What do modern biblical scholars think about the validity of the Bible? ??For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and morrow, and is a discerner (sic) of the thoughts and intents of the heart?? (Heb. 4:12).
??In the beginning . . .?? is how the Bible starts (Gen. 1:1).
I still recall from my childhood the stories of Creation. God created the world in six days, a world that was ??very good,?? and on the seventh day, ??He rested?? (Gen. 1:31, Gen. 2:2).
Stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and Jesus were usual bedtime stories that helped explain the world I was living in. However, these stories had a larger impact on me due to the strong Christian background in my family. My father was a born-again Baptist while my mother was a devout Seventh Day Adventist from birth. God was not a fairy godmother. Adam and Eve were not Prince Charming and Cinderella of fairy tales. They weren??t figments of imagination my parent conjured up to put their baby boy to sleep. They were alive, they were real, and I was to learn from them. As I grew older and reached adulthood, these stories seemed to take on more and more fairytale-like characteristics. There were too many unexplained questions regarding the Bible. For instance, logically, how could have God created an entire world in six days? What happened to Darwin??s theory of evolution? The stories of the New Testament intrigued me the most. How was it possible for Jesus to have been born by a virgin birth? Today, it is theoretically possible to reproduce an organism through cloning. But, I don??t think that Jesus was a clone. Then, there were some stupid questions like, if Adam and Eve were the only people on earth, whom did Cain and Abel marry? Too many questions and too many feeble answers from religious teachers, with help from studying biology and ancient history, eventually caused me to abandon my religious faith.
The Term Paper on Adolf Hitler and the Story of World War II
Hitler, leader of the German Nazi party and, from 1933 until his death, dictator of Germany. He rose from the bottom of society to conquer first Germany and then most of Europe. Riding on a wave of European fascism after World War I and favored by traditional defects in German society, especially its lack of cohesion, he built a Fascist regime unparalleled for barbarism and terror. His rule ...
However, throughout the years, my soul was not satisfied with the equally weak proof science gave me. I found it hard to believe that all the beauty around me came about through time and coincidence. In order to understand controversies surrounding this sacred book, I decided to question modern-day religious authorities on the validity of the Bible itself. This project is my first and last attempt to find the truth in the Scriptures. Before we study the evidence given by today??s scholars, let us first look in the Bible to see if it can prove its own validity. After all, the Bible is a collection of books written by those who we would call religious scholars. Jesus?? disciple, John, writes that Jesus himself stated, ??Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth?? (Jn. 17:17).
John, the author of the Bible??s last chapter (Book of Revelations), states that God??s word is truth. In the Book of Daniel, an angel of the Lord appears to Daniel in a vision and promises to ??tell you (Daniel) what is noted in the Scripture of Truth?? (Dan. 10:21).
The biblical authors also try to prove the Bible??s validity through the fulfillment of its prophecies. Jesus states that the ??Scriptures (regarding His coming) is fulfilled in your hearing??. (Lk. 4:21).
Each of these passages, as well as many others, advocate the truth in the Bible. However, because the last entry of the Bible was made over a thousand years ago and because no living witness is alive to support these claims, it is difficult to tell whether or not this information has merit. Since exploring the Bible for answers seems pointless, let us examine the people most associated with the Bible today, the biblical scholars. Since I had no method of meeting all of the biblical scholars, I used their writings to determine their views on truth in the Bible. While conducting my research, I found many similar ideas between these people. Every single person agrees that the Scriptures are true. Nevertheless, the evidence each individual gives to support his or her claim varies. Interestingly enough, when further studied, each one distinguished between truth in the historical accuracy of the biblical documents and truth within the ideas. Only one person, Dave Miller believed in the complete ??inerrancy (sic) of the Scriptures.?? Miller??s defines ??inerrant?? as meaning ??wholly true?? or ??without mistake.?? He argues that even if a small part of the Bible contains mistakes, then the Bible can not be ??a reliable guide to salvation.?? He states that if the Scripture is a mixture of truth and fallacy, then the Bible would not be any different from the Koran, Book of Mormon, or any other religious book that ??seeks acceptance by man.?? If there are any errors in our modern day translation of the Bible, Miller states that it is due to the error of the copyists, not the original writers (1).
