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Evidence of the Inspiration of Scripture

Bibliology, Part Two.

by Leon Stump, Pastor of Victory Christian Center.

Often unbelievers challenge Christians: "Prove to me the Bible is true." What they really mean is prove the Bible is what we claim it is--the infallible, inspired Word of God. How should we respond? How do we know the Bible is inspired, that it is the Word of God?

In reality, we cannot "prove" the Bible is inspired, at least not in the sense that some things can be inspired, at least not in the sense that some things can be proved. But this is no embarrassment to us because there are many things that men commonly accept that due to their nature do not lend themselves to strict mathematical proof but are received on other grounds of certainty. Instead of speaking of "proof" that the Bible is inspired, we should rather use the term "evidence" of inspiration.

Francis Turretin (1688) wrote:

"Certainty is of three kinds: (1) mathematical, (2) moral, and (3) theological. (1) Mathematical or metaphysical certainty consists of first principles known through nature and in themselves, and of conclusions demonstrated from such principles, such as 'the whole is greater than any part,' and 'the same object cannot both exist and not exist at the same time.' (2) Moral certainty is found in matters which cannot be demonstrated but which nevertheless are commended to belief by such most probable evidences and arguments that no prudent person can doubt them. (In this case are the conclusions) that the Aneid was written by Virgil, and Livy's history by Livy. Although, to be sure, the matter is not known through itself, yet it is so witnessed to by unchanging report that nobody who has any conception of history and literature can doubt it. (3) Theological certainty is found in matters which, although they cannot be demonstrated, nor known through themselves or by nature, and do not depend on most probable evidence and moral arguments, yet (depend on) arguments truly theological and divine, namely, divine revelation, which therefore produce not merely a moral and conjectural certainty, but a faith truly divine. Scripture does not hold metaphysical certainty. If it did, the assent which we would give it would take the form of knowledge (scientiam). not faith. It does not hold a certainty simply moral and probable. If it did, our faith would be no more certain than the historical assent which is given to human writings. But it does hold a theological and infallible certainty, which cannot deceive the person who is faithful and illuminated by the Spirit of God." (The Doctrine of Scripture, ed. and trans. by John W. Beardslee III; Baker:Grand Rapics, MI; 1981 (1688), pp. 53,54)

The believer needs no other evidence that the Scriptures are divine than the fact that they claim to be divine and that he clearly and unmistakable hears the voice of the majesty of God in them when he hears or reads them. And this is the "theological certainty" that Turretin speaks of, a certainty that surpasses all "proofs" of whatever kind.

On the other hand, for our own edification as well as for assisting "honest doubters," we can offer many evidences for the inspiration of the Scriptures:

1. The Bible makes its own claim to be inspired. (3808 times)

Gordon Clarke writes:

"The first reason for believing the Bible inspired is that the Bible claims to inspired. When this reason is offered to an unbeliever, almost always his immediate reaction is derision. To him it is very much like putting a liar on the witness stand and having him swear to tell the truth. But way a liar? Do not honest witnesses also swear to tell the truth? Yet even a Christian with a smattering of logic may object to this procedure because it seems to beg the question. it is circular. We believe the Bible to be inspired because it makes the claim, and we believe the claim because it is inspired and therefore true. This does not seem to be the right way to argue. It must be granted that not every claim is ipso facto true. There have been false witnesses in court, there have been false Messiahs, and there have been fraudulent so-called revelations. But to ignore the claim of the Bible, or of witnesses generally, is both an oversimplification and a mistake. For example, suppose the Bible actually says that it is not inspired. Or suppose merely that the Bible is completely silent on the subject, that it makes no more claim to divine inspiration than did Churchill. In such a case if the Christian asserts that the book is inspired, the unbeliever would be sure to reply that he is going far beyond the evidence. This reply is certainly just. There is no reason for making assertions beyond those that can be validly inferred from the statements of the Bible. But because this reply is so just, it follows that the unbeliever's derision at our first remark was groundless. What the Bible claims is an essential part of the argument. The Christian is well within the boundaries of logic to insist that the first reason is that it makes this claim . . .Even those who have a fair knowledge may not realize how insistently the Bible makes this claim." (Can I Trust My Bible?; Moody: Chicago; 1963. pp2,3).

