to know about who Jesus is, but unless we commit our lives to him, such knowledge does us little good. Even demons believe in the facts about Jesus. We need to bow in humble devotion before him.

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[1] Thomas Donaldson & Patricia H. Werhane, Ethical Issues in Business, A Philosophical Approach, 5th Edition, (Prentice Hall, 1996), ix – xii.

[2] Charles Colson, “Post-modern Power Grab” Christianity Today, Vol. 38, p. 80. June 20th, 1994.

[3] Peter Kreeft, Back to Virtue, (Ignatius Press, 1986), 29.

Faith and Reason

Faith and reason are both sources of authority upon which beliefs can rest. Reason generally is understood as the principles for a methodological inquiry, whether intellectual, moral, aesthetic, or religious. Faith, on the other hand, involves a stance toward some claim that is not, at least presently, demonstrable by reason. Thus faith is a kind of attitude of trust or assent. As such, it is ordinarily understood to involve an act of will or a commitment on the part of the believer. Religious faith involves a belief that makes some kind of either an implicit or explicit reference to a transcendent source. The basis for a person’s faith usually is understood to come from the authority of revelation. Revelation is either direct, through some kind of direct infusion, or indirect, usually from the testimony of an other. The religious beliefs that are the objects of faith can thus be divided into those what are in fact strictly demonstrable (scienta) and those that inform a believer’s virtuous practices (sapientia).

Religious faith is of two kinds: evidence-sensitive and evidence-insensitive. The former views faith as closely coordinated with demonstrable truths; the latter more strictly as an act of the will of the religious believer alone. The former includes evidence garnered from the testimony and works of other believers. It is, however, possible to hold a religious belief simply on the basis either of faith alone or of reason alone. The basic impetus for the problem of faith and reason comes from the fact that the revelation or set of revelations on which most religions are based is usually described and interpreted in sacred pronouncements, either in an oral tradition or canonical writings, backed by some kind of divine authority. These writings or oral traditions are usually presented in the literary forms of narrative, parable, or discourse. The key philosophical issue regarding the problem of faith and reason is to work out how the authority of faith and the authority of reason interrelate in the process by which a religious belief is justified or established as true or justified.

Is it not far better to begin with faith? Once one knows God in an experiential way, then one never needs an philosophical argument as a crutch to sustain faith. Experiencing the presence of a personal and loving God has far more substance than any intellectual argument. Christian disciples should never hesitate to “make a defence,” but they should always do so with gentleness and reverence. The faith of the believer, as manifest through the community of faith as an outcropping of the kingdom of God, is simply more attractive than any philosophical or scientific argument designed to prove that God is real and that Jesus lives. As C.S. Lewis learned in a very public and humiliating way, those whose faith in Christ depends on apologetics can lose it with the apologetics of the world. In the same way, those who wish to prove the existence of God with philosophical argument are doomed to fail in the attempt.

Please Help

There are numerous crimes of gang rape, murders, and robberies occurring every minute in the country of my birth, South Africa. We as a society have become somewhat deadened to crimes experienced by our fellow neighbours. Information is so readily available to most people and the accounts of injustice are reported but we unconcerned. I am angry…and it makes me sick to think of such a place exists today. Here are some headlines: There are thousands to choose from but I have selected only a few from the period of August to early September…Please don’t just scan through them but read it, and feel their grief.

• Rape victim fears she is HIV positive
  A young women who claims she had been raped by alleged serial rapist Tsediso Letsoenya has told of her worst fear.
• Brothers held for child rape
  A man and his brother have been arrested for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl.
• ICD probes holding cell rape
  The Independent Complaints Directorate is investigating a case in which a Kimberley woman told how she “screamed and screamed” while being raped repeatedly after police officers put her in a holding cell with four men.
• Young, armed and dangerous
  At some point this year, 3 478 children were being detained across the country for various crimes – including murder and rape.
• Woman gang-raped after companion is killed
  A young woman enduring a horrific six-hour ordeal had to watch her friend being murdered before being gang-raped and dumped in the vicinity of Macassar in the Western Cape.
• Husband recounts wife’s rape ordeal
  A father of two battled tears in the Cape High Court as he told how he watched alleged serial rapist Tsediso Letsoenya rape his wife.
• Death, rape in horror hijacking A Cape Town man has been shot dead and his girlfriend raped, after they were hijacked outside a magistrate’s court.
• Man killed, girlfriend raped in Mfuleni
  A man was shot dead and his girlfriend raped by hijackers at Mfuleni, Cape Town, at the weekend.
• Man held for rape of four-year-old girl
  A teacher at the child’s crèche had reportedly noticed that something was wrong with the child.
• Woman raped in front of child
  Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour is fuming after a prisoner on parole and another wanted criminal raped a prison employee in front of her young daughter.