The Term Paper on Arthur Miller And His Distorted Historical Accuracies
In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote his famous play The Crucible, in response to a fear of Communism that had developed in the United States during that decade. The Red Scare, as it was later called by historians was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose paranoia of a communist takeover spread through the nation like a wildfire. Men and women alike fell victim to McCarthys pointed finger and as a result ...
Although Miller states archaeological evidence which support the existence of many biblical characters and sites, he fails to comment upon the deeper and not surprisingly, more controversial issues such as Creation and the resurrection of Jesus that are impossible to prove through science. However, Miller believes that everything in the Bible is historically and factually accurate. Miller??s main argument is, despite the Bible??s seemingly noticeable inaccuracy, closer study will show that each book of the Bible is in harmony with the others. Parts of the Bible seem to contradict at times and this if what Miller is referring to. Miller??s weak and inconclusive evidence raises another question. How can we know who??s study (interpretation) of the Bible is accurate? For example, how do we know that Miller??s interpretation of the Scriptures is more valid than someone else??s interpretation? This contrast in interpretation between biblical scholars does not end with the Bible. These differences extend to the archeological findings that pertain to the Bible as well. Many biblical scholars state archeological evidence as proof of the accuracy of the Scriptures. There is a group of archeological artifacts that scholars refer to many times. These artifacts have been called ??one of the greatest archeological discoveries of modern times?? (Baigent and Leigh 5).
The Term Paper on Jesus and Women
Jesus Jesus Christ is believed to be the son of God who is a historical person that lived in Palestine about two thousand years ago and research has it that Christians who are believed to be his followers traditionally acknowledged him as their Lord and Savior and they take the initiative of imitating him since they believe that He lived a life without blemish and thus it is their duty to imitate ...
What are these artifacts? They are none other than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947, in the cliffs of Qumran near the city of Jerusalem. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient scrolls written by Jewish monks at or about 140 BC. These dates were determined by scientific paleographic study of the scrolls. Interpretation of these scrolls very depending on different religious scholars. All of the experts who have studied these scrolls agree on the literal meaning of these texts. For example, they all agree regarding the existence of two characters mentioned in these ancient scrolls, ??the Teacher of Righteousness?? and ??the Wicked Priest.?? However, the dispute begins when they try to determine the identities of these two religious leaders. Some have stated that the ??Wicked Priest?? was none other than Jonathan or Simon Maccabaeus, sons of a Judaic priest (Mattatheus Maccabaeus) who started a revolt against the Greeks around 167 BC. However, one religious scholar believes otherwise and it is her proof that I would like to explore more in depth. Barbara Thiering, an Australian religious scholar, has studied the Dead Sea Scrolls for over twenty years. She firmly believes that the ??Wicked Teacher?? is a reference to Jesus.
She states that if there is an error in dating the documents, that is, if the documents were actually written after 140 BC, they could be referring to John the Baptist and Jesus. Her explanation of the ancient scrolls and the Bible seem very logical. She states that the true meaning of these documents is hidden by a code. This secret code, called the ??Paetsha,?? divides the Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls into two parts. The first part is the superficial meaning of the Scriptures. In it lies the obvious moral and spiritual meaning message of the Bible. However, Thiering asserts that there is a hidden meaning to the message of the Bible. She states that the Old Testament was written in this form and therefore, the later writers of the New Testament adopted the same style. She uses the Gospels of the New Testament as an example. There are many supernatural events in the New Testament, which create much controversy regarding the validity of the Bible. Stories such as birth of Jesus and His ascension to Heaven are metaphysical events that can not be proved through science. The reason for this coding, Thiering states, was for security reasons in case the enemy obtained these documents. At the time, the enemy would be referring to the Romans.
The Essay on Christian Church Jesus People Early
A Critical Interpretation of Hans Kung's Historical Analysis of the Development of the Hierarchical Church The beginnings of the Christian church are shrouded in mystery. With the lack of evidence about that time in history, it is hard to draw conclusions of any type. However, the historical analyst, Hans Kung, has written a book to shed some light on the subject. In this book, Kung discusses his ...
