According to Peggy Vaughan, the author of "The Monogamy Myth," 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an affair at some point in their marriage. In other words, the person who stays monogamous within her marriage is among a growing minority.
1. Nurture Safe Friendships This is the most important affair-preventer in my life. No marriage can give you everything. A husband is going to have interests that his wife will never care about like fishing, hunting, or golfing. So he's less likely to stray if he can find some good guy buddies with whom to fish, hunt, and golf.
2. Recognize the Drug Depressives and addicts are especially prone to affairs because of the head rush that comes with infatuation. The spikes in dopamine and norepinephrine we experience upon connecting with someone new fools us into thinking that the sexy man or attractive woman at the bar holds the key to our nirvana and the end to our problems. This is the same as, say, the high from cocaine. Recognizing that that rush is not real, meaningful, or lasting, can help a married person to "just say no."
3. Keep Dating I'm serious here. Visiting with your spouse with some regularity--just the two of you and no one else--will bring some very definite rewards to a marriage. By dating, you will learn how to TALK to each other again. In her book, "Mating in Captivity," Esther Perel urges a client to imagine her spouse as if she has just met him, to put him into that mysterious category again. This is really hard when you got a little one screaming, "Wipe me!" from the bathroom. However, when you can pull it off, I find her theory very effective.
Here are a few rules for date night:* No kid talk * No eavesdropping * No fighting * No flirting (with other people) * No whining or crying * No flatulence * No technology (cellphones, BlackBerries, iPhones, or iPods) * No interrupting * No belching, spitting, or vomiting * No heavy boozing * No blogging about it * No Christmas sweaters, polyester dresses, or ratty underwear.
4. Pray Together I know how those two words sound: just like the instructions of a couple leading a Catholic marriage preparation program (Pre-Cana) who told the engaged couples to "hold hands while they fight." Yeah right. Thanks for that advice!
I can't help but think there is some truth to what my high school teacher said about the braid of a marriage: you need God as that third strand to create the beautiful bond between a man and a woman. And that Fr. Peyton really knew what he was talking about when he coined the phrase, "a family that prays together stays together."
5. Find a Creative Outlet People get lured into emotional and physical affairs because the infatuation provides an exciting, stimulating place where they are energized.
So to stay affair-proof, you have to find other sources of stimulation and excitement. For me, my blog is that outlet. I can't wait to log on each day to see what all of my dear readers have to say. When I get overwhelmed by the domestic chaos of our lives, Beyond Blue provides me that outlet where I can create something new, where I can run away, however temporarily, from the stress.
"The desire to give oneself completely and purposefully pursues us always, and has its part in pushing us into more and more distractions, illusory love affairs, or the haven of hospitals and doctors' offices," writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh in "Gift From the Sea." In order to not be torn into pieces by all of life's distraction--and affairs fit into this category--Lindbergh urges women (and I add men) to seek a creative outlet, something of her own, in which to pour that energy that could so quickly shatter her marriage.
6. Hang Out with Happy Couples According to the latest studies, the risk for obesity increased 171 percent among persons with obese friends. The risk only increased 37 percent for persons with an obese spouse, and 40 percent for folks with obese siblings.
That says to me that peer pressure never really goes away, and that your friends influence you more than you think. So if you're hanging with a bunch of guys (or girls) that see nothing wrong with sleeping around, you are much more likely to do it yourself.
The good news is that the opposite is also true. If you have a set of friends committed to their marriages, you will be less likely to cheat on your spouse.
7. Learn How to Fight I'm not going to tell you to hold hands, like that woman at the Pre-Cana (Catholic marriage preparation) session. But this good advice did actually come from the couple who facilitated Eric's and my Pre-Cana obligation. They told us to wait before saying something really ugly, and make sure you weren't tired or hungry, or in a stressful situation.
I'm not saying that you can't confront your spouse if you're tired, hungry, or stressed, because then we'd live in a silent world. BUT it's a good idea to recognize situations that tend to accelerate arguments. For Eric and me, that's two places: in the car (because I'm a nervous passenger, and so is he), and on a sailboat (where we argue about which one of us is a more capable skipper and can better read the wind).
8. Be Nice and Listen "Duh," you're saying to yourself. But think about it. This is the hardest part about marriage. Listening. Keeping your mouth closed when the other person is talking. And then, at the appropriate time, saying something like, "I'm so sorry you're feeling that way" as you rub his back, instead of "If you would have done it this way, then you could have prevented that, Butthead."
