Bringing the Word of Life Q & A |
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There are lots of holy books. Answer: People who ask this question usually have the idea that all beliefs are equally true and valid, and so there is no reason to regard any one "holy book" as authoritative. This enables them to make up their own "patchwork religion," picking and choosing elements from any number of religions according to personal preference. It is important to point out to them that this is no way to discover the truth about anything. Moreover, they must realize that the Bible cannot be taken in bits and pieces: it must be respected as a whole, or rejected altogether. The reason for this is that the Bible itself claims to be the Word of God. The Old Testament prophets often use phrases such as, "Thus saith the Lord" and "The word of the Lord came to me" (Ezek. 24:15). In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ said that the Old Testament writers, like David, spoke by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36). Christ's own teachings are recorded as being God's word (Luke 5:1). Later on, Peter insists that the apostles have the word of the prophets made more certain ... no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation ... men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). He also says that Paul's writings are Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). The Bible affirms itself in totality to be the Word of God. But does that mean that it is the only word of God to man? Couldn't those other "holy books" be God's word too? Those who make such suggestions often know little about the Bible and even less about the other "scriptures" they seek to support. They do not realize that the writings of the other religions deny central teachings of the Bible. The Bible says that there is only one God (Isa. 44:8), that Christ is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), and that salvation is the gift of God, not something to be earned by human effort (Eph. 2:8-9). How can all "holy books" be the word of God if they contradict each other? Does God contradict Himself? Finally, in an honest comparison between the Bible, widely recognized as the greatest work of literature ever written, and the "holy books" of the world's religions, one finds that there is really no comparison. Professor M. Montiero Williams studied Eastern books for forty-two years and concluded: there is a gulf between [the Bible] and the so-called sacred books of the East which severs the one from the other utterly, hopelessly, and forever." R. J. Bohner
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