Conversation w/ an Agnostic: Part 3 Historical Evidence of the Bible


Historical Evidence:
The bible was written by 40 men, chosen by God to write it. It was written over a period of 1,500 years. Those 40 men who wrote were on 3 separate continents, in 3 languages, and were all writing the same thing, in some cases at the same time. In that day, they had no mail delivery trucks, no drop ship planes, no Federal Express, no UPS and no e-mail. So how could it be then that they all wrote the same things while on 3 separate continents over that time period?

How do we know what is inspired? It is hard to answer this question without an understanding of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was both responsible for writing the scripture and preserving the scriptures that were considered the authoritative Word of God. Concerning the Old and New Testament, we have no record of any dispute between Jesus and the Jews over the extent of the canon. In the New Testament, Old Testament scriptures are quoted over 295 times, showing that the early church believed what books of the bible were inspired.

Jesus says to the apostles that they will have supernatural powers given by the Holy Spirit to remember his exact words and that they were responsible for recording it and writing it down. John 14:26.
Plus: Here is what the Bible says about itself.
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth." (Jeremiah 1:9).
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).
My personal favorite.
Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
How true that is. Billions of people throughout the world have leaned on scripture in their darkest moments, only to have their soul revived. That is my story.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Matt, my name is Lance. I'm Cana's brother-in-law. This comment doesn't have anything to do with your deal with an agnostic. I just figured I'd check you out a little.

I see you want to plant a church? Tell me about it. 90-95% of an average community doesn't attend church on a given Sunday. What would you do about that as a new pastor of a church plant? (More questions as we go on).

Matt Chewning said...

Lance, do you have an e-mail address that I an reply to?