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Can the Bible be Believed?
Written by Peter Youngren on June 11, 2010Article for St Catharines Standard newspaper by Peter Youngren.
Can you believe the Bible literally? Books and movies today convey the idea that the Bible developed from oral traditions that were written down only centuries after the events had occurred. The time span involved would make it next to impossible to know if any stories of the Bible represent actual historical events. Take the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as an example. Can we know the real historical Jesus? After Jesus’ crucifixion and death, it is suggested, that many viewpoints emerged, one that Jesus was a mere human teacher who “lived on” spiritually in the hearts of his disciples, while others claimed that he was divine and had physically risen from the dead. The power struggle of ideas lasted for several centuries, and finally with the help of the Roman Emperor Constantine, those who advocated “a divine Jesus” won, and the four Gospels we have in our Bible today were approved, while the “lost Gospels” of Thomas, Judas and others were disallowed. Consequently, no one can really know what Jesus said and did; his deity, atonement and resurrection become legends.
Here is an amazing fact. The theory I just stated has virtually no supporting evidence. It is fiction.
Paul’s letters authored fifteen to twenty-five years after Jesus’ death, reference his miracles, crucifixion and resurrection. The four Gospels could have been written right after the death of Jesus, and virtually all scholars agree that they were recorded within 40 years after Jesus’ death. Simply put, the biblical accounts of Jesus were circulating within the lifetime of many of those who had been present in his ministry.
Luke claims that he got his account of Jesus from eyewitnesses who were still alive. Mark recounts that the man who helped Jesus carry his cross was “the father of Alexander and Rufus”. The only reason for such references is that the early readers of the Gospels would have known eyewitness, or who Alexander and Rufus were.
Paul recommends his readers to check with living eyewitnesses about the events of Jesus’ life, particularly his resurrection. He references 500 eyewitnesses. It would be counterproductive to make such statements unless there were eyewitnesses alive who could confirm the author’s words.
When Luke wrote the Book of Acts, he references the public awareness of the events he’s describing, stating, “these things were not done in a corner”. Contrast this with the Gospels of Thomas or Judas, who all scholars agree, were written much later. In 160 AD, church father Irenaeus references the four Gospels, the same four we have today.
Some claim that early church leaders added to the Gospels to promote their own policies, and consolidate their power in order to build a religious movement. This is simply without evidence. One of the great controversies of the early church was whether Christians should be circumcised or not. If the Gospels were modified, why didn’t somebody add a few verses where Jesus made comments about circumcision? The evidence is that the early church did not dare fabricate or put words into Jesus’ mouth.
If the Gospels were self-serving documents for power-hungry religious leaders, why would anyone make up an account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, asking to be released from his mission? Why suggest that Jesus, on the cross, was so desperate that he felt like God had abandoned him? Wouldn’t that weaken the case for the divinity of Jesus? Why invent a story that the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were women, especially since under Roman law a woman’s testimony was not admissible in court? Wouldn’t it have made better sense to invent a story that authoritative political and religious figures were witnesses to Christ’s resurrection? Why would the Scriptures include the terrible failure of the most prominent leaders, like Simon Peter who denied Jesus?
The witness of Jesus’ contemporaries is clear. Jesus was God in human flesh, removed the world’s sin by the sacrifice of himself, and he is alive today. Check him out!
Cynthia
~ Bloomburg TX
Just wanted you to know I believe the Bible is fact.However, you put it so well in your blog I printed it off to post on our Youth Classroom bulletin board.
God bless.
Benoit
~ Lac Ste Marie QC Canada
Some relion are trying to steal the glory of good and discredit the word of god. They are the same that try to take all the bible away so we would not know the truth but our god is much more powerfull than that and some day they will be judge for this. They are lying and they will deceived so many good people that realy beleive in them. I want to beleive the word of god not mans law. Give to god what belonged to god. There is only one way to heaven and it is by jesus john 3-16. He accomplish everything it is finish he paid the price one and for all. Tank god we dont have to go to the so called purgatory as they invented. I have pitty for them that will be betray with those lye.
We love you all and we want to see you in heaven.
Maria
~ Stockholm Sweden
Jesus Christ is not only a well-documented historical person he is the savior of this world that also will be history in the perspective of the eternity. There might be not so much time left to hesitate to check him out so I agree! Do check him out! I´ve known Jesus now for 27 years and I know Him as my savior, as my shepherd, as the strongest love I ever met, as the most perfect love i´ve ever met, as my healer my redeemer and my dearest friend of all. Today we´ve been out evangelising in Jakobsberg a suburb in the northen part of Stockholm. Two teenage boys received Jesus as their Savior then and I worshipped Jesus Singing and playing the Guitarr out in the Sun. Its Like a miracle after the long hard Winter when we have been out trying to share the gospel. The evangelismteam of Arken.
