![]() “There is nothing new under the sun,” says the ancient wisdom book of Ecclesiastes. The big question is, will you also come to the same conclusions about Jesus as they ultimately did? You’ll also notice that Jesus’s disciples were quite confused about what he was doing. As you read his account, you’ll notice John is showing us different aspects of Jesus’s identity-aspects diametrically opposed to natural human behavior. John, by contrast, tells us about the one person in history who can change that behavior. The writer concludes with this brutally honest statement: “In those days Israel had no king all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Why those two? By tracing ancient Israel’s tragically sordid history, Judges graphically shows us how human beings behave when left to themselves. Or maybe try reading both the books of Judges and John. You’ll start to form a framework for understanding the larger story, and you’ll begin to ask informed questions. Again, why? That ought to spark some interest in learning more. Then you’ll notice that John references two prophets, specifically Elijah and Isaiah. Why is he doing that? Seems pretty important. You’ll notice in John 1 that the writer echoes Genesis 1. Then, read the first chapter of the New Testament book of John. If its fifty chapters seem too much, try reading the first chapter only. Regardless of what we believe about the origin of things and our ultimate destination, we can trust the Bible for what we know to be verifiable.Īnd lastly, if you don’t ever read the Bible for yourself, you’ll depend on what other people tell you to believe about it.īut back to that first question: Where do we begin? Any legitimate arguments about its veracity are over technical details, not substantive assertions. The Bible has never been proven historically inaccurate by archaeological discoveries. You can quibble about the Bible’s accuracy, but you can’t dismiss it. Someone is abusing the text-perhaps both sides. This tells us that people value what the Bible says, but common sense tells us both sides can’t be right. Even a cursory look at the polarizing topics of today reveals both sides using the Bible to support their worldview. If you’re careless or selective with your interpretation of the Bible, you can defend almost anything. Then, when he rises from the dead (if you can believe that), he leaves us here to deal with everything. Instead of ridding the world of oppression, the protagonist gets nailed to a cross. The Bible gives us something else-the truth. We want superheroes who banish evil, eliminate poverty and exploitation, and usher in an era of peace, love, and perpetual green energy. Some of its stories will disturb you precisely because of their accuracy. Check your presuppositions at the door and let the Bible speak for itself. That’s a big part of beginning to understand the Bible. ![]() Yet we can still learn a great deal from its message today. Each individual book was written at a specific time for particular reasons and to specific people. The Bible can’t be divorced from its cultural context. If you read only one book, it should be this one. Written by at least thirty-five authors over a span of 1,500 years, its sixty-six books share a remarkable cohesion that tells us something else is at work here. From start to finish, an unmistakable thread holds the Bible together. I can’t make up anyone’s mind for them, nor would I disrespect them by trying to do so. They seek neat, clean answers to the world’s problems, and they simply don’t find them here. I know several people who are not Christians precisely because they have read the Bible. It should come with a warning label: this book provides an unfiltered view of the human condition and contains material many readers may find disturbing. The Bible contains storylines unfit for Sunday school consumption. Where do we even begin?īeyond that, we stumble into big problems once we do start. In this Age of TikTok and Instagram, wading into a book that size is daunting. Let’s say we grant Berlinski his point about reading the Bible. Yet when he asks them even the most rudimentary questions about it, the truth becomes apparent. He calls the Old Testament “the greatest repository of human knowledge and wisdom in the history of civilization.” He also notes that few people actually open it.īerlinski said that when he polls his students, many claim to have read the Bible. Author and mathematician David Berlinski is no Christian, yet he’s a big proponent of the Bible.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |