Literary Uniqueness

The Bible is a unique piece of literature.

Gabriel Sivan wrote concerning the Hebrew Bible:
"Since the dawn of civilisation no book has inspired as much creative endeavor among writers was the "Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. In poetry, drama, and fiction its literary influence has been unrivaled. The German poet Heinrich Heine, writing in 1830, described its significance in lyrical terms: "Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfillment, birth and death, the whole human drama, everything is in this book.... It is the Book of Books, Biblia." With varying insight, but unvarying consistency, writers in almost every land and culture have for more than a millenium found a matchless treasure house of themes and characters in the Bible. These they have reworked and reinterpreted in the portrayal of eternal motifs - as, for example, God and Man, the conflict of Good and Evil, love, jealousy, and man's struggle for freedom, truth, and justice. (Sivan, BC, 218)

Some Present Day PhD. Scientists Speak Out

"The evidence points to an intelligent designer of the vast array of life, both living and extinct, rather than to unguided mindless evolution." (Nancy M Darrall, Speech Therapist at the Bolton Community Health Care Trust in the UK. She holds a PhD in Botany from the University of Wales.)

"Evolutionary theories of the universe cannot counteract the above arguments for the existence of God." (John M Cimbala, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University. John holds a PhD in Aeronautics.)

"The correspondence between the global catastrophe in the geological record and the Flood described in Genesis is much too obvious for me to conclude that these events must be one and the same." (John R Baumgardner, Technical Staff Member in the Theoretical Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory. John holds a PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLU.)

"We have already seen that no such system could possibly appear by chance. Life in its totality must have been created in the beginning, just as God told us." (John P Marcus, Research Officer at the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Plant Pathology, University of Queensland, Australia. John holds a PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan.)

"The fossil record is considered to be the primary evidence for evolution, yet it does not demonstrate a complete chain of life from simple forms to complex." (Larry Vardiman, Professor from the Department of Astro-Geophysics for Creation Research, USA. Larry holds a PhD in Atmosperic Science from Colorado State University.)

"I ・have no hesitation in rejecting the evolutionary hypothesis of origins and affirming the biblical alternative that 'in six days the Lord God created the heavens and earth and all that in them is'. (Dr Taylor is senior lecturer in Electrical Engineering at the University of Liverpool. Dr Taylor has a PhD in Electrical Engineering and has authored over 80 scientific articles.)

"I believe God provides evidence of His creative power for all to experience personally in our lives. To know the Creator does not require an advanced degree in science or theology." (Timothy G Standish is an Associate Professor of Biology at Andrews University in the USA. Dr Standish holds a PhD in Biology and Public Policy from George Mason University, USA.)

"At the same time I found I could reject evolution and not commit intellectual suicide, I began to realise I could also accept a literal creation and still not commit intellectual suicide." (AJ Monty White, Student Advisor, Dean of Students Office, at the University of Cardiff, UK. Dr White holds a PhD in the field of Gas Kinetics.)

"So life did not arise by natural processes, nor could the grand diversity of life have arisen through no-intelligent natural processes (evolution). Living things were created by God, as the Bible says." (Don Batten, a research scientist for Answer in Genesis in Australia. Dr Batten holds a PhD in Plant Physiology from the University of Sydney and worked for 18 years as a research scientist with the New South Wales Department of Agriculture.)

"In the words of the well-known scientist, Robert Jastrow, 'for the scientist who has lived by faith in the power of reason, the story [of the quest for the answers about the origin of life and the universe] ends like a bad dream. he has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." (Jerry R Bergman, Instructor of Science at Northwest State College, Archbold, Ohio. He holds a PhD in Evaluation and Research from Wayne State University and a PhD in Human Biology from Columbia Pacific University.)

Read why 50 PhD scientists from all around the world reject evolution on scientific grounds and choose to believe in creation in the book - In Six Days : Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation edited by John F Ashton PhD

(The above 10 quotes were taken from this book.)

