Why We Can Trust the Truth of the Bible Part 1
We Have What Was Written
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah, and others, one of the prophets.” Luke 9:27-28
When Jesus asked the disciples what people were saying about Him, the basic response was that He was perceived as a prophet. That means that the crowds of Jesus’ day were experiencing Him as someone who spoke and taught with an authority that comes from God.
What if that question was asked today?
I think that we would hear different answers. One way that crowds today see Jesus is as
a myth made up by the Church. The Bible is a well-intentioned, but mythical account. In fact, many people object, we can’t really even know if what we now have is what was written back then.
But is that true?
Many who object to the truth of the Bible are unaware that we have evidence from outside the Bible for Jesus’ existence. The ancient Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, both writing around 100AD, include references to the existence of a man named Jesus who lived in first century Palestine. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that Jesus was known for mighty works and miracles, that Pilate had Him crucified, and that His followers continued after His crucifixion.
So even without the Bible, we can know the basics of Jesus’ life, which are completely in line with the accounts that we have in the New Testament gospels themselves.
But, some would ask, how do we know we have what was actually originally written? Didn’t the Church add things to the account over time?
This brings us into the realm of what is known as textual criticism. A basic premise of textual criticism is that the more copies you have of a document, and the shorter the span of time between our earliest copies and when it was written, the more trustworthy they are.
No serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of works by authors like Tacitus. Tacitus wrote around 100AD, and the earliest copy we have is from about 1100AD, a span of 1000 years when things could have been changed. Further, we have only twenty copies of his work. But, again, no serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of his work.
But when it comes to the New Testament, people get nervous about its authenticity. The books of the New Testament were written between 40-100AD, and we have partial manuscripts from as early as 130AD and full manuscripts from around 350AD, leaving at most about 300 years for changes to appear. Not only is the time span between writing and copies short, but the number of copies we have is overwhelming. We have over five thousand Greek manuscripts, ten thousand Latin manuscripts, and over fifteen thousand citations from extrabiblical writers in the first 300 years of the Church’s existence. No other ancient document comes close to the short time span and overwhelming documentation!
In other words, we have every reason to believe that what we have is what was written!
So why is it that no serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of Tacitus, but call the New Testament gospels into question?
Maybe it is because the Jesus we meet in the Bible isn’t always comfortable to deal with! He makes claims for Himself that make claims over us. He doesn’t just point people to a nice way to live, but has the boldness to claim to be the unique giver of eternal life to those who follow Him!
But just because it isn’t comfortable, we can’t then just dismiss the Bible as a made up document. Like it or not, we have every reason to believe that the Bible we read is just what the authors wrote.
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah, and others, one of the prophets.” Luke 9:27-28
When Jesus asked the disciples what people were saying about Him, the basic response was that He was perceived as a prophet. That means that the crowds of Jesus’ day were experiencing Him as someone who spoke and taught with an authority that comes from God.
What if that question was asked today?
I think that we would hear different answers. One way that crowds today see Jesus is as
a myth made up by the Church. The Bible is a well-intentioned, but mythical account. In fact, many people object, we can’t really even know if what we now have is what was written back then.
But is that true?
Many who object to the truth of the Bible are unaware that we have evidence from outside the Bible for Jesus’ existence. The ancient Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, both writing around 100AD, include references to the existence of a man named Jesus who lived in first century Palestine. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that Jesus was known for mighty works and miracles, that Pilate had Him crucified, and that His followers continued after His crucifixion.
So even without the Bible, we can know the basics of Jesus’ life, which are completely in line with the accounts that we have in the New Testament gospels themselves.
But, some would ask, how do we know we have what was actually originally written? Didn’t the Church add things to the account over time?
This brings us into the realm of what is known as textual criticism. A basic premise of textual criticism is that the more copies you have of a document, and the shorter the span of time between our earliest copies and when it was written, the more trustworthy they are.
No serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of works by authors like Tacitus. Tacitus wrote around 100AD, and the earliest copy we have is from about 1100AD, a span of 1000 years when things could have been changed. Further, we have only twenty copies of his work. But, again, no serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of his work.
But when it comes to the New Testament, people get nervous about its authenticity. The books of the New Testament were written between 40-100AD, and we have partial manuscripts from as early as 130AD and full manuscripts from around 350AD, leaving at most about 300 years for changes to appear. Not only is the time span between writing and copies short, but the number of copies we have is overwhelming. We have over five thousand Greek manuscripts, ten thousand Latin manuscripts, and over fifteen thousand citations from extrabiblical writers in the first 300 years of the Church’s existence. No other ancient document comes close to the short time span and overwhelming documentation!