In my conversations with men and women who have had affairs, the number one reason for pursuing the affair was this: "She listened to me. I mattered to him."
9. Remember These Tools Never forget that you have a toolbox of resources to draw on when you feel tempted by an extramarital affair. Here are some tools offered to me by those healing from affairs, insights to keep in mind when you feel that familiar head rush and are tempted to abandon logic for a thrill:
Don't go there: Don't put yourself in a threatening situation. Skip the conference in Hawaii with the colleague who flirts with you. If you absolutely have to go, avoid all opportunities to be alone with him.
You've got mail: When you don't know if your email crosses the line into appropriate language, send it to yourself first. Read it again, and ask yourself: would I feel comfortable showing this to my husband?
Dress with intentions: One woman told me that she saved her lingerie for her husband, and wore the ratty old underwear to the high-school reunion where she'd see a flame from the past.
Talk about your spouse: A guy friend told me that whenever he is alone with a woman he finds attractive and things are getting uncomfortable, he'll start talking about his wife--what her hobbies are, and how much he loves her. It immediately kills the mood.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
C. The Apocrypha
The Apocrypha refers to 7 Old Testament books plus portions of other books, that are accepted by the Roman Catholic Church as being inspired, but are rejected as uninspired by non-Catholics. Consider these observations regarding the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
There is no disagreement as to which books belong in the New Testament.
The disagreement concerns only Old Testament books. But God’s commands for today are in the New Testament, not in the Old. So the Apocrypha are of little doctrinal significance. A person can surely learn the truth about how to be saved by studying the Catholic Bible, provided he obeys the text of the New Testament, not the Old Testament (and certainly not the uninspired footnotes that the Catholic church has added.)
The Hebrew Old Testament, as accepted by Jews both today and in Jesus' day, rejects the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
This fact is also undisputed. For example, Catholic Bibles plainly admit the following in the introduction to the apocryphal book of 1 Machabees: “Jews and Protestants do not regard these books as Sacred Scripture…” (quoted from the St. Joseph New Catholic Edition).
But remember that Jesus and His apostles used the Old Testament as the Jews of Palestine accepted it. They taught Jews from the Jewish Scriptures and corrected the Jews on every point in which the Jews erred, but they never once disagreed with them about what books they accepted in the Scriptures. Clearly Jesus and His apostles agreed with the Jews about which books to accept in the Old Testament. And the Apocrypha were not included.
Jesus and His apostles repeatedly quoted Old Testament books, but they never quoted nor appealed to the authority of any of the apocryphal books.
Even the Catholic Church did not officially require Catholics to accept the Apocrypha as canonical until the Council of Trent in 1546 AD.
The Catholic Dictionary by Addis and Arnold (pp. 107-110), while claiming that the books are canonical, yet admits the following facts: (1) The tradition of Palestinian Jews in Jesus' time did not accept the Apocrypha (remember, Jesus was a Palestinian Jew who lived and taught among Palestinian Jews). (2) Church "fathers" held various views on the issue, and at least one Catholic council held the books to be non-canonical. (3) Finally the Council of Trent declared the books must be accepted as "sacred and canonical" under penalty of anathema.
Much more evidence exists, but this is sufficient to show that the Apocrypha should not be viewed as true Scripture. And again there is no question about what books should be included in the New Testament, which we must obey to be saved.
Conclusion
God’s word has been preserved for us today in a form that is complete and reliable. Our faith in the preservation of the Bible should be based on the promise of God that He would preserve His word. He has demonstrated throughout history that He has kept His promises and will continue to do so.
We should appeal to the Scriptures as our only infallible source of God’s will. We ought to study them diligently, obey their precepts, and teach others to do the same. If this has not been your attitude toward the Bible, we urge you to begin now to study and obey it.
There is no disagreement as to which books belong in the New Testament.
The disagreement concerns only Old Testament books. But God’s commands for today are in the New Testament, not in the Old. So the Apocrypha are of little doctrinal significance. A person can surely learn the truth about how to be saved by studying the Catholic Bible, provided he obeys the text of the New Testament, not the Old Testament (and certainly not the uninspired footnotes that the Catholic church has added.)
The Hebrew Old Testament, as accepted by Jews both today and in Jesus' day, rejects the inspiration of the Apocrypha.
This fact is also undisputed. For example, Catholic Bibles plainly admit the following in the introduction to the apocryphal book of 1 Machabees: “Jews and Protestants do not regard these books as Sacred Scripture…” (quoted from the St. Joseph New Catholic Edition).