The external message of the Bible had two purposes. The first purpose was to deter adversaries from understanding the documents true intentions and the second purpose was so that new followers could understand the doctrines given by this new branch of religion (Riddles VHS) A metaphor for this would be a small child. Just like a child needs stories with imaginary and fantasy-like characteristics, Christians in their infancy needed a simpler doctrine to follow. After a period of time, these people learned how to read the deeper meanings within the text. Thiering takes many of the supernatural events that occur in the New Testament and interprets their meaning. There are many references to the miracles involving Jesus in the New Testament. For example, there is the virgin birth, the feeding of 5,000 people, and the Resurrection (Matt. 1:23, Jn. 14:17-21, Jn. 20:9).
In the story of the feeding of 5,000 people, Jesus takes five loaves of bread and feeds 5,000 people. Thiering asserts that the five loaves of bread represents the Sacred Meal given by the Levites. The Levites were a descendents from the tribe of Levi who were appointed by God to hold responsibilities in the Temple. Aaron, the brother of Moses was a Levi and the first High Priest of the Israelites (Ex. 4:14).
Thiering states that when the Scriptures talk about Jesus breaking the bread and giving it to the people, He was really giving them the authority previously reserved for the Levites (Riddles VHS).
Jesus Himself broke the Jewish law when He ??blessed and broke and gave the bread?? (Matt. 14:19).
If Thiering??s theory is accurate, then many of the unexplained events in the Scriptures can be interpreted and understood. Her theories take away the divine nature of the Old and New Testament making it more believable and logical. However, her claims for this theory raise many questions. For instance, Thiering states that Jesus did not really die and resurrect. Instead, He was buried alive and rescued by His disciples after three days (Riddles VHS).
The Essay on Understanding The Bible: A Basic Introduction To Biblical Interpretation
Religion is a powerful tool in the world today, with different people ascribing to diverse religious beliefs. Religion defines the ways of life and culture of people; hence, emphasizing its influence among different people in the world (Kalman, 2009). Religions have features and elements that guide their faithful on how to live according to the precepts of the respective religion. Christianity is ...
Afterwards, He went into solitary hiding, thus He ??was received into heaven?? (Mark 16:19).
The puzzling aspect of Thiering??s theory is, if Jesus did live until an advanced age, why are all references to Him in the later parts of the New Testament made in the past tense? And if He was alive during persecution of His disciples, why did He not do anything? But, most mysteriously, why aren??t there any existing writings by Jesus? After all, the New Testament makes constant reference to His teaching, yet there aren??t any documents written by Jesus Himself. Biblical scholars Dave Miller and Dr. Barbara Thiering both agree that the Scriptures are ??true?? documents. Miller states that the events occurring in the Bible should be taken in a literal sense. Thiering states that the Bible is a true collection of documents, however the documents must be studied at a deeper level. These two people represent the two extreme views of biblical scholars. Very few completely agree with either of these views simply because the scholars lack the evidence supporting these claims. Robert Funk, a former college professor and author of many books pertaining to the Scriptures, states that Jesus was ??more human than divine?? (Romjue 1).
In his studies, Funk has come to the conclusion that none of the divine occurrences in the New Testament should be taken literally. Even some of the sayings that are attributed to Jesus are questionable according to Funk. His reasoning comes from studying the parallels of the four Gospels, which describe the life of Jesus (Romjue 24).
However, Funk has been criticized by many denominations. My uncle who is an elder for the Korean Baptist Church of Concord states that ??a true leader is never accepted by his own people?? (Personal Interview #1).
He is saying that Jesus is facing criticism because of his authenticity. My uncle believes that every ??word of the Bible declares the truth and this truth proves the validity of the Scriptures?? (Personal Interview #1).
The Essay on Trust The Bible People Reasons Survived
Proving the Bible Right Now a days it s hard to trust anything. With so many things going wrong in today s society there is one thing that you can trust. That s the Holy Bible. There are many reasons to trust the Bible, the most common is that it s Gods word but for some people that just isn t enough. But if you do your research you learn many more reasons why to trust the Bible. I trust the Bible ...
Rather than just focus on the extreme views pertaining to the Bible, let us look at the consensus of the majority of biblical scholars. Here is an excerpt from my interview with Gerard Lee Dykstra, pastor of the Reform Church of Walnut Creek. His views sum up the majority views of biblical scholars. When asked if all of the Biblical events are accurate, including the concepts that seem to disregard the laws of nature and science, Dykstra replied: Do I believe that everything written in the Bible is true? Absolutely. Do I think that people misinterpret the Bible? Yes. For example, Noah??s Flood. Most Christians argue that this flood was universal and that it covered the entire earth. After all, in Genesis, it says that the flood ??was on the earth?? (Gen. 7:17).