Famous Scientists who believed the Bible

Brilliant modern day scientists are not all hardened atheists!
There is sometimes a perception that the only position for any modern, logical thinking scientist is one of disbelief in the existence of God but -

"Overwhelming strong proofs of intelligent and benevolent design lie around us ... the atheistic idea is so non-sensical that I cannot put it into words." (Lord Kelvin)

"I am a Christian ... I believe only and alone ... in the service of Jesus Christ ... In Him is all refuge, all solace." (Johannes Kepler)

"Order is manifestly maintained in the universe … the whole being governed by the sovereign will of God." (James Prescott Joule)

"There are those who argue that the universe evolved out a random process, but what random process could produce the brain of man or the system of the human eye?" (Werhner Von Braun)

"Almighty Creator and Preserver of all things, praised be all Thou has created." (Carl Linnaeus)

"I am a believer in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity." (Sir Joseph Lister)

"The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God." (Louis Pasteur). Pasteur strongly opposed Darwin's theory of evolution because he felt it did not conform to the scientific evidence.

Robert Boyle believed in Jesus Christ's "Passion, His death, His resurrection and ascension, and all of those wonderful works which He did during His stay upon earth, in order to confirm the belief of His being God as well as man."

Sir Isaac Newton said, "Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance." and also "The true God is a living, intelligent and powerful being."

Michael Faraday was careful to "Thank God, first, for all His gifts."

If you believe that "Christians can't think for themselves" we encourage you to read "21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible" by Ann Lamont

Brilliant people believe the Bible

Many brilliant people believe the Bible and in it's Author. Here are some quotes from some famous composers:

"To God's will I submit myself." 12 (George Frederic Handel)

"To God alone, the glory." 12 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

Bach would frequently initial his blank manuscript pages with the marking, 'J.J.' ('Help me, Jesus') or 'I.N.J.' (In the name of Jesus)." 12

"I offer all my praises to Almighty God ... Each day I prayed to God to give me strength." 12 (Franz Haydn)
"God, be my Rock, my light, forever my trust." 12 (Ludwig Van Beethoven)

"May God be with you." 12 (Felix Mendelssohn)

"Through Christ alone ... salvation comes to us." 12 (Franz Liszt)

If you think that "Christians are uncreative people" we encourage you to read the book: "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers" by Patrick Kavanaugh. Get a copy and read what some of the greatest musical composers of all time believe to be the truth about God, Jesus and the Bible.

The Bibles ability to change lives

Many, many, people have over the centuries, have been transformed by the word of God. It has transforming power when people read it in faith and obedience. It hasn’t mattered when they have read it, where they have read it, no matter their nationality, their level of education, nor their age, sex or any other previous religious experience. People have become God’s adopted children through faith in Jesus Christ and that by experiencing the life changing power of the word of God.

People whose lives have been lived in spiritual darkness and sin have been set free by the love and grace of God revealed and understood by them as they have read the word of God. You would expect a book given by God, to man, to have such a dynamic affect on those who read and embrace it. Without a doubt the Bible is such a book.

The Bible is full of Prophecy

A definition – prophecy =
1. the foretelling or prediction of what is to come.
2. something that is declared by a prophet, esp. a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.
3. a divinely inspired utterance or revelation: oracular prophecies.

Throughout the Bible the most significant examples of prophecy, and that means fulfilled prophecy, are those prophecies dealing directly with the person and life of Jesus Christ. There are a number of great books available now that compile the prophecies together. Josh McDowells book “Evidence that Demands and Verdict is one I often refer back to when wanting to reference this kind of material. In it he analyses over 60 prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Jesus life, death and resurrection. On top of that he also lists more than 300 other prophecies that are directly applicable to Jesus.

