It seems that the 20th and 21st centuries will go down in history as the age when men sought to rewrite the Bible and present to men what THEY want to hear rather than what God wants them to hear. The modern versions [for the most part] are the product of an attempt to put INTO the Bible the creeds and doctrines of men rather than an honest evaluation and translation of what God communicated to mankind. Calvinism is embedded in the New International Version and modernism is manifest in the Revised Standard Version. In fact, I think I could say without fear of contradiction that some form of error is propagated in about every modern version that has hit the market in the last 50 years or so. And the more liberal the translation, the more error will be found therein.
Now we hear of yet another translation soon to hit the book shelves. This one attempts to be "gender" free. And the beat goes on. Attacks upon the word of God are as old as man himself. Satan sought to place doubt in the mind of Eve by suggesting that God did not say what she thought he said. There is now an attempt underway to literally reconstruct Old Testament history. This time the attack is coming from modernists who have specialized in the area of Higher Criticism. For the benefit of those who have not had the opportunity to study Higher Criticism, Textual Criticism and Modernism, let me assure you that it is not one of my favorite fields of study.
All such "theologians" and "scholars" take, for the most part, a critical approach to the examination of the scriptures. One of the areas of attack is on the origin, authenticity, and reliability of the scriptures. This past month, William Murchison [Dallas Morning News, 3-13-02], had some things to say about those who would discredit the book of Genesis. According to some so-called "scholars" the book of Genesis is myth, tales and fables. No Abraham, no Moses, no Ten Commandments.
According to Murchison, the most recent attempt to rewrite Biblical history is headed by (now get this) the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. A well-known rabbi, Harold Kushner, has co-edited an adventure in which the publishers will "bid adieu to the childish version of the Bible." Archaeological evidence, in their opinion, is lacking.
Influenced by the "no absolutes" mentality of their kissing cousins in the field of philosophy, these new-found spiritual leaders for our generation are quick to point out that "you just can't be sure about these things." Murchison reminds us that a "central theme of modernism is the impossibility of really knowing anything except scientific theories." What it boils down to is this. The new generation of theologians and philosophers inform us that they know you cannot know.
Their conclusion is that the Bible is a "grossy [sic, he may have meant 'grossly', TW] overrated book," and that "today no one seriously accepts that Jesus in fact walked on the sea and raised the dead" [I wonder why I was not included in their poll].
But the modernist does not make claims that area based upon evidence. Quite the contrary. The modernist makes his foolish claims in spite of the evidence. I am in the process of reading a little paper-back written by Norman Geisler and William Nix, entitled From God to Us. These authors present irrefutable evidence of the reliability of both Old and New Testaments. One of the observations they make is that "there are thousands of manuscripts for both Old and New Testaments, compared with a handful of many great secular classics. This makes the Bible the best documented book from the ancient world."
But the modernists believe, as have others, that if you tell someone something long enough and loud enough, they will eventually believe it, no matter how foolish it might seem to be, or how lacking in evidence to support their claim. I am like Murchinson. While these so-called scholars are bold and brash in their claims, "What entitles a modernist to say that? Where is his authority? Why believe him?" Indeed! There is sufficient evidence to prove to the honest seeker of truth that the book you hold in your hand is, beyond any shadow of doubt, the inspired word of God, all the modernists not withstanding.