In other words, we have every reason to believe that what we have is what was written!
So why is it that no serious scholar would dispute the authenticity of Tacitus, but call the New Testament gospels into question?
Maybe it is because the Jesus we meet in the Bible isn’t always comfortable to deal with! He makes claims for Himself that make claims over us. He doesn’t just point people to a nice way to live, but has the boldness to claim to be the unique giver of eternal life to those who follow Him!
But just because it isn’t comfortable, we can’t then just dismiss the Bible as a made up document. Like it or not, we have every reason to believe that the Bible we read is just what the authors wrote.
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42 Comments
This is a very interesting article. I would love to hear more. What did he really teach and believe? How was his form of "Christianity" different from what we have today?
George Henderson,
That's what is so great about the Bible, Jesus' own words are in it. What He really taught and believed is there for you to examine for yourself. It's an incredibly interesting thing that the Bible is actually so simple a child can understand it, yet at the same time it is so deep the highest degreed individuals have been debating different text for as long as it has existed.
Please provide me competent and substantial, clear and convincing evidence that God and/or the Holy Spirit selected, ordained, commissioned and inspired even one single errant human by name to write one word in one gospel. "Luke" (if it was indeed Luke who wrote the Third Gospel) even said he decided to write so that he could provide an orderly account of things which he had a perfect understanding of. Now this means to me he considers that other gospels were not in any way, shape or form the inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God for if they were then not another word needed to added or substituted to make it better. Thanks for educating me.
competent and substantial, clear and convincing evidence that God and/or the Holy Spirit selected, ordained, commissioned and inspired even one single errant human by name to write one word in one gospel.
Mathew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Jesus Christ called it 2000 years ago, and he called it right.
Jesus didn't teach a form of Christianity or Christianity at all. Jesus was a lifelong devout, temple worshiping, synagogue teaching Jewish "Rabbi" of his day. He viewed the Jewish religious establishment as seriously corrupted and strayed from the word of his Father God Almighty. From the available scriptures it seems that Jesus saw mankind as estranged from God and in need of redemption and reconciliation and himself as begotten by his Father God to accomplish that redemption. He also was angry with the priestly and leader class for their betrayal of both God and His law and the dependent people, for their own personal power, status and wealth. But to your question, Jesus wasn't about Christianity but about providing through himself a means of salvation, reconciliation, redemption and a way for living together in a caring, loving manner while on this earth, for humanity. Christianity arose after Jesus, among his followers and eventually evolved into an overly complex industry. But it is the structure we have for the administration of his wonderful message and mission. There are many wonderful words in the scriptures that have been handed down to us, all very much worth our study, but the most wonderful and edifying, I think are those that Jesus spoke, and that Matthew recorded for us in his Gospel. Just my little offering for whatever it may be worth.
In my humble opinion, Jesus didn't teach Christianity. Christianity as such was constructed by his followers years after his death. Jesus himself was a devout and very astute Jewish religious teacher who was very disturbed with the practices of the religious leaders of his day and convinced of his mission from his Father to usher in the Kingdom of God, the exact meaning and timing of which is still debated. I for one am certain of the truth of Christ, but as confused about many aspects of Christianity as many are, by the machinations of human politics masquerading as the faith and way of Jesus Christ.
Another amazing thing about the Bible is that God proves it true over and over again. One of the problems is that people do not actually apply it to their life. For instance the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and that he gives us a piece that passes all understanding. I have found this to be absolutely true even though I am a stroke victim and just lost a son last month. When my son went home to be with the Lord at the age of 23, I felt like I had a hole in my heart. So I prayed and told the Lord just that. In minutes I didn't feel like I had a hole in my heart any longer there was a heaviness but the feeling of a whole being there was no longer there.
But in order to get this piece that passes all understanding we have to put Philippians 4:8 in Proverbs 3 5 and 6 into action. Those two verses also will help prevent people from having a lot of mental issues that are very prevalent today. Such as anxiety attacks. Which is something else I've had in my life back in 1986 but God's word and prayer he'll be completely of those anxiety attacks. God is not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I had spent 10 days a night straight without sleep all the while praying and reading God's word and verse by verse God showed me what my problem was where it was coming from and then how to get rid of it. The final coming from Proverbs 3:5 and 6 putting my total trust in God and not myself. God's word is very powerful it brings not only healing but it leads us to salvation. Once we accept what it says that being that we were born sinners and that we were in need of a savior. Then it tells us God showed his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. God gave himself for us shedding His Holy blood so that our sins could be forgiven. Did he give us eternal life and he also gives us a much better life while we are on this Earth.