What follows is a list of 10 examples of prophecies made about and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

1). Born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14 / Matthew 1:18-25;
2). Born at Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 / Matthew 2:1;
3). He is the prophet promised by God: Deut 18:18 / Matthew 21:11, John 6:14;
4). He is Lord of all: Psalm 110:1 / Luke 2:11, 20:41-44;
5). He is the Son of God: Psalm 2:7 / Matthew 3:17
6). He was anointed by the Holy Spirit: Isaiah 11:2 / Luke 4: 16-21;
7). He was to be a light to the nations: Isaiah 9:1-2 / Matthew 4:12-17, John 8:12
8). Details of His death: He was mocked and sneered at - Psalm 22: 7,8 / Matthew 27:31; they divided His garments among themselves -Psalm 22:18 / John 19:23-24; His heart burst - Psalm 22:14 / John 19:34; being thirsty He was offered wine and gall - Psalm 69:21 / Matthew 27:34; none of his bones were broken Psalm - 34:20 / John 19:33; his side was pierced - Zechariah 12:10 / John 19:34; His hands and feet were pierced - Psalm 22:16 / Luke 23:33, John 20:25; He was crucified with thieves yet buried in a rich man's tomb - Isaiah 53:9-12 / Matthew 27: 38, 57-60; He was the Lamb of God who was sent by God to take away the sins of the world - Isaiah 53 / John 1:29,
9). His resurrection: Psalm 16:10 / Acts 2:31;
10). His ascension to the right hand of God: Psalm 68:18, 110:1 / Acts 1:9, 2:34-35, Hebrews 1:3.

Any book that consistently, accurately and forthrightly predicts future events must be considered as being unique. Unique enough to be said to have it’s origin with God. The Bible is such a book.

What is Scripture good for?

Best to let the Bible speak for itself... 2 Timothy 3:15-17 "From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Translation of the Bible

Some books are translated into other languages. Most are published in one language and those that do get translated into other languages are done so in only 2 or 3 others. Very few books ever get translated into numbers in the teens. The Bible however has been translated into more than 2200 languages. Even though this is only about a third of the 6900+ known languages it represents 90% of the world’s people and the languages they use to communicate.

At around 250 B.C. the Bible was one of the first books translated into other languages. The Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek for Greek speaking Jews living in Alexandria.

Translation of the scriptures continues with groups like Wycliffe Bible Translators working on 850 languages with over 6000 people to produce new or revised versions of the Bible. At the rate that work is being completed the Bible should be available to all language groups between 2007 and 2022.

No other book in history comes anywhere near in its translation activity nor has been translated and paraphrased more than the Bible.

Time to get a copy?
NKJV Gift and Award Bible

Circulation of the Bible

The Bible is unique in so many ways. Yesterday I wrote about how unique it is with regard to its continuity. Today I am going to consider how unique it is in its circulation.

Many books these days manage to have a circulation in the millions. It may surprise you though that the number of Bibles sold is in the billions.

To quote from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

From the: List of best-selling single-volume books
More than 1 billion copies (only one book in this category – the Bible)
Book – Bible Koine Greek τὰ Βιβλία -hebrew " התנ"ך "
Author(s) – various (at least 39)
Original language - Hebrew, Koine Greek, Aramaic, Latin
First published - 300 BC- 95 AD
Approximate sales - 2.5 billion to more than 6 billion

“No other book has known the anything approaching this constant circulation” (The Cambridge History of the Bible).

Back in 1976 Geisler and Nix (Together with William Nix, Norman Geisler wrote General Introduction to the Bible, which is still considered to be a textbook for evangelical scholars.) reported that the Bible had been translated into more than 1,100 languages and dialects. 90% of the world’s population at the time. Ten years earlier it was reported that the Bible societies were distributing 87 million copies per year with a cumulative distribution of two billion.

The Bible has now been published in, at least in part, into over 2,000 languages. Bible societies are translating the scriptures into over 462 additional languages that as yet do not have any of the Bible in their native tongue. In 2000 the combined distribution of scriptures by Bible societies exceeded 633 million.

There are other organisations that distribute the Bible such as the Gideons who distribute around 56 million copies or portions of scripture annually. The Word of God is also now spread over the internet, TV, radio and film.

In reality the combined numbers of the amount of scripture distributed over the centuries is beyond calculation. Though these figures do not prove that the Bible is true, or the Word of God, it does show The Bible is certainly unique. Because the Bible has been translated, copied, printed and distributed more that any other book in human history you would think that if a person were sincerely seeking truth, he or she would give serious consideration this book that has drawn so much attention!