But remember that Jesus and His apostles used the Old Testament as the Jews of Palestine accepted it. They taught Jews from the Jewish Scriptures and corrected the Jews on every point in which the Jews erred, but they never once disagreed with them about what books they accepted in the Scriptures. Clearly Jesus and His apostles agreed with the Jews about which books to accept in the Old Testament. And the Apocrypha were not included.
Jesus and His apostles repeatedly quoted Old Testament books, but they never quoted nor appealed to the authority of any of the apocryphal books.
Even the Catholic Church did not officially require Catholics to accept the Apocrypha as canonical until the Council of Trent in 1546 AD.
The Catholic Dictionary by Addis and Arnold (pp. 107-110), while claiming that the books are canonical, yet admits the following facts: (1) The tradition of Palestinian Jews in Jesus' time did not accept the Apocrypha (remember, Jesus was a Palestinian Jew who lived and taught among Palestinian Jews). (2) Church "fathers" held various views on the issue, and at least one Catholic council held the books to be non-canonical. (3) Finally the Council of Trent declared the books must be accepted as "sacred and canonical" under penalty of anathema.
Much more evidence exists, but this is sufficient to show that the Apocrypha should not be viewed as true Scripture. And again there is no question about what books should be included in the New Testament, which we must obey to be saved.
Conclusion
God’s word has been preserved for us today in a form that is complete and reliable. Our faith in the preservation of the Bible should be based on the promise of God that He would preserve His word. He has demonstrated throughout history that He has kept His promises and will continue to do so.
We should appeal to the Scriptures as our only infallible source of God’s will. We ought to study them diligently, obey their precepts, and teach others to do the same. If this has not been your attitude toward the Bible, we urge you to begin now to study and obey it.
Monday, February 23, 2009
B. Variations in the Manuscripts
But what are the “thousands of errors” critics claim exist in the text? These are differences or variations that can be found when ancient manuscripts are compared to one another. With all these hand-written copies, one would naturally expect some variations to have crept into the text, despite the copyists’ best efforts.
But the main reason we have so many variations is that we have so many manuscripts to work with. For example, if 2000 manuscripts spell a word one way and 2000 others spell the word a little differently, that is counted as “thousands of variations.”
So the very volume of evidence we have is what leads to the large number of variations. This should be taken as evidence supporting the preservation of the Bible, instead of evidence against it. Would critics be better satisfied if we had far fewer manuscripts and therefore far fewer variations?
What is the nature of these variant readings?
1. Different spellings which in no way affect the meaning of the text
These account for fully one half of the variant readings! This would be like the difference between “Elias” and “Elijah” in our English versions. No diligent student could ever misunderstand God’s word because of such variations.
2. Differences in word order which in no way affect the meaning
Examples might be “the Lord Jesus Christ” as compared to “Jesus Christ the Lord.” No one could be misled by such instances. And due to the grammatical structure of the languages, such variations in word order are of enormously less significance in Hebrew or Greek than they are in English.
3. Insertion or omission of a word, or use of a different word, but the meaning is not affected
Examples might be "God your Father" compared to "God the Father," or simply "the Father."
4. Variations in which whole phrases or sentences are inserted or omitted.
These may seem to be real problems. But in fact none of these variations affect our understanding of God's word, because the teaching in the questionable texts can be found clearly taught in other passages which are unquestioned. Often a questionable phrase (for example, perhaps a phrase in Matthew's account) can be found word-for-word in a parallel account which is beyond question (such as perhaps in Mark's account).
In other cases, the teaching may not be found word-for-word elsewhere, but the concept is unquestionably taught elsewhere. Men who study these problems say these "significant variations" make up less than 1/1000 of the text of the New Testament. If all of them were put together, they would take up less than half a page. And none of them affect the total content of teaching of God's word!
Sir Frederic Kenyon, who served 21 years as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum (which houses many significant ancient manuscripts of the Bible) said: "The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries." Many similar statements can be quoted from other such men.
(Material in this section is gathered mainly from: How We Got the Bible, by Neil Lightfoot; The Theme of the Bible, by Ferrell Jenkins; and A Book about the Book, by John Jarrett.)
But the main reason we have so many variations is that we have so many manuscripts to work with. For example, if 2000 manuscripts spell a word one way and 2000 others spell the word a little differently, that is counted as “thousands of variations.”
So the very volume of evidence we have is what leads to the large number of variations. This should be taken as evidence supporting the preservation of the Bible, instead of evidence against it. Would critics be better satisfied if we had far fewer manuscripts and therefore far fewer variations?
