The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, wrote some remarkable letters to one of his sons while the boy was attending school in Massachusetts. Nine of the letters were published in 1848 in a book titled Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son on the Bible and Its Teaching. In Letter II, Adams says, “There are three points of doctrine, the belief of which, forms the foundation of all morality. The first is, the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is, a future state of rewards and punishments.” Adams continued “Suppose it possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith, and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains, or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy” (22-23).
Read MoreFor Christianity, one of the foundational beliefs is that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Given that the Bible fulfills the first requirement to be considered inspired (that it claims to be the inspired word of God), Christians are tasked with proving its claims to be true. There are many ways to go about doing so, since the Bible possesses many characteristics that help to prove its claim of inspiration. One of the most convincing is that of the predictive prophecies which are both made and fulfilled within the pages of the Bible. A. M. Morris succinctly stated that “promises and their fulfillment, types and their anti-types, prophecies and their fulfillment in the facts of history, constitute a vast three fold system of divine testimony (1). If it is the case that the Bible contains even one property or characteristic that could not have originated with man, then it is the word of God. Since the Bible does contain at least one characteristic which could not have originated with man, that of predictive prophecy being made and fulfilled, the Bible is the word of God...
Read MoreMany in the world believe in God. They know that there is something greater and wiser than them in the universe. Unfortunately, while many believe in God, they do not believe that He has ever or will ever speak to them. To them, He is some cruel cause who created us, and then like a negligent pet owner, left us to fend for our own. Fortunately, this could be no further from the truth...
Read MorePrior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, I read an extremely interesting article about the delivery of 50,000 free copies of the New Testament to the USSR. This mass distribution of the Scriptures included 10,000 copies made available at the Moscow Book Fair. People, standing in long lines, waited for as long as two hours to receive a free copy of the New Testament. When the people saw that only a couple thousand copies remained, the crowd went out of control. Policemen had to be utilized to settle the crowd. Finally, when all the New Testaments had been taken, and several thousand people were left standing without a copy, addresses of those people were requested. In two days, 26,000 addresses were submitted, and all received by mail their New Testament!
Read MoreClassical apologetics is the discipline of developing and giving reasons for Christianity, beginning with the evidence for three foundational truths: the existence of God, the inspiration of the Bible, and the divinity of Jesus. There always is an abundance of reasons at hand for teaching classical apologetics to young people. For example...
Read MoreUsed book sales often are the source of some great treasurers purchased at minimal prices. Such was the case when I made a visit to an annual Fall book sale that uncovered several good finds including one titled, Books that Made the Difference, a twenty year old study conducted by a husband-wife team, Gordon and Patricia Sabine, both university journalism professors. The Sabine’s travelled the country and interviewed some 1,400 Americans with regard to two questions: (1) What book made the greatest difference in your life? (2) What was the difference? The results of 200 of these interview were then published under the above title in a book sponsored by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
Read MoreWhen a man acknowledges there is a God, he acknowledges that God is the ultimate authority whose will is binding upon human beings. But, where is this authority to be found and how is his will conveyed to us as men? The answer is that God has drawn back the curtain and shown (revealed) himself through his mighty saving acts for man’s redemption and spoken that men might know the meaning of those acts and understand his will for men (Hebrews 1:1-2). While nature may tell something of God’s divinity and power as its author (Romans 1:20), and the moral experience of men may give some witness to a righteous God hidden from men (Romans 2:14-15), only as God shows himself in saving deed and word can men behold the entire plan of salvation and know how it relates to them. This is what the Bible claims to present to us.
Read MoreIt comes down to one word. If that word is true, then the Bible ought to matter more than all else in life. Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The word “inspiration” translates θεοπνευστος (THEOPNEUSTOS), a Greek word occurring only once in the New Testament. Its meaning, literally, is “God-breathed.” Such is the claim the Bible makes for itself—that its origin traces to God, who is responsible for the words of Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13). Or, as Peter put it, the Holy Spirit “moved” Bible writers to take pen in hand and write down divine prophecies (2 Peter 1:21). There are so many evidences of the Bible’s inspiration that an article can scarcely begin to touch on the subject. For example...
Read MoreRobert Milligan, while President of The College of the Bible in Kentucky University, wrote a book in 1867 titled Reason and Revelation. In the Introduction, Milligan wrote,
It is painful to see the popular indifference that is everywhere manifested for the Word of God. I do not mean to say, with some, that this indifference is increasing; or that it is even as great now as it was a hundred years ago. I am fully persuaded that it is not. Indeed, I feel entirely confident, that the Holy Scriptures had never before so great an influence over the masses of mankind as they have at present. But, nevertheless, their influence is very little in comparison with what it ought to be. Very few persons seem to believe the Bible with their whole hearts. And hence but few tremble at its solemn precepts and warnings. . . . (xi, emp. added)
While discussing the qualifications of the Bible student, Milligan states that the first moral qualification of the Bible student is “a profound reverence for the Bible. . . . [I]n all cases, and under all circumstances, we should approach the Bible as we would approach its Divine Author” (382).
