We are starting by examining the oft repeated objections against one of the foundational tenets of the Christian faith: the divine inspiration of the Bible. Do we have sufficient basis to trust the Bible as truly the word of God?
It is reasonable to think that this is a valid question, coming from the skeptics, the atheist and people of other faiths; and it is perfectly rational for believers to desire to know why they should rest assured that the Bible they are invited to have unalloyed faith in is inspired word of God. If it indeed can be established that the Bible is absolutely the revealed mind of the Creator of the universe, the Bible would be the absolute authority to trust to understand the origin of the universe, make sense out of present realities and envisage what lies ahead for mankind and the earth.
The Doctrine of Divine Inspiration
The divine inspiration claims of the Bible clearly suggest that the original contents of the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic ancient manuscripts were words spoken by God, the Original Autograph and documented by men who wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is imperative to note that there was no ambiguity in the minds of the writers of the Bible on the origination of what was written as can be gleaned from such phrases in the Bible as “Thus says the Lord”, “And the word of the Lord came to…”and as categorically affirmed in several scriptures: 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” and 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”, an alternative translation states, “All scripture is breathed by God and is profitable…”
Some sections in Christianity, believe that the scripture was not literally dictated by God but the understanding of the writers were illumined by the Holy Spirit enabling them to communicate divine truths. Evangelicals however, follow the verbal plenary inspiration or dictation pathway, further explaining that each word was “chosen under the superintendence” of God. This view of verbal inspiration seems to be supported by the tone of Bible, confirming and conveying the sense of absolutes in every particular case and not just in concepts or ideas. Apostle Paul provided a useful insight into the depth of inspiration in his epistle to the Galatians chapter 1:11-12, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ reinforced this norm by his statement in Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law…”
Evidence to Validate Divine Inspiration of the Bible
The scientific evidence. The Bible makes many scientific claims which are verifiable but largely ignored by men.
God, the “First Cause” and “Intelligence Design” behind the creation of the earth and all reality who understands its workings, has described created reality in the Bible, thousands of years ago, that the earth is spherical in shape (see Isaiah 40:22), suspended on nothing (Job 26:7) and rotates on its axis (implied from day and night of Genesis 1). Scientists ignored these while insisting on a fixed, flat earth hypotheses with other planets rotating around it, for centuries; only to come around to ‘discover’ in 6th century BC that the earth is indeed a sphere. Few other amazing scientific facts written by God in the Bible millenniums ago include the topography of the ocean surface (existence of valleys in the seas 2 Samuel 22:16) and the consistent water cycle of the earth or the hydrological cycle (Job 26:8).
Critical here is Bible’s description of the creation of life on earth which is intelligent, scientific and verifiable through observation of nature and all its prevailing laws. Such details could not have but proceeded from the “Intelligence” behind creation Himself, who witnessed the unfolding of all things. In an effort to disparage the Bible and ultimately keep God away from the paradigm, devotees of the evolution and such other pseudo-scientific theories like Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins, have resurrected busted ancient assertions, clothed them in new garments while struggling to provide an argument for a God-less creation account. This effort to counteract Bible’s impeccable scientific and logically consistent explanation for the origin of matter and reality have proven unscientific and unsuccessful. Evolution theory ascribes creation powers and intelligence (theism) to random coincidence and chance which it claims operate according to the laws of physics – suggestive of the existence of a “law-giver” whom it refuses to name – hence self-contradictory, unscientific and incoherent. True science does not contradict or disprove God’s inspired word in the Bible but supports it because it is absolute knowledge.
The historical evidence. For many generations, agnostics have propagated the idea that Bible records of events, personalities and places are fallacious, referencing several of the people like Noah, Jonah, Pontius Pilate etc. as historical. However, archaeological evidence provided through excavations and researches have proven the astounding accuracy of Biblical accounts and validated the historicity of the people, places and events mentioned in the Bible.
One example, although Pontius Pilate was only mentioned in the New Testament and not in any other history book, recent discovery has revealed his name displayed on an excavated plaque, an evidence now lodged in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. How antagonists of the Bible’s divine inspiration would love to discover the bones of Jesus, but this has not been achieved, as the Bible stated he resurrected bodily. Space would not permit us to give more examples but the discovery of the resting place of Noah’s Ark in Turkey, the Dead Sea Scrolls in Egyptian caves are few of the evidences to support Biblical precision and absolute truthfulness in telling-it-as-it-was, suggesting the influence of a holy and morally perfect God. The global perspective of the Bible and the accurate and factual mention of historical figures from the kings of Israel, Babylon and Persia, as corroborated by history and archaeology, confirms authorship by a “universal mind”.
The uniformity evidence. Although the entire Bible was written by approximately forty writers who lived at different times within a period of about 1450 years, from varied backgrounds, in different languages and in diverse places, the distinctive uniformity of content is simply unconceivable from human standpoint. Any casual observer will not fail to clearly identify the single thread running from the first book of the Bible to the last, which is the revelation of the Only Living God. It would be outlandish to describe the unanimity of thought as coincidence, and not evidence of a supernatural influence.
The miracle evidence. Miracle is the interference in nature by a supernatural power. God revealed so many miracles He performed in the Bible to draw men’s attention and these took place hundreds of years before they were recorded by the writers. However, the details recorded of the events illustrate they emanated from a Source that was right in the mix of it. The story of Noah’s flood, for example, was mentioned in so great details and massive evidence from geologists exist today to prove its veracity, as in the case of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea, amongst others. According to Frank E. Gaebelein “the attitude of suspended judgment toward Bible difficulties . . . is constantly being vindicated, as archaeology has solved one Biblical problem after another, and as painstaking re-examination of discrepancies has finally led to answers”. The “polystrate fossils” found spread over the world by geologists, proves the existence of a worldwide catastrophe, accurately supporting the historical occurrence of Noah’s flood. As usual the passion to deny any fact that will directly prove creation by the Almighty God, keeps men from publicly accepting the apparent truth.
The prophecy evidence. The Bible remains the only book of established religion that contains prophecies that have come to pass in every material detail. We will judge this evidence on the standard provided by the Bible itself in Deuteronomy 18:22 “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously…”. Space would not allow us to give more than two illustrations here.
The fulfillment of the prophecies made hundreds of years in the books of Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah and Micah in the Person of Jesus Christ, from his birth, death and resurrection, by human calculation, is an infinite probability and indicative of supernatural interference. Again, the prophecy given to Daniel by God in about 600B.C. on the succession of powers that would rule the world at the destruction of the Babylonian Empire: Medo-Persian, Greeco-Macedonian, Roman and a fourth confederation of kingdoms portrayed as possessing ten toes, decades before Cyrus’ conquest of Babylon, still confounds antagonists of Biblical inspiration in the details of their exact fulfilment.
In conclusion, since the Bible is inspired by a Perfect God, the Bible is a perfect book, infallible, inerrant and to be trusted as authoritative manual for all life, reality and knowledge. As you pick up the Bible next time to read or study, search it for its riches and treasures, with renewed confidence that you are indeed reading the exact words of the All-knowing Creator God, and expecting to uncover His perfect authority on any issue.
Moses E. Oputah is the Managing Editor of Kingdom Times