What is the nature of these variant readings?
1. Different spellings which in no way affect the meaning of the text
These account for fully one half of the variant readings! This would be like the difference between “Elias” and “Elijah” in our English versions. No diligent student could ever misunderstand God’s word because of such variations.
2. Differences in word order which in no way affect the meaning
Examples might be “the Lord Jesus Christ” as compared to “Jesus Christ the Lord.” No one could be misled by such instances. And due to the grammatical structure of the languages, such variations in word order are of enormously less significance in Hebrew or Greek than they are in English.
3. Insertion or omission of a word, or use of a different word, but the meaning is not affected
Examples might be "God your Father" compared to "God the Father," or simply "the Father."
4. Variations in which whole phrases or sentences are inserted or omitted.
These may seem to be real problems. But in fact none of these variations affect our understanding of God's word, because the teaching in the questionable texts can be found clearly taught in other passages which are unquestioned. Often a questionable phrase (for example, perhaps a phrase in Matthew's account) can be found word-for-word in a parallel account which is beyond question (such as perhaps in Mark's account).
In other cases, the teaching may not be found word-for-word elsewhere, but the concept is unquestionably taught elsewhere. Men who study these problems say these "significant variations" make up less than 1/1000 of the text of the New Testament. If all of them were put together, they would take up less than half a page. And none of them affect the total content of teaching of God's word!
Sir Frederic Kenyon, who served 21 years as Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum (which houses many significant ancient manuscripts of the Bible) said: "The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries." Many similar statements can be quoted from other such men.
(Material in this section is gathered mainly from: How We Got the Bible, by Neil Lightfoot; The Theme of the Bible, by Ferrell Jenkins; and A Book about the Book, by John Jarrett.)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Part 3: The Fulfillment of God's Promise to Preserve His Word.
We accept our modern Bible as being an accurate record of God’s word because of our faith in God’s power and His promises to preserve His word. The actual fulfillment of these promises regarding the New Testament, however, had to occur after the New Testament was completed.
By examining ancient copies of the Scriptures, we can appreciate how thoroughly God has fulfilled His promise to preserve His word.
A. Modern Evidence for the Original Text of Scripture
We today do not have any of the “autographs” — the original manuscripts of the Bible in the very hand-writing of the authors. But as mentioned earlier, men carefully copied, quoted, circulated, and translated God’s word through the years. As a result, we today have volumes of evidence to establish what the original texts said.
1. We have more than 4500 hand-written copies of the Bible in the original languages.
Some of these manuscripts are complete, others are partial or fragments. Some of them are dated to within a few centuries of the time of the New Testament writers, and a few are dated to within a few decades of their time.
2. We have many ancient translations of the Bible into other languages.
3. We have thousands of Scripture quotations found in ancient non-inspired writings.
In fact, all but a few verses of the New Testament could be reproduced just from these uninspired quotations.
Compared to the writings of other ancient authors, our evidence for the Bible’s content is overwhelming. For other writings, “convincing evidence” may consist of just a few manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when the men lived. But with the Bible we have thousands of manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when Jesus lived, and many manuscripts dated within just a few centuries.
These manuscripts were copied by men such as the “Scribes” of Jesus’ day, who were fanatically precise in their work. They checked their work by counting number of letters and words per line, per page, etc. No errors were tolerated. Remember that Jesus often disagreed with these men about their explanations of the Scriptures, but He never criticized the accuracy of their copies of the Scriptures.
By examining ancient copies of the Scriptures, we can appreciate how thoroughly God has fulfilled His promise to preserve His word.
A. Modern Evidence for the Original Text of Scripture
We today do not have any of the “autographs” — the original manuscripts of the Bible in the very hand-writing of the authors. But as mentioned earlier, men carefully copied, quoted, circulated, and translated God’s word through the years. As a result, we today have volumes of evidence to establish what the original texts said.
1. We have more than 4500 hand-written copies of the Bible in the original languages.
Some of these manuscripts are complete, others are partial or fragments. Some of them are dated to within a few centuries of the time of the New Testament writers, and a few are dated to within a few decades of their time.
2. We have many ancient translations of the Bible into other languages.
3. We have thousands of Scripture quotations found in ancient non-inspired writings.
In fact, all but a few verses of the New Testament could be reproduced just from these uninspired quotations.