God Bless
Maria.
Rose
~ Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
Very good points.
Michael
~ Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
Very good comment on what you wrote…..Praise Jesus for his Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real in our Lives.. he takes away fear because fear of Man and the Devil and Death are not from God.
Sunil
~ India
Bible is the true word of God,We have no word to express its amazing truth.
Thanks
Suzy
~ Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
Absolutely! Many early Christian writings (first and second century) quote verses from the New Testament. One can almost put together the whole New Testament just from those early Christian writings. For example, the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (dated 95 A.D.) quotes verses from the Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Titus, Hebrews, and 1 Peter. The letters of Ignatius (dated 115 A.D.) were written to several churches in Asia Minor and quotes verses from Matthew, John, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. These early church letters are proof that the entire New Testament was already written and being used in the first century A.D.
Ayaz
~ British Columbia, Canada
This is true, fabricated stories and characters die out with time but even if after 2000 years we still know Jesus, his storey and miracles than he is not an imaginary or ordinary character… he is a real Jesus.. a saviour. Secondly, when the Bible says he is a living God then instead of finding him through history books why not experience him in our own real life… try him you won’t be disappointed!
Daniel
~ Hyderbad,Sindh,Pakistan
pastor,i belive god,i request you please pyar for my family.
Cornelius
~ Nairobi, Kenya, Africa
I do agree with you people learn good and bad through research and history books.Jesus must be alive.am convenced so.
Hagere
~ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
“people learn good and bad through research” True!
Pastor Peter, What do you say about the so called grace community that has turned into a little sect on facebook.? The grace movement ( not sure if it is a movement or not but, people has turned into a movement these days ) is becoming a little cult group on facebook. Have you had a chance to look into the matter?
They all have one thing in commen. Which is attacking and belittling ministries and Churches that they were part of at some point in their life time. And psycologially harassing each other. rhetoric debates, name callings are the heart of this movement. All these are done in the name of ” new found freedom”
Galatians 5:13 says “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through LOVE and SERVE one another” Question: are we free to damage and hurt others through psychological harassment, name callings, humiliation? IMHO i don’t believe that’s is a real freedom but, I would love to hear your opinion on this matter.
Thank You
Hagere
William
~ Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
I have always, and I do now believe what the bible says literally. I have not always followed God. I gave my life to Jesus when I was eleven when I was at a christian camp. I soon when on to be a devil worshiper for most of my life after that. Needless to say I hurt many people, animals, and myself. I now fully follow Jesus once again and my wife and I are so happy (If it were not for this dear woman I would never have found Jesus again.). The point for me is that I have always believed the bible, even when I did not follow God I knew who ultimately was in charge! I knew who had the real power! I did believe the bible litterally! Jesus Rules! Now I am with the winner. Praise Jesus!
Dave
~ Indonesia
Yes, Jesus is the only proven God!!!
The highest form of GOD’s calling is to be HIS worshippers ;
to worship HIM in SPIRIT & in TRUTH !
And the highest form of Worshipping is our Obedience to GOD !!!
Look at Sarah who in her disobedience to trust GOD’s promise took that unclean slave woman Hagar to be Abraham’s mistress, just to feel secure by having descendant to inherit their wealth.
And Abraham too agreed to his wife & took that Egyptian slave woman.
This disobedience has brought hundreds of years of misseries, problems & unneccessary rivalries caused by Hagar’s descendants that were outcasted by Abraham & Sarah as soon as they have their own promised son, Isaac !!
God wants our Obedience!!!
JESUS Loves U all . . .
Love & shalom from Indonesia,
Dave
Ray
~ Fort Cochin, India
The Bible is the only book understood only by the heart and not the head. The person who uses his head to understand the Bible gets confused with God the author of the book and the person who opens his heart and reads the bible gets himself infused with the author of the book who is God
Rosalind
~ Barbados W. I.
After reading beliefs about the bible, I can only suggest that people everywhere get to know the author of the book. (The Bible) It despels all unbeliefs when there is a relationship and not religion.
Other books were instrumental in producing doctors, teachers, lawyers etc., why is there continuous contentions about the truth of God’s word which is God’s love letter to the human family, a road map to heaven and a perfect guide to decision making?
Jacqueline
~ montreal
Even though i donot see him i believe that he is real each time i face the storm of life and call upon him he comes to my rescue,the devil has a very short time here on earth so he tries to use all the skills he has to corrupt peopples mind even the children of the Most High God so beware its better to worship him in spirit than physically.I know that with him even though we exxperience trials ,the day will come when we shall rejoice .
Michelle
~ London, Ontario, Canada
I wanted to ask a question. If Yeshua is Jewish and all of His disciples and the all the early apostles like the Apostle Paul were all Jewish, when did the idea of converting to Christianity come along? I don’t think Yeshua converted to Christianity when He died on the Cross. And I recall in one of Paul’s letters actually in Ephesians 5:1 where it is written “Imitate God, therefore in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Yeshua He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” (NLT) I have been to so many different churches and all preach from the Bible or allegedly say they do and all this has done has really confused me. So I sat back one day and began to reflect. Upon reflection I came to the following conclusions:
Bible—Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
God is all Truth
All Scripture is God breathed
God cannot lie
He is reliable
God is simple.
God is not the author of confusion
Grace is to me Yeshua
Grace is the Cross
Grace is God’s Riches At Yeshua’s Expense
And finally God is not complicated. It’s people, the church through the centuries that has made it confusing. So I decided to forsake all the teaching that has been indoctrinated into me, people’s opinions about who God is and how to have a personal relationship with God through the Cross and no more reading books, tapes, videos, or people on television and go back to the Bible and personally ask God to speak to me as I read beginning at Matthew to see who Yeshua really is and what His mission, His real mission. That is the Saviour I want to come and rescue me, the Saviour (Yeshua) promised thru the Torah, the Prophets and delivered in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. I want the real Gospel. So why has the people of God, since Yeshua’s death and resurrection gotten so far from the simplicity of the good news? One final comment I have is that I have sat in church pews for about 14 years after saying a bunch of words in a prayer that I was told would get me into heaven but never changed me and I knew that inside and I have had many pastors that have been in my life teaching me and not one of them sat down with me and spoke the truth that I’d been feeling in the depths of my soul that one reason for all the confusion and chaos in my life as a “Christian” was that I had religion and relationship mixed up. All these years I never had the relationship. And last week June 16th, in a chapel service at the Salvation Army shelter where I presently reside, did a pastor for the first time and spoke that truth to me. I am presently 32 and am finally at the spot in my life where in myself I have no more strength, no more will, no more strength to fight, no more resistence, all the physical, mental, spiritual exhaustion caught upto me and before I returned for only a month I was wiped. So when I came back to I was a mess. The only thing I knew inside was all the chaos, brokeness, emptyness, lonliness, God didn’t want me, all my body physically hurt and nothing medically wrong, and since the morning of June 6th God is leading me and speaking to me into relationship with Him. And all I am reading right now is the Bible and have asked God to show me Who He really is and why He still loves me. Last night at Soul Food, where ladies meet and have dinner and fellowship, God really ministered to me. The tears and the admittance that Yeshua and a one on one relationship with God is what I’m missing I could not hold back, and I have never cried infront of a bunch of people that is not something I would do. I hope you read this what do you think about what I have commented on? Sorry for rambling on.
pv
~ Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
truth is truth whether you believe it or not. Just as the Sun is a truth that is not arguable and it gives us physically whether we believe it or not, so the gospel is true and gives whether one believes it or not, many unbelievers are carried to God and Jesus with believers but it doesnt change the truth, only when or how you become aware of it. If a cloud moves and you see the sun, so when unbelief moves and all will see the truth. It doesnt even have to be discussed, God has said that every eye will see Him and every knee shall bow, it is a truth, it is grace that the Bible has been provided but God does not ‘prove’ the way you are suggesting, by long arguments and differences of opinion, He show plainly to every person, and every person that has ever been, just the way He said He would and will, there aren’t men who can replace the way God reveals His truth, it will be revealed to every person whether they ‘believe’ it or not, just as the sun comes up whether you believe it or not.
Michelle
~ London, Ontario, Canada
Thank you for responding. I now have my own relationship with Jesus and God revealed to me how to have one while I was reading His Word. I know it was God because now when I read His Word, I just can’t get enough. And everything I used to think was important isn’t anymore. I would rather have Jesus now. And He is using the simplist things to show me His love and faithfulness through leaves, trees, flowers, vines, the wind. I know inwardly that He is in me. I can’t explain it but that’s okay but I know what is happening inwardly is totally God and I’m seeing that He is totally amazing and I can finally hear what His voice sounds like and I didn’t get it from people. I know I received this from going before God and going into His Word. Now all I want to do is run to Jesus. It’s pretty amazing.
Imran
~ Pakistan
Peter,
Well said in your article. i have one question, please tell me why the verse mentioned below is not present in King James Version and also excluded from some other english version also.
7 For there are three that bear record in Heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.
whow
~ pakistan
in any doubt people should study bible n search answer to their own quiry
Cornelius
~ Nairobi, Kenya, Africa
I agree that jesus is alive through what its tald a bout him just believe in him and he will reveal himself to you the you will know it true he is alive thanks.
imran
~ pakistan
the anwer given is completely unsatisfactory. this is not the way to respond . Very sad. Peter youngren can u put some light.
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Comments:
Guillermina
~ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I agree with your comment, Bible Facts can be checked through History Books to be true.