Articles - The Bible

The Bible has a self-evidencing nature to the effect that it consists not of merely “passing or temporary enactments, but eternal laws” (Rawlinson 112). The indestructibility of the Bible, as evidenced from history, sustains the biblical claim, and the experience of those who, as the Psalmist, can say, “I have known of old that You have founded them [Your testimonies] forever” (Ps. 119:152).

The Da Vinci Code (book and movie) stirred interest in such Gnostic gospels as the Gospel of Thomas and others. Some even seem to think that these non-canonical, heterodox (i.e. contrary to the acknowledged standard of the New Testament) works should be given a prominence equal to, or greater than, the New Testament.

During a trip to Pittsburgh for the purpose of receiving treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, I had occasion to browse through some rare books in a bookstore located in an older section of the city. I came across a book, The Bible in New York, published in 1948. The terrorist attacks in New York, and the military response to those attacks, make the material in the aforementioned book extremely relevant and interesting.

A visit to a used book store uncovered a book lover's treasure (viz. a delightful volume published more than a quarter of a century ago and filled with thought-provoking anecdotes and capsules of wisdom). One tidbit of value was a story about an old preacher who, on foot, set out after the evening service to find his way along the edge of a dangerous cliff to the cottage where he was to spend the night.

Many years ago, an annual used book sale in Parkersburg, WV, yielded a rare treasure. There, on a shelf surrounded by thousands of books on various and sundry topics, was An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible published in 1874 by John W. Haley. I quickly opened the book to see the price. Twenty-five cents!!!! SOLD! I felt like a little boy with his special toy on Christmas morning.

John Quincy Adams (an apologetics hero) was the sixth President of the United States. He was fifty-eight years old when elected President. He served four years and, following his Presidency, was elected to the House of Representatives. He was a Congressman for seventeen years until his death in 1847 at the age of seventy-nine. He was the first ex-President ever to be elected to the House of Representatives.

The above words serve as the title of a chapter in a book, The Bible in New York, published in 1948, and authored by David J. Fant. The book’s concern is “the romance of Scripture distribution in a world metropolis from 1809 to 1948” (1). Contained in the aforementioned chapter is a discussion of the distribution of Bibles during the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish War, World War I, and World War II. It is reported, “World War II witnessed an unprecedented emphasis on Bible possession and reading on the part of the troops.

In 2004 Antony Flew, who was arguably the best-known atheist in the English-speaking world,
announced that he had accepted the existence of God. Three years later, in his 2007 book, There Is a God, Dr. Flew describes how his commitment to follow the argument wherever it leads resulted in his endorsement of theism. In his concluding reflections Flew asks, “Is it possible that there has been or can be divine revelation? . . .