Compared to the writings of other ancient authors, our evidence for the Bible’s content is overwhelming. For other writings, “convincing evidence” may consist of just a few manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when the men lived. But with the Bible we have thousands of manuscripts dated less than 1000 years from when Jesus lived, and many manuscripts dated within just a few centuries.
These manuscripts were copied by men such as the “Scribes” of Jesus’ day, who were fanatically precise in their work. They checked their work by counting number of letters and words per line, per page, etc. No errors were tolerated. Remember that Jesus often disagreed with these men about their explanations of the Scriptures, but He never criticized the accuracy of their copies of the Scriptures.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
C. The Attitude of Jesus and His Disciples toward Old Testament Scripture
Now we come to the lifetime of Jesus and His disciples. This was about 1400 years after Moses began to write, and over 400 years since the last Old Testament Scripture had been recorded. These men were themselves inspired by the Holy Spirit. They clearly rebuked the Jews of their day regarding any error of which they were guilty. Surely they would have pointed out any problems in the Jewish Scriptures, if such problems existed.
What do we find? Did they say some necessary portions of Old Testament Scripture were missing or uninspired parts had been added? Did they say the Scriptures could no longer be trusted as an accurate revelation of God’s will?
1. In the first century, copies of the Old Testament were widely circulated and studied as revelation from God.
Luke 4:16-21 - In the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, and said the passage was fulfilled in Jesus Himself.
Acts 8:28-35 - The Ethiopian treasurer was reading Isaiah. Philip used it as authority to teach about Jesus.
Acts 15:21 - For many generations, every city had a copy of the Scriptures (of Moses), and they were read in the synagogue every sabbath. The message was still preserved, had been copied and circulated, and was being studied and cited as authority. Did Jesus and His apostles believe this was proper treatment of Scripture?
2. Inspired men quoted Old Testament Scriptures, and expected people to study and respect them as accurate, authoritative revelation from God.
Matthew 4:4,7,10 - Jesus quoted Scripture to defeat Satan's temptations.
Matthew 15:1-9 - Jesus quoted the Old Testament as being the commandment of God, and He rebuked those who did not obey it.
Matthew 22:29-33 - Jesus rebuked people for not knowing the Scriptures. He then quoted Moses, saying that God said this “to you” (to the people in Jesus’ day). Though this passage had been written perhaps 1400 years earlier, Jesus still expected people in His day to understand it and respect it as God’s message to them.
1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4 — Paul said the Old Testament Scriptures were written for the learning and admonition of people in his day, even though they lived many centuries after the passages were written.
Acts 17:11 - The Bereans were noble-minded, because they were willing to search the Scriptures to determine whether or not they were being taught the truth.
Clearly Jesus and His apostles expected people to view the Scripture as authority to be studied and respected as revelation from God, even though it had been in existence for as much as 1400 years. This necessarily implies that the Scriptures had been accurately preserved. All of this is exactly how we are saying that the Scriptures should still be viewed and used today.
3. Inspired men appealed to Old Testament authority to confirm their own teaching.
Luke 24:27,44-46 - Jesus claimed He fulfilled Moses, all the prophets, and the psalms. Here Jesus appeals to the whole Old Testament as being authoritative.
Acts 17:2,3 - Paul demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ by reasoning with people from the Scriptures.
John 5:39,45-47 - Jesus said that Moses and the Scriptures testify of Him.
(Note that Jesus and His apostles taught that the gospel would replace the Old Testament as God's commandments for His people, but this was because the Old Law had fulfilled its purpose and God had intended all along to replace it - Heb. 8:6-13; 10:1-10; Rom. 7:2-7; Col. 2:14,16; Gal. 3:23,24; etc. At no point did they imply that the reason the law should be replaced was that the written record of it had become lost or perverted in content.)
4. Inspired men used evidence based on minute details of the Scriptures.
Matthew 22:31,32 — Having rebuked men for being ignorant of the Scriptures, Jesus proved the resurrection because God said, “I am the God of Abraham …” [Cf. Gal. 3:16.]
Jesus’ proof was based on a quotation from Moses — the oldest part of the Scriptures. It depended on the accuracy of the written word in verb tense and would have meant nothing had there been any possibility the written word had become inaccurate.
Clearly inspired men viewed the Scriptures as accurate revelation from God, and they expected other people in their day to do likewise. But remember, these men rebuked every point in which the Jews of their day were in error. Had there been any error in the Jews’ Scriptures, these inspired men would surely have told them so. Instead, they quoted the Scriptures and respected them as authority from God.
But the New Testament was written, copied, circulated, collected, translated, and preserved in exactly the same way as the Old Testament had been. God described the New Testament as “Scripture,” just like He did the Old Testament. He clearly stated that the New Testament should be used as written proof of His will for man, just as the Old Testament had been. He promised to preserve the New Testament, exactly as He had promised to preserve the Old Testament.
If God accurately preserved the Old Testament multiplied centuries till Jesus’ day, in fulfillment of His promises, who can doubt that God has likewise preserved the whole Bible through the centuries till today? All who believe in God’s power ought to accept the Bible as God’s word today and ought to use it as the absolute and infallible standard of authority to learn God’s will for our lives.
What do we find? Did they say some necessary portions of Old Testament Scripture were missing or uninspired parts had been added? Did they say the Scriptures could no longer be trusted as an accurate revelation of God’s will?
1. In the first century, copies of the Old Testament were widely circulated and studied as revelation from God.
Luke 4:16-21 - In the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, and said the passage was fulfilled in Jesus Himself.
Acts 8:28-35 - The Ethiopian treasurer was reading Isaiah. Philip used it as authority to teach about Jesus.
Acts 15:21 - For many generations, every city had a copy of the Scriptures (of Moses), and they were read in the synagogue every sabbath. The message was still preserved, had been copied and circulated, and was being studied and cited as authority. Did Jesus and His apostles believe this was proper treatment of Scripture?
2. Inspired men quoted Old Testament Scriptures, and expected people to study and respect them as accurate, authoritative revelation from God.
Matthew 4:4,7,10 - Jesus quoted Scripture to defeat Satan's temptations.
Matthew 15:1-9 - Jesus quoted the Old Testament as being the commandment of God, and He rebuked those who did not obey it.
Matthew 22:29-33 - Jesus rebuked people for not knowing the Scriptures. He then quoted Moses, saying that God said this “to you” (to the people in Jesus’ day). Though this passage had been written perhaps 1400 years earlier, Jesus still expected people in His day to understand it and respect it as God’s message to them.
1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4 — Paul said the Old Testament Scriptures were written for the learning and admonition of people in his day, even though they lived many centuries after the passages were written.
Acts 17:11 - The Bereans were noble-minded, because they were willing to search the Scriptures to determine whether or not they were being taught the truth.
Clearly Jesus and His apostles expected people to view the Scripture as authority to be studied and respected as revelation from God, even though it had been in existence for as much as 1400 years. This necessarily implies that the Scriptures had been accurately preserved. All of this is exactly how we are saying that the Scriptures should still be viewed and used today.
3. Inspired men appealed to Old Testament authority to confirm their own teaching.
Luke 24:27,44-46 - Jesus claimed He fulfilled Moses, all the prophets, and the psalms. Here Jesus appeals to the whole Old Testament as being authoritative.
Acts 17:2,3 - Paul demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ by reasoning with people from the Scriptures.
John 5:39,45-47 - Jesus said that Moses and the Scriptures testify of Him.
(Note that Jesus and His apostles taught that the gospel would replace the Old Testament as God's commandments for His people, but this was because the Old Law had fulfilled its purpose and God had intended all along to replace it - Heb. 8:6-13; 10:1-10; Rom. 7:2-7; Col. 2:14,16; Gal. 3:23,24; etc. At no point did they imply that the reason the law should be replaced was that the written record of it had become lost or perverted in content.)
4. Inspired men used evidence based on minute details of the Scriptures.
Matthew 22:31,32 — Having rebuked men for being ignorant of the Scriptures, Jesus proved the resurrection because God said, “I am the God of Abraham …” [Cf. Gal. 3:16.]
Jesus’ proof was based on a quotation from Moses — the oldest part of the Scriptures. It depended on the accuracy of the written word in verb tense and would have meant nothing had there been any possibility the written word had become inaccurate.
Clearly inspired men viewed the Scriptures as accurate revelation from God, and they expected other people in their day to do likewise. But remember, these men rebuked every point in which the Jews of their day were in error. Had there been any error in the Jews’ Scriptures, these inspired men would surely have told them so. Instead, they quoted the Scriptures and respected them as authority from God.
But the New Testament was written, copied, circulated, collected, translated, and preserved in exactly the same way as the Old Testament had been. God described the New Testament as “Scripture,” just like He did the Old Testament. He clearly stated that the New Testament should be used as written proof of His will for man, just as the Old Testament had been. He promised to preserve the New Testament, exactly as He had promised to preserve the Old Testament.
If God accurately preserved the Old Testament multiplied centuries till Jesus’ day, in fulfillment of His promises, who can doubt that God has likewise preserved the whole Bible through the centuries till today? All who believe in God’s power ought to accept the Bible as God’s word today and ought to use it as the absolute and infallible standard of authority to learn God’s will for our lives.
Friday, February 13, 2009
B. The History of the Old Testament Prior to Jesus' Birth
The Old Testament writings began approximately 1400 years BC. (all dates in this section are approximate). We can trace the history of these Scriptures throughout the rest of the Old Testament period and into the time of Christ and His apostles. We can see whether or not they were accurately preserved, and whether or not people were expected to continue to use them as inspired authority.
Joshua 1:7,8 — About 40 years after Moses wrote, God commanded Joshua to meditate day and night on Moses’ words, and to observe and obey them without variation. The writings had been preserved accurately, and should be studied and obeyed as an authoritative standard.
Joshua 23:2,6 — About 60 years after Moses wrote, Joshua died. But just before he died, he charged Israel to exactly keep all Moses wrote. The Scriptures still were accurately preserved and were to be studied and obeyed as God’s law.
1 Kings 2:3 (about 960 B.C.) — About 400 years after Moses wrote, David charged Solomon to keep God’s commands as written in the law of Moses. The Scriptures were still accurate and authoritative.
2 Chronicles 34:14-19,29-31 (about 605 B.C.) — About 800 years after Moses, Josiah found Moses’ book of the law. He restored the worship and service of God by performing the commands he found written there.
Note that the Scripture was still accurate and authoritative, even though it had been preserved for centuries and though God’s people had neglected it and been in apostasy for years. Yet all that was needed to restore faithful service to God was simply to practice what was written in the book. [Cf. chap. 35; 2 Kings 22,23.]
Nehemiah 8:1-3,8 (about 450 B.C.) — Perhaps some 900 years or more after Moses, the people of Israel again re-established the service of God in Palestine. This occurred following an apostasy so great that it led to the Babylonian captivity. Yet the Scripture was still so accurately preserved that it could be understood and obeyed as authority [cf. v13-18; 9:3].
Clearly God was keeping His promise to preserve the written word. Furthermore, He continued to expect people to study it and honor it as an inspired revelation showing how they should pattern their lives.
Joshua 1:7,8 — About 40 years after Moses wrote, God commanded Joshua to meditate day and night on Moses’ words, and to observe and obey them without variation. The writings had been preserved accurately, and should be studied and obeyed as an authoritative standard.
Joshua 23:2,6 — About 60 years after Moses wrote, Joshua died. But just before he died, he charged Israel to exactly keep all Moses wrote. The Scriptures still were accurately preserved and were to be studied and obeyed as God’s law.
1 Kings 2:3 (about 960 B.C.) — About 400 years after Moses wrote, David charged Solomon to keep God’s commands as written in the law of Moses. The Scriptures were still accurate and authoritative.
2 Chronicles 34:14-19,29-31 (about 605 B.C.) — About 800 years after Moses, Josiah found Moses’ book of the law. He restored the worship and service of God by performing the commands he found written there.
Note that the Scripture was still accurate and authoritative, even though it had been preserved for centuries and though God’s people had neglected it and been in apostasy for years. Yet all that was needed to restore faithful service to God was simply to practice what was written in the book. [Cf. chap. 35; 2 Kings 22,23.]
Nehemiah 8:1-3,8 (about 450 B.C.) — Perhaps some 900 years or more after Moses, the people of Israel again re-established the service of God in Palestine. This occurred following an apostasy so great that it led to the Babylonian captivity. Yet the Scripture was still so accurately preserved that it could be understood and obeyed as authority [cf. v13-18; 9:3].
Clearly God was keeping His promise to preserve the written word. Furthermore, He continued to expect people to study it and honor it as an inspired revelation showing how they should pattern their lives.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Part 2: The Old Testament Demonstrates God's Preservation of His Word.
God has not just promised to preserve the Scriptures for future generations, He has also given a convincing demonstration to prove that He has kept and will keep this promise. This demonstration is the Old Testament.
A. Note the Parallels in the Background of the Two Testaments.
1. Both testaments were given by inspiration of God.
For both Old and New Testaments, we have already cited Scriptures showing that the Holy Spirit gave inspired men the very words they should write down.
