When you have decided some issue in advance of considering the evidence, it is easy to see falsehood in anything that might negate your belief. At the same time, you see arguments supporting your pre-decided conclusion as more worthy than they merit.
Many Christians start with believing that the Bible is inerrant and only see examples of that conclusion. Questions raised about contradictions or evidence of forgery are dismissed and the questioner condemned.
This makes any discussion of the Bible and religion in general very difficult when one side is saying, “Let’s look at the evidence,” and the other side is saying, “La, la, la, I can’t hear you.”
In the January 6, 2012, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Billy Graham is asked about the Bible: “Our church is being torn over … whether we accept the Bible as our sole authority (as some in our church believe), or we listen to the world and try to discern if God is saying something new (as others contend). Which way should we go?” You can read all of Billy’s answer here.
Billy responds by trying to tell his readers that this is a question that has personal meaning for him. A person he respected challenged him to view the Bible through a modern perspective. Billy says he considered what this person was saying and then rejected the idea.
Billy’s main argument for accepting the Bible as the word of God is circular at best. Billy says, “Jesus clearly accepted the Bible as the Word of God; could I do anything less?”
Billy is a highly respected evangelical, but apparently his education in history is lacking. If Harry Potter, in one of the Harry Potter books, were to show that he accepted the Harry Potter books as truth, would that mean anything? Jesus is a character in the Bible. For Jesus to accept the book He is part of is meaningless.
Furthermore, Jesus can only be considered as an authority on the Hebrew Bible. The written form of the Christian Testament did not appear until decades following the death of Jesus. If Billy claims Jesus as His authority, Billy can only use that for accepting the truth of the Hebrew Testament. Under those conditions, Billy should be following the laws and rules of Judaism.
Finally, Billy ends his response by quoting from one of the questionable books of the Christian Testament, Timothy 2. Studies done by Bart Ehrman and other Biblical scholars show that the two books of Timothy and the book of Titus were probably written, as forgeries under Paul’s name, long after Paul was dead.
Billy should be aware of scholarly investigations of the Bible. He should be aware of controversies concerning the Bible. Instead, he seems to be covering his head with sand and singing, “La, la, la ….”
---
What I am reading: “Forged” by Bart D. Ehrman, ISBN 9780062012616.
You can read a review of Ehrman’s book here.
Ehrman lists multiple reasons for thinking that many of the books accepted in the Christian Canon were, in fact, forgeries written as if by Paul, Peter or another important person. In many cases, the forger intended to influence Christians to behave in certain ways or to accept beliefs different from the alleged author.
In particular, scholars know Timothy 1 is a forgery. Many churches oppress women and deny the ordination of women based on quotes from Timothy 1. The writing style of Timothy 2 is very similar to Timothy 1 and quite different from other books attributed to Paul.
---
If you find my articles interesting and you enjoy reading them, you can subscribe. You will be notified by email whenever I publish a new article. Thank you.
Read all my articles at my main Examiner site.
Please leave a comment under [Add a new comment] above or scroll down below the article. You can share this article with others by clicking on the icons below my mug shot at the top of the article. Thanks for sharing!
Comments