Bible - Unique in it's continuity!

Incredible as it may seem the Bible was written over a period of around 1500 years by more than 40 different authors from many different back grounds and walks of life. The first books of the Bible, in the Old Testament, were written by Moses who was a Hebrew, though raised in Pharohs household as an Egyptian who later in life was a political leader and judge. Later David - a shepherd, warrior, king, poet and musician contributed greatly to the content of the Old Testament portion of the Bible.

Other contributors included: Joshua a military general, Daniel a prime minister, Solomon a philosopher king, Luke a physician and historian, Peter a fisherman, Matthew a tax collector, Paul a rabbi (Jewish religious leader)... These writers wrote in different places including but not restricted to: the wilderness, prison, palaces, on the road travelling... on different continents: Asia, Africa and Europe and consequently it was written in different languages: Hebrew which was the language used by the Israelites and for most of the Old Testament, Aramaic which is very close linguistically to Hebrew and was the "common language" of the Near East until around the 4th century B.C. Much like English is the common language for many now for communicating cross culturally. The New Testament was mostly written in Greek and was the "common language" at the time of Christ.

As you read the Bible you will notice that it addresses many controversial subjects with an amazing harmony. Topics that today produce fiercely opposing views. Topics such as marriage and divorce, remarriage, homosexuality, adultery, fornication (sex outside of marriage), lying, parenting, the nature of God....

The Bible though, in spite of it's diversity, unfolds one key story: God's redemption of the human race. The theme that unifies all of scripture is salvation from sin and judgement to one of complete transformation. A release from sin and it's consequences into a real relationship with a merciful, loving and holy God.

These unique aspects of the Bible do not prove it is true or inspired but it does challenge us to consider its claims. If we are truly sincere in seeking truth we will give the Bible serious consideration because it is so unique it terms of its continuity.

Consider the Bible

I was considering the Bible this morning, almost every morning for a long time now, and realised that for many it is only considered to be a book. A collection of poetry, wise sayings (the Proverbs), song, romance, historical narrative, biography, autobiography, law, prophecy.... and much more. As a history book it has often been regarded as inaccurate and unreliable. For many people the Bible has simply been looked upon as an interesting one to have in their library but not something to be taken seriously and definitely not the Word of God.

What I am going to do over an indefinite period of time is write about the Bible, present a case, for it's uniqueness. To show that it can be relied on. To show that it is "unique". The Bible should be on the top shelf, be read by everyone, and be taken seriously by every man, woman and child on the face of this Earth.

Is it?

I was just listening to a tape this morning by Paris Reidhead - "Ten Shekels and a Shirt". In it he defines Pragmatism as: if it works it's true, if it succeeds it's good, the proof of any teaching is does it work.

Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism

Many people, including Christians of the current generation, subscribe to this philosophy in their beliefs. They would say: "It's true if it works!" But we need to be thinking the actual opposite: if it works it doesn't necessarily make it true. What is true is defined for us by scripture, the Bible. Our experience can not define what is true, on the contrary, our experience must be defined by what is true!

The Bible

When I first became a Christian one of the first books I remember getting myself was one written by Josh McDowell called "Evidence That Demands A Verdict". To me it was one of those books that really opened up to me how true and reliable the Bible is. If you are wanting to know what it is about the Bible that has made it such and enduring publication through out the centuries then this is the book for you. In it Josh answers many key questions, ones that any thinking person is going to ask sooner or later. Questions like: How did we get the Bible? Is the New Testament historically reliable? Is the Old Testament historically reliable? Is the Bible from God? .... Is the Bible true?

What is truth?

The search for the truth starts with a desire. A desire to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So it does and so He does. We start with desire. A driving force that will propel us forward in our search. That desire will be met by an encounter with the one who is truth. We will discover, as have mulititudes through the ages that truth is not a concept, an idea or a philosophy – but it is a person. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."