Please edit your "piece" and use the correct spelling for "peace" that Jesus gives us all.
Why does it bother you so much that "piece" was used instead of "peace". This is not a college term paper. As long as, I can tell what the writer meant, it does not bother me at all. It takes away from what he wrote when a person criticises what someone writes. I know it bothers you a lot and you can't help it but please stop ruining what is written by criticism. You bother me more than the author.
Seems a reasonable suggestion. Do not know why it bothers Mark and others so much. Perhaps it did not bother Byron either to have this error pointed out to him.
Amen! Love your comment! Gods is so good. Thank you for sharing with us!
Matt. 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you PROPHETS, and wise men, and SCRIBES: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city
Luke 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them PROPHETS and APOSTLES and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
The letters from SCRIBES were intended to be READ and CIRCULATED. The Last Will and Testament was for HEIRS and no one should tamper with the Last Will of their mother to cheat the HEIRS.
Re-read the "piece" carefully. I find that as it is written, Jesus presented us with a piece of knowledge that would bring us peace.
Josephus is one of your sources for existence of Jesus? He's was considered a traitor by his peers and historians now say that as a historian, Josephus shares the faults of most ancient writers: his analyses are superficial, his chronology faulty, his facts exaggerated, his speeches contrived.
It doesn't matter whether he was an ethical person (a traitor) or whether he exaggerated his facts, because we're not looking to him for his testimony about Jesus, the point is only that he mentioned Jesus. Jesus was a significant enough person that Josephus heard about him, and whether he got his facts straight or not, Josephus mentioned him. It's just one more record from the time period acknowledging Jesus' existence.
To add to my previous comment about Josephus. A lengthier passage about Jesus, known as the “Testimonium Flavianum,” which describes a man “who did surprising deeds” and was condemned to be crucified by Pilate. Mykytiuk agrees with most scholars that Christian scribes modified portions of the passage. Poor choice in picking Josephus as a reliable source.
Very well done article. Thank you for brevity and clarity.
Do you have something on Penal Substitution? verses Christus Victor or the Moral ---- view? not sure of the complete title of the second one
Umm. . . In what we know as the 'old testament', the Torah, God himself states I will never give my glory to another, beside, below or above me. He must have stated this so many times and yet this 'Jesus' comes along and states he is to be given the same Glory as God the 'father.' Somebody coat tailed the God of Israel to make this their own version and who could this be? Is it not obvious that this is the work of Satan? But you must do your own work to allow the real God to make this known to you.
When He said (I will not give my glory to another), He was talking about not giving His glory to false gods. Jesus was never a false God. From the beginning God the Father was the designer of everything that was created, Jesus was the builder of the Father's design. In John 1 verses 1-5 of the New Testament it says; 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Amen brother William! 🙏
Impossible, because the letter "J" did not come into existence until about five hundred years ago. No one has ever been named Jesus in Israel.
Jesus is actual a mis-transliteration of Joshua.
The letters involved have to do with Hebrew and Greek alphabets not getting along with each other, and the Hebrew having this thing where vowels didn't even exist.
So, yeah... it should be Joshua, but there's already an old testament prophet named Joshua... so no Christian wants to change the name.
I recall hearing a modern-day rabi refer to Joshua-bin-Joseph ... i.e. Joshua son of Joseph... and that person was a bit of a rabble-rouser, as I recall :)
From: Hebrew "Yeshua" to Greek "Eesuss" to Latin Jesus to English Jesus. IMHO, In any language, he knows his name.
Thank you for this and I agree there are relatively good reasons to accept the Bible as accounts of events from the opinions of the people at that time, yet, there are still many questions. Which Bible, eastern, western, Vulgate & it's descendants translated by people who did not understand the original language properly, then political forces and other religions/traditions changing the words causing confusion? Then there are the changes of meanings of words that modern versions are starting to catch up on. Why is the Bible mentioning and quoting from other books that are not in the Bible? Why do we have stories such as the woman caught in adultery that are not in the oldest manuscripts, why do we see changes in the older manuscripts were the scribes seem to be arguing? The differences in LXX and masoretic,, texts? What do you think is the best interpretation for what we call the Bible for Modern English speakers? Sincere thanks.