But, I take a different stand on this and I have been criticized by many for believing differently. Do I believe that this flood occurred? Yes I do. Do I believe that God uses natural phenomenons (sic) to reach his people? Absolutely. However, at the time that this was written, the world as known to the people at that time, was not the entire world, as we know today. The world the people knew back then was just their continent. The people in the Bible believed that the world was divided into layers. The first layer being a ??firmament?? that was like a huge covering. This layer included the sky, sun, moon, and the stars. Then there was the land. These people believed that the land they were living on was floating on top of water. Why? Because in any direction they walked, they ended up reaching water. And what happened when they dug the ground? They eventually found water. Therefore, many events in the Bible are misinterpreted by society today. Same goes for the story of Creation. People state that the world was created in six days. That is six, 24-hour days. However, this is not true. Yes, I do believe that God created the world, but not in six days. (Personal Interview #2).
In this interview, we can see how Dykstra addresses both sides of the issue regarding the validity of the Bible. When Dykstra comments on the misinterpretation of the Bible, he is addressing the extremists like Dave Miller, who believe in the literal translation of the Scriptures. However, Dykstra differs from Miller in that he believes that there is a cultural error in the Bible. He claims that the Bible was written using knowledge known to the world at that time. In any case, Dykstra still holds firm his belief in the divine nature of the Bible. There is a new concept that we can see here with Dykstra. This concept is visible in Miller??s argument as well. It is the concept of faith and belief. Miller??s faith in the Scriptures allows him to find the validity of the Bible within the text itself. Therefore, all archeological evidence seems to be proving the Bible. In my case, and the case of many others, our doubts regarding the truth of the Bible influences our interpretation. Therefore, the same archaeological evidence, which Miller sees as ??advocating the inerrancy of the Scriptures,?? can be, in the views of others, evidence which, disproves the Bible??s validity. There is no way to physically prove the Bible. After all, much of the Bible contains supernatural events, which could never be scientifically proven. Also, the earlier books of the Old Testament refer to events that occurred anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. These events have never been proven and there has never been any archaeological evidence supporting the existence of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, or any of the earlier characters. Biblical scholar and founding editor of the magazine, Biblical Archeology Review, Hershel Shanks sums up the consensus of the majority of biblical scholars. He states that ??you can??t look at the text literally. It wasn??t written as modern history was written. But on the other hand, it certainly wasn??t made up?? (Lemonick 3).
The Bible has been vastly influential book of Western society. Its birthplace is an area no bigger than the state of New Jersey. Yet, this book has lasted for over 4,000 years. Those years were not at all gentle and delicate to the Bible. It had to survive persecution by many different cultures, outlive the hardships of the Dark Ages, and allow itself to be translated hundreds and thousands of times. It is shocking to see how the Bible infiltrated almost every corner of the earth. In some ways, perhaps the very existence of the Bible advocates it validity.
Bibliography:
Bibliography Aubery, Patty, et al. Chicken Soup For the Christian Soul. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1997. Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh. The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception. New York, NY: Summit Books, 1991. The Bible: New King James Version. 14th Printing. Korea: Korean Bible Society, 1987. Brown, Raymond E. Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist
Press, 1990. Cheadle, Rand, and Jim Hill. The Bible Tells Me So: Uses and Abuses of Holy
Scripture. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1996. Cohen, Edmund D. The Mind of the Bible-Believer. Buffalo, NY: Pronetheus Books, 1988. Dykstra, Gerard Lee. Personal Interview (2).
4 Dec. 1997. Edwards, James R. ??Who Do Scholars Say that I Am??? Christianity Today. 4 Mar. 1997: 14-21. Griffin, Jerry. ??The Bible: Preserved for You.?? Bible Advocate Press. Jul. 1997. (1 Dec. 1997).
Lemonick, Michael D. ??Are the Bible Stories True??? Time. 18 Dec. 1995: 62-66. Kim, John B. Personal Interview (1).
26 Nov. 1997. Mason, M. S. ??Classes Ponder Faith and Science.?? Christian Science Monitor. 8 Dec. 1997: 1-4.