Read MoreDown through the centuries men have tried to destroy the Bible but it is still here—in larger numbers than ever before.
Jehoiakim, the ill-fated king of Judah, cut the roll of the prophecy of Jeremiah to pieces with a pen knife and committed them to the flames of the brazier in his winter house. He did not like the stern warnings and the fearful predictions of the prophet. Jeremiah predicted captivity in Babylon, if the nation did not repent. Jehoiakim treated the message of the prophet with utter contempt. But two things should be remembered: the words of the ancient prophet remained and heavy doom fell upon the self-willed and irreverent king. He died or was murdered and his unburied body was drawn and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem—as the prophet said, he was given “the burial of an ass.” God will not hold him guiltless who deals lightly with his word.
Read MoreAfter examining the Setting of 2 Timothy 3:14-17, we approach this pericope of Scripture as follows: (1) The Surety of powerful Revelation (2 Timothy 3:14), (2) The Scope of powerful Revelation (2 Timothy 3:15), (3) The Source of powerful revelation (2 Timothy 3:16a), (4) The Supply of powerful revelation (2 Timothy 3:16b), and (5) The Sufficiency of powerful revelation (2 Timothy 3:17). [These five points of alliteration were suggested by Charles C. Pugh III].
Read MoreIn Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31, we read, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The obvious import and spiritual truth imparted by the passage is that strength and aid would provided to those who fear and follow God. But why is there an illustration about eagles included here? How does such a statement have application in this context?
Read MoreNo other book has been so attacked throughout history as has the Bible. Countless are the men who have sought to eradicate it—to do away with the Word of God once and for all, never to see it again. However,as mere men, they are powerless to accomplish such a feat.
Read MoreRecently the Barna Group published a graphic ("America's Most and Least Bible-Minded Cities"). The chart ranked ninety-six American cities, according to the percent of population who were "Bible-minded." The results were based on 42,855 interviews conducted from 2005 through 2012.
Read MoreCampbell stresses his belief in the need for controversy when he states: "There can be no improvement without controversy." On the face of it, this statement may seem too strong to be in harmony with Bible teaching. But, after clarifying what Campbell meant by change and controversy, it will be the purpose of this section to consider whether his view of such, is in harmony with New Testament teaching.
Read MoreThere are at least two basic attitudes, held by religious people, toward controversy: (1) that it is not Christlike (and, therefore, is unchristian) to engage in controversy about religious matters and (2) that for the effort of local churches (and thus, that of the individual Christian involved) to be in proper balance, there must be, not only the proclamation of the positive message of the gospel but also the willingness to defend that gospel against various challenges which may be offered against it.
Read MoreThe first book of the Bible is aptly named, Genesis. The late Rex A. Turner says that “Genesis defies the imagination and mental capacity of any mere uninspired man” (101).
The late James D. Bales summarizes the value and importance of the book of “Genesis as an ancient book which sets forth truths and events which are far more ancient than the book itself. If the truths, which include the events and their meaning, are out of date, man is out of date. If Genesis is not relevant, man is irrelevant, since with the destruction of Genesis and its truths, man destroys his own birthright as a human being with dignity and value. (Bales 1977 13)
Read MoreTwo fundamental reasons why I believe in God are: Nature and the Bible.
My reasons for believing in God because of nature are the four well-known traditional arguments: The Cosmological, The Teleological, The Anthropological, and The Ontological.
My reason for believing in God because of the Bible is simply this:
A nation is a lot like a person. It is born. It lives. It grows old. It dies.
Many great nations have arisen during the history of the world. Some of them experienced a pattern somewhat like this: they began with strong spiritual, moral conviction; followed by the growth and eventual dominance of materialism, eventually to be destroyed by moral decay, apathy and anarchy.
Read MoreAngola Prison is, as you might expect, not a very pleasant place; some would have characterized it as the worst of the worst. Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is the bloodiest and biggest maximum-security prison in the country covering 18,000 acres (28 sq. miles). Eighty-six percent of Angola's 5,108 inmates are violent criminals serving an average sentence of 88 years; 3,712 of the prisoners are serving life sentences. Ninety-three percent of Angola's inmates will die there.
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