Yes, exactly. Even Bibles from the 1800s are different than now with verses being added now to certain political faction ideals. People are practicing Bible worship instead of acknowledging that HUMANS, especially leaders, can be corrupt and HAVE changed the Bible to suit their needs.
I agree completely with your argument for the trustworthiness of the New Testament and the Gospels…..for instance, St. Matthew’s recounting of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees reaffirming that, from the very beginning, God intended to be marriage between one man and one woman.
Whether original documents exist or not, and whether there is one document or 10,000 documents, it makes no difference. Neither does it matter if Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny, Paul, Peter, or whoever wrote whatever. The only thing that matters is if what was written is true. A person writes you a check. The check states that you can go to the bank and cash it for a certain amount. The only thing that makes that check worth more than the ink and paper is it composed of is whether or not the money it says is available is actually in the bank. The check is only a "claim," nothing more, nothing less. When you call for that claim to be answered, then what it says is either proven or disproven. It is either there or it is not there. There is no, "Well, it is actually there you just can't see it, hear it, or touch it, but it's there alright because I believe it's there. When a person prays they either converse with God or they just talk to themselves. When a person asks God to heal someone in Jesus name, believing He will do it, then that person is either healed or not. So all the discussion about original documents and who confirmed what about something someone else supposedly wrote or said in really a moot point. The only thing that matters about any of it is whether or not what it is says is actually true or not and that is a question everyone has to answer for themselves.
I like your comment, but thought I'd add that money only works because people believe in it. It has no value outside of that belief.
Wow JR Holmes. It would appear what you said could pertain to ANY historically documented manifest. I find that a major fallacy for supporting your point.
It's simple: Tacitus, in his writings, didn't claim "in God's name" unreasonable and slanderous things about God and man like the wrath of God, the fear of God, Hell, Satan, demons, blood atonement, original sin, that his writing were God's word, a divine organization, slavery, oppression of women, and blind obedience to evil government. Did I miss anything?
Christ preached one message from the moment he returned from the wilderness to the moment he died. When he resurrected and returned to spend 40 days with the disciples he preached the same message. Christ preached the Kingdom of Heaven. Also known as the Kingdom of God. He did not preach religion, nor did he preach Christianity, he preached the kingdom and he said from this moment forward preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Go read for yourself, focus on the concepts and do not remove his words from context. He that have ears let him hear and he that has eyes let him see. The word gospel means good news. The four books of the Gospel is literally full of good news, but that is not what Christ preached. He never preached himself, he taught his students and disciples about himself but to the world he preached the Gospel of the kingdom of God. He brought the Kingdom of God to earth. The Kingdom is a country. He brought that back to us. There is so much more to this than you can wrap your head around. Every word spoken out of the mouth of God is true. If you read all his words an ask for revelation, his spirit will reveal it to you. Gods original intent on making man was for us to walk as Christ did. Adam failed in the garden and was removed from the kingdom. Every word in the Bible never contradicts. Literally from beginning to end. Don’t think of the garden of Eden as a physical place but rather a. Environment. Being in the presence of God. I can’t reveal it all, you must let the spirit of God reveal it to you. Mathew 23 is how Christ feels about religious people. The kingdom destroys religion, it tears down tradition. The word Christian is what pagans used to call people who believed in Christ. If Christ called us sons an daughter why cal yourself anything but what God called us.
I believe that I have put together the best argument which refutes/defeats the supernatural claims of evangelical Christianity. I would appreciate your input:
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2022/12/20/best-argument-against-evangelical-christianity/
From your link: "point out to him that most educated people in our culture respect and trust majority expert opinion on all issues and consider it foolish for non-experts to set themselves up as the final authority on an issue about which the majority of experts holds an opposing view."
You asked for some feedback, so here it is. What you say is true, but what you say does not work on extremely intelligent people such as myself. The problem for me is that trusting the majority expert opinion means trusting people who are less intelligent than myself. I often find the mistakes the so-called experts missed when I do my own research. For example, anyone who claims that the Gospels are not historically reliable doesn't realize the magnitude of creative fiction genius that they are assigning to the Gospel writers. That claim would be a collection of peasants in Galilee managed to create a character in Jesus that none of the literary giants like Homer, Shakespeare, Milton and Dante ever came close to achieving. In other words, gary, you believe in miracles too, just a different kind of miracle, one only slightly less impressive than raising the dead.