The Bible's claim to inspiration is an important evidence for inspiration only to the degree that the Bible is a credible witness. Charles G, Finney, who was a lawyer before he became an evangelist, wrote:

"A witness in order to establish a fact must be both competent and credible. Competency relates to the propriety of his being heard at all. A competent witness is one against whom there is no such objection as to exclude him altogether from being heard. Credibility relates to the degree of credit to which the testimony of a witness is entitled. A credible witness is one whose testimony ought to be believed." (The Heart of Truth; Bethany: Minneapolis; 1976 [1840], pg 40).

The way to determine whether the Bible is a credible witness is to ask ourselves if it tells the truth in matters which can be verified by other sources. If it can be shown that it does not tell the truth in things for which we do have certainty, then its credibility is destroyed and we cannot believe it when it says it is inspired. On the other hand, if it can be established with certainty that the Bible does tell the truth about things other than its inspiration, its credibility as a witness is good, and it is not unreasonable to conclude that it is telling the truth when it testifies about itself what it says about itself that it is inspired.

Of the remaining evidences for the inspiration of the Scriptures below, some are not so much evidences of inspiration as they are evidences that it is true. Being inspired and being true are not the same. A writing may be true without being inspired. On the other hand, if a writing were inspired, it would also have to be true, and if it could be shown it was not true, it would therefore be proven not to be inspired. Thus there is a relationship between being inspired and being true even though they are not the same. Therefore we may use the following as evidences of inspiration as well. The second evidence for inspiration is--

2. The unity and harmony of the Bible.

If we were to take, as Josh McDowell suggests, just 10 great authors, all from the same walk of life an the same generation, place, time, mood, language, and continent and let them address only one controversial subject, what would be the chance of them agreeing? In contrast, the Bible Was written by 40+ authors from very diverse walks of life over a period of 1600 years (over 60 generations) in many different places and different moods on three continents and addresses many controversial subjects; yet it forms one harmonious whole! This is remarkable evidence that it is the product of One Mind, the divine, which spans all time.

Josh McDowell writes:

"Here is a book written over 1600 year span . . . over 60 generations . . . by 40 plus authors from every walk of life including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, ect: Moses, a political leader, trained in the universities of Egypt; Peter , a fisherman; Amos , a herdsman; Joshua, a military general; Nehemiah, a cupbearer; Daniel, a prime minister; Luke, a doctor; Solomon, a king; Matthew, a tax collector; Paul, a Rabbi. . . in different places: Moses in the wilderness; Jeremiah in a dungeon; Daniel on a hillside and in a place; Luke while traveling; John on the isle of Patmos; others in the rigors of a military campaign . . . at different times: David in times of war; Solomon in times of peace . . during different moods: some writing form the heights of joy and others writing from the depths of sorrow and despair. on three continents: Asia , Africa, and Europe. . . . in three languages: Hebrew. . . Aramaic . . . Greek . . . . Its subject matter includes hundreds of controversial subjects. A controversial subject is one which would create opposing opinions when mentioned or discussed. Biblical authors spoke on hundreds of controversial subjects with harmony and continuity form Genesis to Revelation. There is one unfolding story: "God's redemption of man." (Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Campus Crusade:San Bernardino, CA; 1972, pp. 19,20)

F.F. Bruce adds,

"The writings themselves belong to a great variety of literary types. They include history, law (civil, criminal, ethical, ritual, sanitary), religious poetry, didactic treatises, lyric poetry, parable and allegory, biography, personal correspondence, personal memoirs and diaries, in addition to the distinctively Biblical types of prophecy and apocalyptic. For all that, the Bible is not simply an anthology; there is a ; unity which binds the whole together. An anthology is compiled by an anthologist, but no anthologist compiled the Bible. . . Any part of the human body can only be properly explained in reference to the whole body. And any part of the Bible can only be properly explained in reference to the whole Bible." (The Books and the Parchments; Revell: Westwood, NJ; 1963, pp88,89; quoted in McDowell).

Robert L. Saucy writes:

"The message of the Bible is one great drama in which all the parts fit together. From "Paradise Lost" in Genesis to "Paradise Regained" in Revelation, the Bible represents the unfolding of God's great purpose for man which is worked out through His Son. Jesus Himself declared that the Scriptures bore witness of Him (John 5:39 0. In the O. T. --as the hope of the world-- and in the New--as the fulfillment of that hope--Christ and His work are the cord that ties all of the Scriptures together." (Is the Bible Reliable?; Victor: Wheaton, IL; 1978, p.39)

R.A. Torrey said,

"It is not a superficial unity, but a profound unity. On the surface, we often find apparent discrepancy and disagreement, but as we study, the apparent discrepancy and disagreement disappear, and the deep underlying unity appears. The more deeply we study, the more complete do we find the unity to be. The unity is also an organic one--that is, it is not the unity of a dead thing, like stone, but of a living thing, light a plant. In the early books of the Bible we have germinant thought; as we go on we have the plant, and further on the bud, and then the blossom, and then the ripened fruit. In Revelation we find the ripened fruit of Genesis." (The Bible and Its Christ: Revell:NY; 1904-1906, p.26; quoted in Standing On the Rock, James Montgomery Boice; Tyndale:Wheaton, IL; 1984, p56).

One way this unity can be quickly underscored and verified is to read the first three chapters of Genesis and then the last three chapters of Revelation. Throughout the Bible Christ contains many intricately woven subthemes such as sin, death, cleansing by sacrificial blood, eternal life, love, sanctification, ect.

The third evidence for inspiration is--

3. Its historical and scientific accuracy.

Since the Bible throughout claims to record the facts of history form the creation through Israelis rise, fall, and restoration to the ministry of Jesus the Son of God and the early years of His church, it leaves itself open to being discredited as divinely inspired if it could be shown to be in error in any of its historical accounts. It is here that it is most easily checked against known facts from other sources. And despite all the attempts to discredit it in this area, it has never been shown to be inaccurate in its history. On the contrary, especially be means of archaeology, particularly in this century, it has been shown to be remarkably accurate, a genuinely trustworthy historic document.

Witness these remarks of renounced archaeologists:

"Nelson Glueck, the renounced Jewish archaeologist, wrote that 'It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a stated biblical reference.' He continued his assertion of 'the almost incredibly accurate historical memory of the Bible, and particularly so when it is fortified by archaeological fact.' (Rivers in the Desert; History of Neteg; Jewish Publication Society: Philadelphia; 1969, p.176). Albright adds: 'The excessive skepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history,' (The Archaeology of Palestine: Pelican Books; Harmondsworth, Middlesex; 1960, pp 127, 128) . . . Sir Frederic Kenyon says: 'It is therefore legitimate to say that, in respect of that part of the O.T. against which the disintegrating criticism of the last half of the nineteenth century was chiefly directed, the evidence of archaeology has been to reestablish its authority, and likewise to augment its value by rendering it more intelligible through a fuller knowledge of its background and setting. Archaeology has not yet said its last work; but the results already achieved confirm what faith would suggests that the Bible can do nothing but gain form an increase of knowledge.' (The Bible and Archaeology; Harper & Row:NY; 1940, p. 279 ). Albright continues . . that critics used to say the following: 'Until recently it was the fashion among biblical historians to treat the patriarchal sagas of Genesis as though they were artificial creations of Israelite scribes of the divided Monarch or tales told by imaginative rhapsodists around Israelite campfires during the centuries following their occupation of the country, Eminent names among scholars can be cited for regarding every item of Gwen. 11-50 as reflecting late invention, or at least retrojection of events and conditions under the Monarchy into the remote past, about which noting was thought to have been really known to the writers of later days.' Now it has all changed, says Albright: "Archaeological discoveries since 1925 have changed all this. Aside from a few diehards among older scholars, there is scarcely a single biblical historian who has not been impressed by the rapid accumulation of data supporting the substantial historicity of patriarchal tradition. According to the traditions of Genesis the ancestors of Israel were closely related to the semi-nomadic peoples of Trans-Jordan, Syria, the Euphrates basin and North Arabia in the last centuries of the second millennium B.C., and the first centuries of the first millennium.' (The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra; Harper & Row:NY; 1960, pp1,2)."

{Since Luke records so many details of names, places, times, and government in his history in Acts, this book is especially open to refutation--if he could be shown wrong in any of these details:}

"Sir William Ramsey is regarded as one of the greatest archaeologists ever to have lived. He was trained in the German historical school of the mid-nineteenth century. As a result he was taught that the Book of Acts was a product of the mid-second century A.D. He was firmly convinced of this belief and set out to prove this teaching. However, he was compelled to a complete reversal of his beliefs due to the overwhelming evidence uncovered in his research. He spoke of this when he said: 'I may fairly claim to have entered on this investigation without prejudice in favor of the conclusion which I shall now seek to justify to the reader. On the contrary, I began with a mind unfavorable to it, for the ingenuity and apparent completeness of the Tubingen theory had at one time quite convinced me. It did not then lie in my line of life to investigate the subject minutely; but more recently I found myself brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities and society of Asia Minor. It was gradually borne upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth. In fact, beginning with a fixed idea that the work was essentially a second century composition, and never relying on its evidence as trustworthy for first century conditions, I gradually came to find it a useful ally in some obscure and difficult investigations.' (St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen; Baker: Grand Rapids,MI; 1962, pp7,8 ). Ramsey also maintained nothing but the highest regard for Luke's abilities as a historian. 'Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy; he is possessed of the true historic sense; he fixes his mind on the idea and plan that rules in the evolution of history, and proportions than scale of his treatment to the importance of each incident. He seizes the important and critical events and shows their true nature at greater length, while he touches lightly or omits entirely much that was valueless for his purpose. In short, this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.' (The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the N.T.; Hodder and Stoughton: London; 1915, p.222)."

All the above quotations from archaeologists are from Josh Mcdowell's Evidence, op. cit., pp. 68-73.

Not all problems between the Bible and archaeology have been resolved, but as researcher Thomas Drobena said, " . . . where archaeology and the Bible seem to be in tension, the issue is almost always dating, the most shaky area in current archaeology and the one at which scientistic A PRIORI and circular reasoning often replace solid empirical analysis" (McDowell, p.68 ).

Many of those who would acknowledge the Bible's general historical accuracy nevertheless maintain that the Bible is inaccurate when it comes to science. It must be recognized that the Bible is meant to be far less a book on science as it is a book of history. Nevertheless, it has not been demonstrated that the Bible is wrong when it does make Scientific statements. This all the more remarkable when we consider that in order for this to be so, the Bible writers had to contradict the scientific knowledge of their day.

The fourth evidence of inspiration is--

4. Fulfilled prophecies of the Bible.

Robert L. Saucy writes:

"Nowhere is the uniqueness of the Bible more evident than in the supernaturalness of its prophecies. Peoples, ancient and present, have always sought to know the events of the future. They have had their diviners, astrologers, and psychic fortune= tellers who pronounced what was going to take place. But in none of these is there any comparison with the prophecies of Scripture. Through the prophet Isaiah the God of the Bible challenges the false gods to declare the future. 'Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place . . . or announce to us what is coming. declare the things that are going to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods. (Isa. 41: 22-23). What the false gods were unable to do God claims to perform: 'I declared the former things long ago' (Isa. 48:3). To be sure, some outside of the Scriptures have been able to make amazing predictions beyond the ability of mere human guessing. But none compare with the prophets of Scripture. Some have predicted certain events in the near future which came true. But which prophet or group of prophets has ever predicted as numerous prophecies concerning nations, peoples, cities, and individuals as the Bible, some of which looked hundreds and even thousands of years into the future? Again, which prophet outside of the true prophets of Scripture has made predictions which to date have all been verified by history? The Scriptures are so bold as to label 'false' every prophet whose predictions do not come to pass (Duet. 18:20-22). By this standard the Bible stands alone. Illustrative of the prophetic themes of the Bible are the prophecies relating to the nation of Israel. A few of these, predicted in some cases hundreds of years before the fact, includes oppression in another land (Egypt) for 400 years (Gen. 15:13-16), kings from Judah (Gen. 49:10), distinction from other peoples (Num. 23:9) , dispersion and suffering because of unbelief (Duet. 28:64-67; Luke 21:20-24), continued preservation and final restoration (Amos 9:9-15; Rom. 11:25-29).> These latter prophecies have yet to be completely fulfilled. But the absolutely unique historical event of 1948, the reestablishment of a nation after its people had been dispersed for centuries, points to the perfect fulfillment of all prophecies. Even more than the prophecies of Israel are the predictions related to Christ, which are incredible apart from divine inspiration. from the details of the place of His birth in insignificant Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) to the casting of lots for His clothing at the foot of the cross (Ps. 2214-18; Matt.27:35), the events of His life were foretold hundreds of years prior to their occurrence. some scholar concluded that a total of 333 prophecies concerning Christ have been fulfilled. The Probability of that number of predictions concerning one single individual coming true by chance has been calculated as 1 out of 83 billion. With such odds, clearly these prophecies are not the product of human authorship alone. The God who knows the future and directs the course of history is the ultimate source." (Saucy, op.cit., pp.37,38).

One branch of mathematics is called "probability." It deals with calculating the likelihood that certain things will occur, the chances or odds of a certain thing happening or recurring. In his book Science Speaks (Moody Press, 1963) Peter Stoner, using the laws of probability, calculated the likelihood that only eight of the major prophecies of Christ would be fulfilled in any one individual--1) His birth at Bethlehem, 2) His being preceded by a special messenger, 3) His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, 4) His betrayal by a close friend (Ps. 41:9), 5) His being sold for 30 pieces of silver, 60 which would be thrown into God's house and given for a potter's field, 7) His silence before His betrayers, and 8) that He would be crucified. "We find," Stoner says, "that the chance that any man might have lived down tot he present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 17 or one in 100,000,000,000,000,000--one in 100 quadrillion! Stoner says an illustration of the scarcity of this probability would b to take 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They would cover all of the stare two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom."

Remember, this is considering the probability that only eight major Messianic prophecies would be fulfilled in one person--there are more that 60 major ones. Stoner goes on to consider 46 prophecies and says, "We find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 to 10157 ." To illustrate this infinitesimal chance, Stoner says we must go from silver dollars to electrons:

"The electron is about as small an object as we know of. It is so small that it will take 2.5 times 1015 of them laid side by side to make a line, single file, one inch long. If we were going to count the electrons in this line one inch long, and counted 250 each minute, and if we counted day and night, it would take us 19 million years to count just the one-inch line of electrons. If we had a cubic inch of these electrons and we tried to count them it would take us, counting steadily each minute, 19 million times 19 million times 19 million years or 6.9 times 1021 years." (Quoted in McDowell, op.cit., p.175)

Josh McDowell cites these 12 fulfilled prophecies as some of the more outstanding in the Bible, with the corresponding probabilities they would be fulfilled in every detail; 1) the destruction of Tyre, Ezekiel 26:3-21, 1 in 7.5x107 ;2) the war against but not the destruction of her sister city, Sidon, Ezekiel 28:22,23; 3) the destruction of the city of Samaria, Hosea 13:16 and Micah 1:6, 1 in 4x104; 4) the desolation of Gaza-Ashkelon and the extinction of the Philistine people, Amos 1:8 Jeremiah 47:5 Zephaniah 2:3-7, 1 in 1.2x1014;5) judgment on Moab-Ammon, Ezekiel 25:3,4, Jeremiah 48:47; 49:6, 1 in 103; 60 the desolation of Petra and Edom, Isa. 34:6-18, Ezekiel 25:13,14; 35:5-7. 1 in 104; 7) destruction of Thebes and Memphis, Egypt, Ezekiel 30:13-15; 8) the destruction of Nineveh, Nahum 1:8-10; 2:6;3:10-19; 9) the fall of Babylon, Isa 13:19-22; 14:23; Jeremiah 51:26,43; 1 in 5x109; 10) the destruction of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, Mt. 11:20-24: 11)Jerusalem's enlargement, Jeremiah 31:38-40, 1 in 8x1010; 12) Palestine desolate, then reinhabited, Lev. 26:31-33; 36:33-35, 1 in 2x105.

The fifth evidence f inspiration is--

5. The nature of its content and doctrines.

Lewis S. Chafer said, "The Bible is not such a book a man would write if he could, or could write if he would."

"The Bible deals very frankly with the sins of its characters. . . It simply tells it like it is: the sins of the patriarchs, Gen. 12:11-13; 49:5-7; evangelists paint their own faults and the faults of the apostles, Mt. 26;31-56; 8:10-26; John 10:6; 16:32; Mark 6:52; 8:18; Luke 8:24,25; 9:40-45; disorder of the churches, I Cor. 1:11; IICor. 2:4, etc." (McDowell, op.cit., p.25)

Thomas Watson (1680) wrote:

"That the Scriptures is the Word of God is evident by . . . the impartiality of those men of God who wrote the Scriptures, who do not spare to set down their own failings. What man that writes a history would black his own face, by recording those things of himself that might stain his reputation? Moses records his own impatience when he struck the rock, and tells us, he could not on that account enter into the land of promise. David relates his own adultery and bloodshed, which stands as a blot in his escutcheon to succeeding ages. Peter relates his own pusillanimity in denying Christ. Jonah sets down his own passions, 'I do well to be angry to the death." Surely had their pen not been guided by God's own hand, they would never have written that which reflects dishonor upon themselves. Men usually rather hide their blemishes than publish them to the world; but the penmen of holy Scriptures eclipsed their own name; they take away all glory form themselves, and give the glory to God." (Body of Divinity; Baker:Grand Rapids, MI; 1979 (1692), p.20.

Francis Turretin adds, "Why would Israel produce or preserve a book that presents them in such an unfavorable light unless they believed them to be of divine origin?"

Watson also writes:

"The Scripture appears to be the Word of God, by the matter contained in it. The mystery of Scripture is so abstruse and profound that no man or angel could have known it, had it not been divinely revealed. That eternity should be born; that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle; that he who rules the stars should suck the breasts; that the Prince of Life should die; that the Lord of Glory should be put to shame; that sin should be punished to the full, yet pardoned to the full; who could ever have conceived of such a mystery, had not the Scriptures revealed it to us? . . . I wonder whence the Scriptures should come, if not form God. Bad men could not be the authors of it. Would their minds be employed in indicting such holy lines? Would they declare so fiercely against sin? Good men could not be the authors of it could they write in such a strain? or could it stand with their grace to counterfeit God's name, and put, Thus saith the Lord, to a book of their own devising? Nor could any angel in heaven be the author of it, because the angels pry and search into the abyss of gospel mysteries. IPet. 1:12, which implies their prescience of some parts of Scripture; and sure they cannot be the authors of that book which they themselves do not fully understand. Besides, what angle in heaven durst be so arrogant as to personate God and say, 'I create,' Isa. 65:17, and , 'I the Lord have said it'? Num. 14:35. So that it is evident, the pedigree of Scripture is sacred and it could come from none but God himself." (Watson, op.cit., p. 19)

The sixth evidence of inspiration is--

6. Its preservation.

Saucy writes,

"Only an exceptional book stays around for 25 years. One that is read for a century is indeed very unusual, and those that last for more than a thousand years are extremely rare. Yet the Bible remains the most popular book in the world . . . Couple this with the determined efforts throughout history to attack and destroy the Scriptures and their unique character is plain. Early in the life of the church, the Roman emperors tried to get rid of the Scriptures because they realized the life of the church was based on belief in them. In A.D. 303 Diocletian issued a royal edict demanding that every copy of the Bible be burned. He killed so many Christians and destroyed so many Bibles that he was confident he had brought Christianity to an end. Celebrating his triumph he had a coin struck with the inscription: 'The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the gods restored.' How wrong he was is evident in the fact that 10 years later the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and a short time later commissioned Eusebius to prepare 50 copies of the Bible at government expense. In more recent times, the Scriptures came under the vicious attack of 'enlightened' skeptical and atheistic philosophers, but with the same futile result. Voltaire, the famous French humanist, boastfully proclaimed, 'Fifty years from now the world will hear no more of the Bible.' In the year of his boast, the British Museum purchased one manuscript of the Greek N.T. from the Russian government for $500.000 while a first edition of Voltaire's book was selling for eight cents a copy. Fifty years after the death of Voltaire, Bibles were being printed by the Geneva Bible Society in the very house where Voltaire had lived and on his presses. Thomas Paine, the noted author of Age of Reason, predicted that the Bible would soon be out of print. 'When I get through,' he announced, 'there will not be five Bibles left in America.' With the current variety of translations and editions available, many individuals today have more than that number themselves. The Hugenots portrayed the Bible and Christianity as an anvil surrounded by three blacksmiths. Beneath the picture they pound and the more they shout, The more they war their hammers out!' The indestructibility of God's Word has been verified to this day: 'The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord abides forever' (i Peter 1:24,25)." (Saucy, op.cit., pp. 40,41).

"H.L. Hastings [said]: 'Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt. When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, "Sire, the Church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers." So the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.' (The Greatest Book in the World, John W. Les; Philadelphia; 1929, pp. 17,18). Bernard Ramm adds that : 'A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology or belles lettres of classical or modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? with such thoroughness and erudition? upon every chapter, line and tenet? The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied by millions." (Protestant Christian Evidences; Moody: Chicago; 1957, pp. 232,233)

If the Bible were the divinely inspired Word of God, one would expect, since men are wicked, that it would be attacked like no other book. One would also expect God to preserve it, and such is exactly the case with the Bible.

The seventh evidence for inspiration is

7. Its effects and influence.

Thomas Watson writes:

"That the Scripture is the Word of God is evident by . . . the mighty poser and effects that {it} has had upon the souls and consciences of men. It has changed their hearts. Some by reading Scripture have been turned into other men; they have been made holy and gracious. By reading other books the heart may be warmed, but by reading this book it is transformed. IICor. 3:3, 'Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.' The Word was copied out into their hearts, and they were become Christ's epistle, so that others might read Christ in them. If you should set a seal upon marble, and it should make an impression upon the marble, and leave a print behind, there would be a strange virtue in that seal; so when the seal of the Word leaves a heavenly print of grace upon the heart, there must needs be a power going along with the Word no less than divine. It had comforted their hearts. When Christians have sat by the rivers weeping, the Word has dropped as honey, and sweetly revived them. A Christian's chief comfort is drawn out of these wells of salvation. Rom. 14:4, 'That we through comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.' When a poor soul has been ready to faint, it has had nothing to comfort it but a Scripture cordial. When it has been sick, the Word has revived it. IICor. 4:17, 'Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' When it has been deserted, the Word has dropped in the golden oil of joy. Lam. 3:31, 'The Lord will not cast off for ever.' He may change his providence, not his purpose; he may have the look of an enemy, but he has the heart of a father. Thus the Word has a power in it to comfort the heart. Ps. 119:50, 'This is my comfort in mine affliction; for thy word hath quickened me.' As the spirits are conveyed through the arteries of the body, so divine comforts are conveyed through the promises of the Word. Now, the Scriptures having such an exhilarating, heart-comforting power in them, shows clearly that hey are of God, and it is he that has put the milk of consolation into these breasts." (Watson, op.cit., pp. 20,21)

Thus we return where we began, to what Turretin called the "theological proof" of inspiration, i.e., that certainty that the Scriptures are inspired which comes from the witness of the Spirit in the believer's heart that he hears and sees God in them. According to John Calvin, this is the main and only proof of the inspiration of the Scriptures:

"The highest proof of Scripture derives in general from the fact that God in person speaks in it. The prophets and apostles do not boast either of their deepness or of anything that obtains credit for them as they speak; nor do they dwell upon rational proofs. . . . If we desire to provide in the best way for our consciences--that they may not be perpetually beset by the instability of doubt or vacillation, and that they may not also boggle at the smallest quibbles--we ought to seek our conviction [that the Scriptures are inspired] in a higher place than human reasons, judgments, or conjectures, that is, in the secret testimony of the Spirit . . . Yes, if we turn pure eyes and upright senses toward it, the majesty of God will immediately come to view, subdue our bold rejection, and compel us to obey . . . Since for unbelieving men religion seems to stand by opinion alone, they, in order not to believe anything foolishly or lightly, both wish and demand rational proof that Moses and the prophets spoke divinely. But I reply: the testimony of the Spirit is more excellent than all reason. For as God alone is a fit witness of himself in his Word, so also the Word will not find acceptance in men's hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken through the mouths of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what had been divinely commanded . . . Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated; hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning. And the certainty it deserves with us, it attains by the testimony of the Spirit . . Therefore, illumined by his power, we believe neither by our own nor by anyone else's judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us form the very mouth of God by the ministry of men. We seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgementm may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as to a thing far beyond any guesswork! . . . Nor do we do this as those miserable men who habitually bind over their minds to the thralldom of superstition; but we feel that the undoubted power of his divine majesty lives and breaths there. By this power we are drawn and inflamed, knowingly and willingly, to obey him, yet also more vitally and more effectively than by mere human willing or knowing! . . . Such, then, is a conviction that requires no reasons; such, a knowledge with which the best reason agrees--in which the mind truly reposes more securely and constantly than in any reasons; such, finally, a feeling that can be born only of heavenly revelation. I speak of nothing other than what each believer experiences within himself--though my words fall far beneath of just explanation of the matter . . . Unless this certainty, higher and stronger than any human judgment, be present, it will be vain to fortify the authority of Scripture by arguments, to establish it by common agreement of the church, or to confirm it with other helps. For unless this foundation is laid, its authority will always remain in doubt. Conversely, once we have embraced it devoutly as its dignity deserves, and have recognized it to be above the common sort of things, those arguments--not strong enough before to energize and fix the certainty of Scripture in our minds--become very useful aids. What wonderful confirmation ensues when, with keener study, we ponder the economy of the divine wisdom, so well ordered and disposed; the completely heavenly character of its doctrine, savoring of nothing earthly; the beautiful agreement of all the parts with one another--as well as such other qualities as can gain majesty for the writings . . . Therefore the apostle rightly contends that the faith of the Corinthians was founded 'upon God's power, not upon human wisdom' [ I Cor.2:5] because his own preaching among them commended itself 'not in persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of might' [2:4]. For truth is cleared of all doubt when, not sustained by external props, it serves as its own support. Now this power which is peculiar to Scripture is clear from the fact that of human writings, however artfully polished, there is none capable of affecting us at all comparable, Read Demosthenes or Cicero; read Plato, Aristotle, and others of that tribe. They will, I admit, allure you, delight you, move you, enrapture you in wonderful measure. But betake yourself from them this sacred reading, . Then, in spite of yourself, so deeply will it affect you, so penetrate your heart, so fix itself in your very marrow, that, compared with its deep impression, such vigor as the orators and philosophers have will nearly vanish. Consequently, it is easy to see that the Sacred Scriptures, which so far surpass all gifts and graces of human endeavor, breathe something divine . . As far as Scripture is concerned, however much forward men try to gnaw at it nevertheless it clearly is crammed with thoughts that could not be humanly conceived. Let each of the prophets be looked into: none will be found who does not far exceed human measure. Consequently, those for whom prophetic doctrine is tasteless ought to be thought of as lacking taste buds." (Institutes of the Christian Religion; The Westminster Press: Philadelphia; 1960, pp. 78-83)

Saucy writes:

"The Bible claims to be the 'living and active' Word of God (Heb. 4:12). It is the instrument God uses to radically transform a life as one is 'born again . . . through the living and abiding Word of God' (I Peter 1:23). As such, it is 'the Word of life' (Phil. 2:16). Its message of the Gospel is 'the power of God for salvation' (Rom. 1:16). Its truth promises to set men free from bondage (Rom. 8:31-32). A look at the influence of the Bible throughout history verify=verifies these claims. No other book has had comparable impact for good. The great books of human learning have helped us to understand better the world in which we live. but none has helped to change man himself . . . The endless parade of wars and revolutions is evidence that human learning does not change the heart when it enlarges the mind. Even the influential writings of other religions have never resulted in lifting and transforming the lives of men and women. For the most part. they present man with rules is absent. In many cases, they only produce a kind of stoic acceptance of present miseries. The Bible's influence on human societies produces uniquely different results, as seen in the fundamental laws of the highest civilized societies, the social reforms, the raised status of women, the freeing of slaves and in other transformations . . . The Bible's impact on society at large is best evidenced in its ability to transform individual lives. Augustine, a fifth century Christian leader, struggled for 31 years to find truth and release from a tormenting life in religion and philosophy. One day in a garden in Milan he heard the voice of a neighborhood child chanting, 'Take and read! Take and read!' He took up his scroll of the Scriptures and read the first chapter that came to his eyes. When he came to Romans 13:13,14 the Word gripped his life. He shut the book, for a stream of light poured into his soul and all doubt vanished . . . Monier-Williams, a professor of Sanskrit who spent 42 years studying the sacred books of the East . . . testifies that at first he was impressed by the flashes of truth he found scattered among these writings and that he began to think they shared the message of the Scriptures of Christianity, only to a lesser degree. After further study, however, he completely reversed his thinking, concluding that the main ideas were radically different: they all begin with some flashes of true light, and end in utter darkness. Pile them, if you will, on the left side of your study table; but place your own Holy Bible on the right side--all by itself, all alone--and with a wide gap between them. There is a gulf between it and the so-called books of the East which severs the one from the other utterly, hopelessly, and forever." (Saucy, op.cit., pp41,42)

Francis Turretin says,

"Scripture carries its own marks of inspiration just as the creation bears the marks of the Creator, even though men may deny both [loose quote] . . . True, our acceptance of the inspiration of the Bible is by faith, but faith is placed in it on evidence as well. Where such grounds are lacking, the testimony of such a witnesses not worthy of belief." (Turretin, op.cit.,pp41,45)

Most of those who scoff at the idea of the inspiration of the Scriptures do so on flimsy or faulty evidence. The question then becomes not so much what is the evidence the Bible is inspired but on what evidence do they reject it? It is not "is the Bible a credible witness" but "are they a credible witness?"

Charles Finney notes:

"The burden of proof is always on the affirmative side of the question, or on him who affirms a fact, until the fact is so established in the absence of counter proof, as to demand belief. Where an objection is an affirmation, or consists in an alleged fact, it must be proved, or it is of no weight. E.g.-- If to the fact that the Bible is a revelation from God, it is objected that the Bible is the work of priest craft, or a fabrication of political men for wicked purposes, this affirmation must be proved, or it can be of no weight." (Finney, op.cit., p.40)

We have strong evidence for our affirmation that the Bible is inspired. What evidence does the skeptic have that it is not?

Leon Stump, Pastor of Victory Christian Center


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