It is alright to worry about the environment and making poverty history. But when fundamental human rights are violated, why do we not speak out for those who can’t…The answer is simple…it is not our problem!

Do come for the 2010 world cup in South Africa, it may then be your problem?

Who’s Afraid of Sarah Palin (and why)?

If you listen carefully, you can just hear between the well prepared lines, and determine why Sarah Palin is such a threat to the political infrastructure of these United States.

In Denver last week, we heard of the American Dream as lived by one Barack Obama. How a black man in Chicago without a dad, went to law school, turned down the high paying lawyer job, and went on (via the Chicago political machine) to become the nominee of the Democratic Party. Those who control that dream- the Chicago political machine, the Democratic Party itself, and the media are afraid. They cannot have some PTA mom from a small town in Alaska define another path to the top. If Sarah Palin succeeds, they lose.

Two weeks ago we saw Barack Obama select Joe Biden, a senator with decades of experience as his vice presidential running mate. Senator Biden’s experience has been advertised as the reason he is such a good running mate. In today’s papers, details about how he fought for Israel. How did he fight? By casting votes in the Senate. By talking to his colleagues about how to vote.

Using this logic, I have been fighting for this nation for decades myself, talking to friends and families about how to vote for not just President, but local and state elections as well. If Sarah Palin wins, Joe Biden, and the rest of the career politicians who hold hope that if they just hang in there, play the game, then one day they may be called upon for a position such as Biden has been called will become big losers. If Sarah Palin wins, the career politicians lose.

The old school political establishment is at risk if Palin wins with John McCain. It means that you do not need to make a lifelong career of being a politician, wining and dining with lobbyists, to effectively run government. It then means that people such as you and I, who can read and follow a constitution, could be an effective leader. It means that if Sarah Palin wins, we all become potential winners. The potential is then based upon what we do with it.

The position of governor of a state should hold much more respect than being a Senator. There are 100 Senators. There are only 50 governors. Senators run for reelection once every 6 years-governors every four years. With Senators they can vote both ways on the same issue in their position-with Governors the buck stops with them. They do not get that luxury. If Sarah Palin wins, we can say State government trumps a lifetime of Federal Service.

The belief that government is highly complicated and that it is too difficult to do by a common citizen is at risk. Who has propagated that myth? Career politicians and lobbyists who have invested millions, that is who. If Sarah Palin wins, she proves that it is not so complicated that a determined individual cannot do an excellent job by FOLLOWING the Constitution. What a concept!

If Sarah Palin wins, lawyers lose.  Can’t we get away from lawyers as political leaders?  Biden trained as a lawyer, Obama was a lawyer, the Clintons were lawyers. McCain is not a lawyer. Palin was a business student.  Don’t we want someone with business sense rather than ltigation sense leading our nation?  Haven’t lawyers done enough to our nation already?

And despite what some Libertarians worry about, if Sarah Palin wins, our movement will win. Candidates of the future will bring more of what the winners possessed to the table in 2012. If Sarah Palin wins, we will have more smaller government candidates in the future. (And if Obama/Biden win, we will have more big government American Promise candidates-because that is what it took to win)

If Sarah Palin wins, and is just a breath away from being President of the United States, then We, the People will win. In 2012, she just might be the candidate to beat for the position of President of the United States. And if that were to occur, that would be much sooner than we would have gotten a Constitution following, smaller government candidate in position to win the White House.

We wanted a shift in power in Washington. This is your chance. What are you going to do? Fantasize about what could have been? Hope things get worse before they get better and think the American people will shift big time in 2012? Can we afford the hit to our economy by Obama/Biden?

Am I afraid that Sarah Palin could be one breath away from being President? No-I would be relieved.

So tell me how I can lose if Palin wins? When she wins, we will all win.

OK, not all of us. Those that have controlled our political processes will lose.

But I am OK with that. What about you?

by EJ Moosa

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

If God is good and all-powerful then how can there be evil in the world?

