The Bible--Misused, Misunderstood; Why Believe It Is Inspired?

For even Christ pleased  

not Himself, but,

as it is written,

the reproaches of them

that reproached Thee

fell on Me. 

For whatsoever things

were written aforetime

were written for our 

learning, that we 

through patience and

comfort of the

Scriptures might have hope.

Romans 15:3-4 (cf. Psalm 69:9)

     It is time for weekly worship of our god; before we leave for worship we pick up our bible and leave to meet with like believers who also have brought their bible; each ready to worship god. People all over the world make this weekly, if not daily, trip to their house of worship carrying with them their bible. These worshipers enter into synagogues, kingdom halls, cathedrals, temples, shrines, Mormon churches, and even into Protestant Churches; all gathering together to worship God and each believes the bible they are carrying is the word of God. Is it? The names associated with these "inspired" words of God; i.e., Koran, Hindu Vedas, Book of Mormon, New World Translation of the Bible, Science and Health wit key to the Scriptures; all are believed to be the words of God, or words given to a prophet, or to men of God. Are they? As Protestants, even Roman Catholics, Greek Orthordox, Russian Orthodox, etc. carry a book that is called the Bible and all believe that this book is the Word of God, and that men were inspired to write under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Were they? Are all books denoted by believers of all faiths have an "inspired" Bible? If all all not considered "inspired"; then which one should be considered to be the Word of God? All may be correctly assigned inspiration, but maybe not! Maybe none are inspired by God and are the works of men who were holy in some fashion and were driven by their own desires to write these words that are contained in the many bibles. Ask any "Christian" and they will adamantly admit that the Bible they carry is the only correct Word of God and that God inspired men to write His words. Ask them to give proof that this is true; they fail and give only what has been told them and has become accepted as true, a form of Christianese. Some are more educated and have formed their belief in the Bible as true and is the only book that God has given to man and is the inspired Words of God; but for most they have not been privileged to be so educated and have relied on the testimony of others. The pastor says it is true, grandma said it was true, mom and dad said it was true; therefore it must be true, the Protestant Bible is true. How do you know for sure? Why do you denounce all other bibles as being false, and even of Satan? Why do you discriminate against others who are seeking to worship God? Is this not the height of snubbery? We may have come to believe that our Bible is the Word of God but this belief has not been examined. Therefore, we do not have enough information to know for sure that the Book we hail as the Word of God, the Bible, is truly the Word of God. Why do you believe it is the Word of God? What do you know about the Bible, the book that you call the ground of our faith, and the rule of our life? Is what the Bible says about God the only way to God, the only manner and book that teaches about the true God? Others would disagree with you if you say yes. Why should you put your faith in the Bible? Why, if it may be possible that other religions have a book that they claim is of god, and that book teaches them how to live a "good" life? Isn't there many ways to reach God? 

     These questions are important to be asked and answered for if we are to put our faith and trust in a book, the Bible, then we should have the knowledge and have the trust that the Bible we carry is the Word of God, and the only Word of God given to a special people and to be preached into all the world to make disciples who too will come to place their hopes, their faith in the Bible, the Bible of the Protestants, Christians. Why should we believe the Bible are Holy Scripture and has been inspired by God? 

     I am not going to dissect other books called holy and are believed to be the Word of God. This I will leave for another time. This examination is pointed to Christians, those who carry the Bible with them to Church, to read it often, who have put their faith in this book. These blogs will address issues within the "Church." Through this examination you will come to know the truth, that is, if you take time to think upon, pray upon, meditate upon, the information, and even do you own examination and research. Don't just take my word, check me out. 

     With the use of the Bible we derive our theology. It is our theology that determines our religion, and our religion becomes our way of life and determines our character; therefore it is important that our Bible we actually the Word of God, a book of writings that God inspired for our lives, our hope for the future, and a rule of our life in our now. What is disconcerting and misleading is that some who use the name "Christian" and even use the Bible as their Inspired book of God have either translated their Bible according to their presuppositions or use the Bible alongside other works that they believe are either inspired of God or are works that God has given to them as to become a "way of life." Many people have come to believe that the Bible which contains the Old and New Testaments, those books which have composed the complete Bible have need for other books that are from God, and/or that the Bible from old needs a better translation. Notice one such call to believe in a book that is considered to be inspired, another book from God: Under the title INTRODUCTION:

"The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy Scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel" (Book of Mormon; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; salt Lake city, Utah, U.S.A.; 1981. First edition published in 1830; Italics mine). Translation of the Bible from the original manuscripts, although we do not have the autographs (the original), rather we have manuscript copies, and from those copies we have determined what, as best as possible, the original autographs. It must be remembered that it is the translation that is important and the manuscripts must be examined thoroughly then a determination is made. This arduous work, time consuming, and must be reviewed by one than one person or group. Here is one person, or group's teaching in regard to one such translation(s):

"What Mormons Believe About the Bible
Mormons consider the Bible to be official scripture and adhere to its teachings as doctrine. Mormons use the King James Version of the Bible. It is revered as a testament of Jesus Christ and is a collection of sacred writings that contain revelations from God and an account of God’s dealings with His people in the Old world.

The Bible covers centuries starting with the creation of the world and the first man Adam down to the death of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament covers sacred writings before the birth of Christ. The New Testament tells the life of the Savior and the establishment of Christ’s Church.

The Mormon Church does accept information that was revealed during a translation of the Bible done by Joseph Smith. In August 1830, just after Joseph Smith finished the translation of the Book of Mormon and the Mormon Church had been organized. Joseph Smith began translating the King James Version of the Bible. This translation was not from one language to another but actual revelation Joseph Smith received from God concerning information that had been lost or changed in the Bible over time by scholars and other translators" (Retrieved from: idspatriot.wordpress.com/ mormonism/what-mormons-believe-about-the-bible/. Italics mine). 

     Preconceptions, presuppositions, and predeterminations often rule a person objectivity and lead to writings that while having a sense of being true under examination will be found deficient. Is this true of the Bible we as Protestants believe is the Word of God? Some who call themselves Christian have a liberal approach to the Bible, others are more conservative; which approach is correct? Which approach to your understanding of the Bible is yours? What is the truth? How do we know the truth? Help!! This I will attempt to accomplish; we have just begun, and many questions have been asked, and many more will need to be answered. 

     So as not to mislead you about my position on the Bible and so no one can misunderstand my position, allow me to make this statement: The Holy Bible, the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the Scriptures of the New Testament are inspired from God, and are infallible. I hold that they contain all we need to know about God, and are the rule of faith and of our lives. With this said, I will be objective in my examination and presentation of all the information that will be given; this is what I did to come to my position and I do hope it will aid you, not only to come to have a deep faith in the Bible, but will become your rule of life. 

Thou gavest also

     thy good spirit

to instruct them, and

     withheld not thy 

manna from their mouth,

    and gavest them water

for their thirst.

                     Nehemiah 9:20

Be thirsty for the Truth: God will supply

Richard L. Crumb