Modern day translation are altering words and changing the meaning. I believe this is to avoid errors that people had been preaching for hundred of years or to avoid confrontation.
One such example is in Genesis 9. Older versions definitely stated Noah awoke from his drunken stupor and knew what his youngest son had done to him. According to Hebrew customs some grandsons who were born in the grandparents house were considered not as grandsons but as sons by the grandfather. As in the case of Jacob he took Joseph 2 sons as his sons in place of Joseph who he thought was dead. In Noah case the Bible repeatedly mentioned Canaan before 600years old Noah drunken incident. Noah cursed Canaan not Ham. Yet modern versions not state Noah knew what his younger son had done..
People are taking God's Word and twisting it to avoid confrontation. Man is once again corrupting the truth of God as man has done since the beginning of creation. There are several places in the modern translations where authors are twisting God's truth to suit themselves. A day of reckoning awaits such folks who takes the truth of God's Word and turn it into a lie.
There are mistakes made in translating the Bible. Hebrew and Aramaic have no J. Those two languages have different alphabets. Some of our English letters do not exist in their language. For instance. Here is a mistake. We pray (The Lord's Prayer )to God and ask to not sin. Why does then does it say, "Lead us not into temptation". God would never do that. I believe it should say, "Let us not be lead into temptation". The Bible was hand copied before the invention of the printing press. Mistakes could be made. I know this because I made a mistake when I put a poem I wrote in the computer. I took a break and when I returned the piece on the computer made no sense. I had missed two lines. We humans are not perfect and the people translating, writing, and copying the Bible were imperfect humans. Also while hand copying if a person had an agenda, could change or write their verse. There are many contradictions in the Bible.
Matthew 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Exodus 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Deuteronomy 19:21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Romans 12:17-19 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Exodus 21:23-25 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Leviticus 24 Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.
Matthew 5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you
Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.Luke 6:29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic.
So which one is correct? Also Leviticus 18:22 only mentions men. So is it okay for women to be homosexual?
I am a strong Believer but the Bible needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Some of the chapters promote ideas that you and I do not approve of.
Bringing in 100 foreskins so that there could be a marriage. There is polygamy also and with Samson and Delilah a bit of S&M.
God gave us a brain and expects us to use it. THINK! Do not let any religion, political party nor any one else including me, Brainwash you.
THINK!!
We keep reading about the so-called "Messiah secret" or the "secret of the Messiah" but no one seems to realize that the real secret of the Messiah is this: that the whole idea of a Jewish Messiah is that he is just a mythical figure and has no more basis in fact and reality than does a jolly fat man sporting a white beard and dressed in a red cap, red suit and knee-high black rubber boots could ever become a real, true, one and only Santa. So, no matter how honest, sincere and deeply held was Jesus' belief that he was this Messiah figure such belief did not then transform him into being what was and forever would be a fictional personage. Such a belief in such an idea is merely wishful thinking and a pipe dream. One reason I am convinced that I am correct is based on Matthew 24:34 and parallel eschatology prophecies of Jesus which failed to come to pass. Not only was Jesus not the Messiah, no Jew has ever been or can ever be the Messiah any more than a Jolly fat man will ever transform himself into a real, true Santa. One can turn a lemon into a lemonade but no person can ever turn a human into a real Messiah if this Messiah figure is only a mythical, fictional personage to start with. My theory is corroborated by the evidence that there have been many claimants to the Messiahship but all have fizzled out. However, had Jesus' prophecies come to pass in both the time and manner he prophesied then I would be wrong. Those living today should be glad that Jesus' prophecy failed to come to fruition for had Jesus come on the clouds of heaven during that first century of our current era then he would have turned the sheep into angels and the goats into toast. Now, inasmuch as angels do not procreate there would never have been a me or thee alive today after the end of that age and generation Jesus called a evil, sinful and adulterous one.
Without being able to translate ancient text yourself you are putting faith in mortal men to translate 100% accurately and not to take any artistic liberties. Religions share the same characteristics as something without such good intentions. Passionate excuses for why there is no solid proof for such an outrageous claim only serves as more proof to the contrary. And there will just never be any real, tangible solid proof. It doesn't take a scholar to figure that out
"When did Tertullian coined the word Trinity?
The first recorded use of this Latin word was by Tertullian in about 200 AD, to refer to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or, in general, to any set of three things. ( Theophile of Antioch - 115-181 - introduced the word Trinity in his Book 2, chapter 15 on the creation of the 4th day)."