The Problem

Non-Christians almost always raise the question: If God is good and God is great (all-powerful) then how can there be evil in the world? Since there is evil, there must be no God. Or if there is a God, he must not be good or he must not be all-powerful.

Two-Kinds of Evil

First, it is important to point out that there are two broad types of evil that we are discussing: moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil is that which results from the actions of free creatures. Murder, theft, rape and war are examples. Natural evil is that which results from natural process such as earthquakes and floods. There are sometimes the two are intermingled, such as when flooding results in loss of human life due to poor planning or shoddy construction of buildings.

Two aspects of the problem of evil.

Just as there are two kinds of evil, there are also two aspects to the problem of evil: the philosophical/apologetic problem, and the religious/personal problem of evil. The philosophical/apologetic problem stems from the challenges of the skeptic who questions the possibility or probability of there existing a God who would allow such suffering. The religious/personal problem, on the other hand, stems from the test of faith which the believer experiences who is suffering. In meeting this challenge we must appeal to the truth revealed by God in Scripture.

The logical problem of evil

For many years, the problem of evil was seen as a way to show that Christianity was logically inconsistent. If Christianity could be seen to be logically contradictory, then it had to be false.

The logical problem defined

The logical problem of evil asserts that it is irrational and hence impossible to believe in the existence of a good and powerful God on the basis of the existence of evil in the world. It is usually posed in the form of a deductive reasoning such as:

A good God would want to destroy evil.
An all-powerful God would be able to destroy evil.
However, evil is not destroyed.
Therefore, such a good and all-powerful God cannot possibly exist.

The logical challenge contends that it is impossible to believe both in the existence of evil and of a good and powerful God. If such a God exists, evil would not exist. But if evil exists (and it does), such a God cannot possibly exist, for He would certainly destroy such evil. David Hume stated the logical problem when He inquired about God: Is He willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is impotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is He both able and willing? Whence then is evil?

Key to the logical problem

The key to the resolution of this logical problem is to recognise that when we say that God is “all-powerful” we are not saying that He can do anything whatsoever. True, Scripture does say, “with God all things are possible” (Mt. 19:26). But it also tells us there are some things God cannot do. For example, God cannot lie (Tit. 1:2). He cannot “deny Himself” or fail to keep his word (II Tim. 2:13). Neither can God even be tempted to sin, nor tempt others to sin (James 1:13). So, there are obvious exceptions to be understood when we say that God is “all-powerful” or able to do all things. He obviously cannot do anything out of character for a righteous God. We can also say that it is impossible for God to do anything that is out of character for a rational Being, for God certainly is rational. God cannot “undo the past,” or create a square circle, or make what is false true. He cannot do what is irrational or absurd. This leads us to a consideration of the free will defence.

The free will defence

It is on the basis of what is said above that we conclude that, although God certainly is capable of destroying evil, it is impossible for Him to do so without rendering it impossible for Him to accomplish purposes that are important to Him. This is specifically true of his purpose to create beings in his own image, which possess free will. But creatures that possess freedom are free not only to love God but also to hate or ignore Him. Yet without free will we would be incapable of entering into a personal relationship with Him. Human freedom is essential to sustaining a personal relationship with God.

The problem of natural evil

It is clear that it is impossible to destroy moral evil without destroying human freedom. But what about natural evil? Here it is important to realise first that we live in a fallen world, corrupted by sin, and that we are subject to natural disasters and diseases that would not have occurred had we not rebelled against God (Rom. 8:20). Second, we must recognise that the natural order is also subject to the actions of fallen angelic beings to some degree (cf. Job 1, book of Revelation). These two facts make natural evil a product of moral evil. But beyond this, it is difficult to imagine our existing as free beings in a world much different than our own, in which natural processes allow us to predict with some certainty the consequences of our actions.

Theodicies

Theists have constructed a variety of theodicies (i.e. attempts to reconcile the presence of suffering in our world with the existence of a God) in response to the problem of evil.  These typically attack premise three in the above argument.  The free will defence contends that evil is due to the immoral actions of free agents, but that the world is better with free, morally responsible persons in it than with robots who lack moral responsibility altogether.  The greater goods defence asserts that evils are necessary for the existence of greater or “second-order” goods such as courage, forgiveness, sympathy, moral urgency, etc., and that the world is better with these greater goods (and the evils that they necessitate) than without them.

