The Inspiration of the Scriptures #6

Were the writers of the Bible just ordinary men? Or were they (as they professed), inspired by an all knowing God?

In previous lessons I have been presenting evidence which I believe proves beyond a doubt that they were inspired penmen.

The purpose of today's lesson will be to show how the critics of the Bible themselves, have helped to confirm that these men were speaking the truth when they declared their writings were given unto them by an infallible God.

This I say first of all, because as you know the Bible was not written yesterday, but hundreds of years ago.

All right, for all these years, the critics have worked diligently to discredit it; yet we are still waiting for them to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt the validity of even one of their numerous accusations.

My friends, if the Bible is nothing less than one big lie which it took forty men sixteen hundreds years to write, then why after all these years haven't its critics been able to put it through the shredding machine?

Many are the times when the critics of the Bible have said it cannot be true because it is not in harmony with science. Yes, in the time of Solomon, Isaiah, Job, Jeremiah, David and the apostle Paul and for many years thereafter men of science said the writers of the Bible were neither learned nor inspired writers, because their writings were not in harmony with science. However, all the pre-scientific statements made by those men which were not in harmony with the accepted theories of their time, have now been proven by men of science themselves to be in perfect harmony with true science.

Oh yes, after all these years the whole world may be challenged to show that there is even one tested and proven scientific principle of truth with which any statement in the Bible is at variance.

Now I am not contending the Bible is in harmony with all present day scientific theories, but that it is in harmony with true science.

If the Bible from the beginning until now had always been in harmony with science so called, then today it would be the most ridiculous book ever written.

Yes, my friends, in the past the Bible has been involved in many battles with its critics, over what is true science but it has always won. In the world today we have many scientific theories. Men of science will prove some of them to be true, but not those which are at variance with any scientific statement written by inspired writers of the Bible. All of yesterdays scientists lost every battle they fought with the Bible, and so shall it be with those of today and tomorrow.

Likewise critics of history have endeavored to discredit the Bible by pointing out its would be historical errors.

You see, there was a time when historians were unaware of numerous ancient historical facts. They did not know the Egyptians grew grapes and they possessed much silver and gold. They knew nothing about the past existence of two great nations of the Edomites and Hittites. They were unaware that nations used different standards for calculating talents of silver. Then too, they were not familiar with the fact that the art of writing was known by Moses and his contemporaries. They knew nothing about Belshazzar, King of the Chaldeans. Yet, the writers of the Bible recorded statements of facts and events which proved they possessed knowledge of all this ancient history. For confirmation of this read: Genesis 15:20; Genesis 36:1-43; Genesis 40:11; Exodus 25:1-40, Exodus 24:4; 2 Kings 18:4; and Daniel 5:1-22.

Yes, of course, the critics denounced all these Biblical historical accounts. They said they are nothing more than historical blunders; however, after some of their colleagues with their spades unearthed many records of old and others diciphered ancient hieroglyphics these critics as well as those of other disciplines were forced to surrender unto the writers of the Bible.

All right, my friends, since our own great and learned geographers, scientists, and historians have proven their earlier colleagues wrong who scoffed at the many pre-seientific, pre-geographic, and pre historical statements made by the writers of the Bible, they have done much to stregthen their inspirational claim.

Yes, this is what the great scholar, Dr. Davidson meant when he said "As regarding the Old Testament, every fresh discovery about the world's early civilization and each signifacant tablet or cylinder brought forth from its resting place of thousands of years, seems to do something more toward the strengthening and deepening of our belief in the genuine inspiration of the written word of God".

By Tommy Hodge

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