I do NOT believe in a "trinity" of ANY kind. Why? Because Jesus is devine as THE SON OF GOD WHO GOD THE FATHER SACRIFICED FOR OUR SINS, GOD IS THE KING OF HIS KINGDOM, AND JESUS HIS ONLY TRUE BORN SON ARE EACH DEVINE, BECAUSE JESUS IS GOD THE KING'S SON AND THE CROWN PRINCE WHO SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD HIS FATHER. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD THE FATHER AND THE KING OF HIS HOLY KINGDOM. JESUS IS HOLY THEREFORE HIS SPIRIT IS HOLY, BUT THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY WHOSE SPIRIT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE GOD THE FATHER AND KING. UNLIKE US WHO WERE ADOPTED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, JESUS IS THE ONLY DEVINE, ACTUAL, TRUE, AND ONE AND ONLY SON OF GOD, NOT AN ADOPTED SON OF GOD WHO SAVED US BY HIS HUMAN BLOOD WHILE HERE ON EARTH, AND SINCE GOD WILL NEVER DIE, JESUS WAS FROM THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S TIME, IS, AND WILL REMAIN THE CROWN PRINCE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD HIS FATHER FOR ALL ETERNITY.
READ ROMANS, CHAPTER 8. ALSO, ROMANS 8:1,2 ARE DEMONICALLY INCORRECT IN THE KJV BIBLE. IT IS AN UNHOLY AND FALSE TEACHING. READ ROMANS 8:1,2 IN THE NIV, BECAUSE WE ARE SAVED FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION SOLELY BY GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT AND GOD THE KING'S SACRIFICE OF HIS ONLY SON JESUS WHO WAS NOT ADOPTED, BUT GOD'S BELOVED SON AND CROWN PRINCE WHOM HE ADORES ABOVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, AND WHOM GOD THE FATHER WILL CHERISH ABOVE ALL FOR ALL OF ETERNITY.
I resonate with the comment from Paul McCrary.
When do we get Part 2 of "Why We Can Trust the Truth of the Bible?" The comments above indicate that there is not much agreement about what Bible truth is.
The Bible says it is God-inspired and inerrant. Many of the comments are not coming from those who believe neither of those things are true.
The red letters in the new testament announce revolutionary commandments not given significant space in the old testament.
Indeed, Jesus' new commandments 1) TO LOVE GOD, and 2) TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR are for the most part exactly opposite to old testament teaching. After listening to many hours of sermons where preachers twist their reasoning into demagogue pretzels, Sunday school lessons and Bible studies that avoid mention of anything controversial, I have concluded if I can ever learn to follow Jesus' commandments I can count that success.
And fellow bloggers, if I believe Jesus' is God and if I do my best to follow his commandments my life will be what he wants, that is my truth. I just don't need to worry too much the rest of the Bible instructions including those of Paul. That requires me to be content with the inconsistency of believing only a part of the Bible.
Good discussion, when do we get Part 2 of "Why We Can Trust the Truth of the Bible?"
The Truth of the Bible and Jesus ( including God the Father & the Holy Spirit) is to open oneself up and allowing the indwelling Presence to abide with us and to live accordingly allowing it to unfold in our lives. The “proof” is in the living, try it and see and be blessed!🙏🏻
After the beyond-redemption idolatry at Mount Sinai, Moses wrote or compiled a warning to the Hebrews who were conditionally sentenced to return to Babylon. In time the Synagogue was observed weekly for reading and understanding whatever Moses delivered to them. Moses prophesied "another prophet like me whom you WILL hear." In Genesis 49:
The Ekklesia was a School of Christ including the Prophets and Apostle. Christianity is haded because Shiloh means that Jesus gave REST from about anything you paid for today.
Is. 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Is. 59:16 And he saw that there was NO MAN, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
Is. 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Is . 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Is. 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My SPIRIT that is upon thee, and my WORDS which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and FOR EVER
The Sabbath meaning REST quarantined the godly Jews to their isolated settlements where, with 10 families, the official Synagogue was held. The MIQRA or Holy Convocation was held on the FIRST and EIGHTH days of yearly festivals
The NEW COVENANT which disabled the OLD COVENANT "added because of transgressions" and is a Declaration of Liberty and individual indepenance
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The teachings we have today are still many truths. Ask God yourself. Learn to understand what was actually said and those who said it. Genesis 24:3 God of Heaven(Jesus Christ) and God of Earth(Satan). They are both throughout the book from beginning to End.