Irenaean style “soul-making” theodicies combine the free will and greater goods defences insofar as humankind is portrayed as imperfect and unfinished, and it is asserted that God offers a hedonically challenging reality so that people can freely choose to improve their souls within a world that provides obstructions, pitfalls, dangers, temptations and so on.  In one way or another, all these theodicies suggest that an omni-benevolent God need not oppose the existence of any and all causes of human suffering.  Instead, it is suggested that a perfectly good God will create the best of all possible worlds, and that this best of all possible worlds necessarily involves the existence of various types of evil as in eliminable prerequisites or consequences of higher or countervailing goods (e.g. free will, opportunities for self-perfection, experience of moral urgency, etc.).  These goods warrant the evils that they necessitate.  Hence, upon careful analysis, we find that there is no inconsistency between the existence of the God and the presence of human suffering because human suffering serves a central purpose in the best of all possible worlds.

Personal Reflections

The common assumption that God created the world specifically to bring about the best state possible for man. All the talk about man’s greater good, the value of freedom, or whatever, points to this as the underlying assumption. However, if one makes this the starting point of his theodicy, he will never answer the problem of evil in a way that accords with Scripture. For, he will be trying to do what cannot be done — justifying God on the assumption that His chief purpose in creating the world is for the good pleasure of man.  Scripture, however, does not proceed on this assumption, and neither should the Biblical theist. He needs to adopt a new perspective. His theodicy must rest on the presupposition that God’s purpose in creating this world is to most fully manifest His glory and that the world He created accomplishes this purpose. God’s glory is manifested through His various attributes.

Scripture repeatedly speaks of four attributes, which bear crucially on the problem of evil — righteousness, justice, mercy, and grace.[1] It is hard to see how these attributes could be fully displayed except in a world in which man wilfully fell from primordial goodness into sin, brought evil on himself, and God redeemed him from sin by grace alone. An omniscient and omnipotent God could have ordained that mankind would faithfully keep the divine law. The righteousness and justice of God would have been displayed as He rewarded Adam and his posterity for their faithfulness. Even His mercy and grace may have become known, for Adam and his descendants could have been taught that their preservation in righteousness was due to the sustaining power of God and not their own strength. Nevertheless, righteousness and justice are more fully displayed when not only is good rewarded but evil punished. Mercy and grace are more perfectly manifested when the recipients are utterly unworthy. This is precisely what happens when God manifests His mercy and grace to the lost sinner by saving him for the sake of Christ. A righteous Adam may have had an abstract understanding of the ideas of grace and mercy. The unrighteous sinner who is drawn to Christ experiences God’s grace and mercy in a much more profound fashion: “He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy” (Rom. 9:23). Grace and mercy are also more wondrously displayed in a world in which man’s fall resulted in spiritual death, not partial impairment. A spiritually sick person might claim a hand in restoring himself to God’s favour. Only a once-dead person who has been restored to divine favour will see the extent of God’s mercy.

Conclusion and summary

In Ephesians 2:4-5 we read: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).” Grace and mercy, to be perfectly displayed, require man’s redemption from a spiritually helpless position. We may go further. It is hard to see how the relevant attributes could be adequately displayed in a world in which all were elected to salvation. Justice, for example, requires punishment for sin as well as reward for righteousness. Some argue that eternal punishment is inappropriate for finite sin. However, what I find unclear is the view that sin committed against the highest majesty of God, though done by finite creatures, deserves finite punishment. One can easily argue that sin committed against the eternal commands of the infinite and majestic God requires proportionate, that is, infinite and eternal punishment. Nor does it seem possible that mercy and grace could have been fully displayed in a world in which God elected all men to salvation. If all men were saved in Christ, then, although not strictly of works, salvation would be a matter of birthright and not grace.

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[1] Among those passages which speak of the righteousness of God are: Ps. 119:137, 145:17; II Tim. 4:8; Rev. 16:5. His justice is spoken of in Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3; Ps. 48:11; Rom. 2:6-9. Scripture speaks of God’s mercy in Ezra 3:11; Ps. 57:10; 80:5; Tit. 1:4. God’s grace is proclaimed in Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9. These attributes are described in their relationship to one another in Ex. 34:5-7. The above passages, of course, are just a small sampling of those which speak of these attributes.