Bible critics, be they atheists, agnostics, Muslims, and so on, want to tell us that there are mistakes, errors, and contradictions in the Bible, not to mention hundreds of thousands of scribal errors. In fact, they would like us to believe that the Bible is filled with such things. They make this claim because …
THE shocking, heartbreaking news of suicide does not end in the lives of relatives and friends. Rather, it opens up a new storyline of jumbled feelings of compassion and anger, pain, sadness and guilt. And it begs the question: Can we have any hope for our friend or family who took his or her life that they may receive a resurrection?
Why are there so many religions? Are all religions acceptable to God? Is it proper to leave the religion of one’s parents? What is the Bible’s viewpoint as to interfaith? Is belonging to an organized religion necessary? Is having a personal relationship with God the really important thing? If we personally read the Bible, is that sufficient? How can a person know which religion is right?
It does seem reasonable that if there were a Creator, he would reveal himself to his creation, notifying them of his will and Purposes. With the world in the condition it is in, and the imperfection of man, there is little hope outside of the fact that there is a Creator. However, we do not want to set aside all reason and logic, to pacify ourselves with the idea of a Creator, simply for the sake of hope itself. If God did provide a form of communication, we would want to examine the facts honestly, to make sure that it is authentic and inspired.
Some Bible critics seem, to begin with, the belief that if the originals were inspired by God and fully inerrant, the subsequent copies must continue to be inerrant in order for the inerrancy of the originals to have value. They seem to be asking, “If only the originals were inspired, and the copies were not inspired, and we do not have the originals, how are we to be certain of any passage in Scripture?” In other words, God would never allow the inspired, inerrant Word to suffer copying errors. Why would he perform the miracle of inspiring the message to be fully inerrant and not continue with the miracle of inspiring the copyists throughout the centuries to keep it inerrant?
The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4 that the Father “sent forth his Son, born of a woman.” How did the laws of heredity work with this union of perfection (the life of the Son) with imperfection (the ovum or egg cell in Mary’s womb)?
How was the life of the Son transferred from heaven to earth to be united, in the fertilization of an ovum or egg cell in Mary’s womb? How could Jesus, as the actual son of Mary, a genuine descendant of forefathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and King David and legitimate heir retain the same identity that he had in heaven?