2. Both testaments were collected, copied, circulated, studied, and translated over a period of year.
Some critics have questioned the accuracy of the New Testament, because it was written by different men in different places. The writings were gradually collected and determined to be canonical, then they were translated to other languages. Some say we cannot be confident all this was done accurately, since uninspired men were involved.
But the same can be said for the Old Testament as for the New. Both testaments were gradually written, collected, copied, and lists of canonical books were developed. Both were translated so people of other languages could know them. For example, the Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, which was made several centuries before Jesus' time.
If it turns out that the Old Testament was accurately preserved though these methods were used, who can doubt that the New Testament has been accurately preserved when the same methods were used for it?
3. Both testaments were intended to serve as a standard of authority even for future generations.
We have cited Scriptures showing that God intended for people to keep the inspired writings, study them, obey them, and pass them on to future generations. The very reason why people copied, circulated, and translated the Scriptures was so that they would be available to the people who needed them.
4. Both testaments passed through generations in which no new revelations were added, and generations in which people neglected the Scriptures.
Some people say we cannot be sure we today have accurate New Testaments, because it has been so long since inspired men were alive to confirm it. Others claim that parts of the New Testament may have been perverted or lost during the generations when people generally neglected the Bible or were guilty of widespread apostasy.
But the Old Testament also passed through many generations when God’s people neglected it and were guilty of wholesale apostasy. Many generations passed in which no prophets lived and no new Scriptures were written. Specifically, there were over 400 years from the time the last Old Testament book was written till the birth of Jesus.
If it can be shown that the Old Testament was accurately preserved despite these problems, who can doubt that the same would be true of the New Testament?
5. Both testaments contain promises that God would preserve them.
We have already cited passages where God promised, both for the Old Testament and for the New Testament Scriptures, that He would preserve them forever. What He promised for one Testament, He also promised for the other. In this sense, the New Testament is as fully “Scripture” as is the Old Testament.
Now if we can clearly demonstrate that God did in fact keep His promise and accurately preserved the Old Testament for multiplied centuries, surely we must conclude that He has and will likewise keep His promise to preserve the whole Bible, including the New Testament. So let us consider the evidence for God’s preservation of the Old Testament.
A. Note the Parallels in the Background of the Two Testaments.
1. Both testaments were given by inspiration of God.
For both Old and New Testaments, we have already cited Scriptures showing that the Holy Spirit gave inspired men the very words they should write down.
2. Both testaments were collected, copied, circulated, studied, and translated over a period of year.
Some critics have questioned the accuracy of the New Testament, because it was written by different men in different places. The writings were gradually collected and determined to be canonical, then they were translated to other languages. Some say we cannot be confident all this was done accurately, since uninspired men were involved.
But the same can be said for the Old Testament as for the New. Both testaments were gradually written, collected, copied, and lists of canonical books were developed. Both were translated so people of other languages could know them. For example, the Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, which was made several centuries before Jesus' time.
If it turns out that the Old Testament was accurately preserved though these methods were used, who can doubt that the New Testament has been accurately preserved when the same methods were used for it?
3. Both testaments were intended to serve as a standard of authority even for future generations.
We have cited Scriptures showing that God intended for people to keep the inspired writings, study them, obey them, and pass them on to future generations. The very reason why people copied, circulated, and translated the Scriptures was so that they would be available to the people who needed them.
4. Both testaments passed through generations in which no new revelations were added, and generations in which people neglected the Scriptures.
Some people say we cannot be sure we today have accurate New Testaments, because it has been so long since inspired men were alive to confirm it. Others claim that parts of the New Testament may have been perverted or lost during the generations when people generally neglected the Bible or were guilty of widespread apostasy.
But the Old Testament also passed through many generations when God’s people neglected it and were guilty of wholesale apostasy. Many generations passed in which no prophets lived and no new Scriptures were written. Specifically, there were over 400 years from the time the last Old Testament book was written till the birth of Jesus.
If it can be shown that the Old Testament was accurately preserved despite these problems, who can doubt that the same would be true of the New Testament?
5. Both testaments contain promises that God would preserve them.
We have already cited passages where God promised, both for the Old Testament and for the New Testament Scriptures, that He would preserve them forever. What He promised for one Testament, He also promised for the other. In this sense, the New Testament is as fully “Scripture” as is the Old Testament.
Now if we can clearly demonstrate that God did in fact keep His promise and accurately preserved the Old Testament for multiplied centuries, surely we must conclude that He has and will likewise keep His promise to preserve the whole Bible, including the New Testament. So let us consider the evidence for God’s preservation of the Old Testament.
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