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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Bible Facts --- Are they Accurate? Or not?
A few years ago the Texas State Board of Education was in the process of adopting textbooks for our High Schools. Ten textbooks were under consideration for various class levels, but the Board was shocked to discover a growing list of factual and technical errors in History textbooks submitted to them. Everything from errors in grammar, time and facts were found. Some were minor, but others were significant. In the ten books being considered there were a total of 3,707 errors, and every new search revealed even more. One book implied that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Korea, while another had Great Britain owning part of present-day Mexico in 1783.
Those responsible for making the administrative decisions said, “Close to accurate is not good enough.” The question was asked, “Can we afford to risk teaching our school children history and facts that are not true?” And, “Should the authors of these books be expected to be accurate? Don’t we have the technology to find the truth about history and then put that truth into the textbooks?”
I had several students report that a professor had made remarks about the “unreliability” of the Bible. One student asked me about statements being made that the Bible contains “contradictions.” The professor had said that the Bible is a “remarkable book,” and would be even more remarkable if it did not contain so many of those real “contradictions.” I suggested that the student ask that professor just where and what those “contradictions” were. She merely replied, “Oh, they’re in there all right; just everywhere.” In others words, she did not really know if there were any or where they were.
This incident prompted a question in my mind – “Should the Bible be held to the same standards of accuracy that modern text books are expected to meet?” Is “close to accurate” good enough for the Bible?
The answer is – assuming correct translation and there are no human errors in printing, etc. – a very definite “yes!” And it will pass any test man is capable of designing. If the Bible cannot be trusted in its comments relating to history, science, geography, etc., how can it be trusted in its doctrine?
When questions have been raised concerning the Bible’s credibility, the following passages are often among those challenged:
- At least forty times the Bible mentions a race of people known as the “Hittites” (for example Genesis 15:20, 23:10, 26:34, 2 Samuel 11:6, Exodus 3:8). The problem arose when secular archaeology and history failed to provide sufficient documentation for the existence of such a people. Some thought that if man could not prove the Bible is true, then the Bible must be false.
However, when human scholarship began to catch up with the confirmation of Bible facts, the Hittites’ existence was verified and the Bible’s credibility vindicated. Scholars from both Oxford and the University of Chicago provided academic research that confirmed the biblical account.
- Luke, the “beloved physician” as he is known in Colossians 4:14, provides us with a detailed account of the life of Jesus and the first thirty years of the church’s existence. Such passages as Luke 2:1-3, Acts 13:7, 14:12, 17:6 and others were questioned, again because secular history could not verify the facts given therein. However, again, when academic knowledge caught up with the Bible, the biblical facts were verified. Men like Sir William Ramsay, who began his research with a skeptical attitude toward Luke’s history, spent weeks and months of hands-on, critical study of Luke’s work. Both archaeological and linguistic research produced positive results. Respect followed for Luke as an historian and the Holy Spirit as an author. Ramsay later described Luke as an historian “of the first rank.” Again, the Bible was not mistaken; it was just far ahead of man’s discoveries. That is why young and old alike need to be made aware of this information!
- Similar questions concerning the historical and scientific accuracy of such Bible passages as Psalm 19:5, Genesis 14, Joshua 6, Acts 2:38, 41, and others have also been answered successfully. The Bible stands on its foundation of accuracy, existing by way of its Author, the God of this world and this universe. It does not depend upon secular authentication, though it continues to receive it on a regular basis.
Unfounded accusations of men have not weakened the Bible’s influence or accuracy. In fact it has served only to strengthen it.
Noted archaeologist and former President of Hebrew Union College, Dr. Nelson Glueck, examined many of these discoveries. He concluded:
“No archaeological discovery has ever been made that successfully controverts historical statements made in the Bible.”
The Bible – it is accurate and it is true! But you might want to watch out for those history books
Carl B Garner
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THE DASH
I read of a man who stood to speak
At a funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning ... to the end.
He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years,
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars... the house... the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard...
Are there things you'd like to have changed?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile.
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
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Awesome Is No Accident
The Macaw is a beautiful exotic bird which eats a lot of exotic seeds. Those seeds contain a lot of poison which would normally kill the bird, but the Macaw uses an antidote. He eats a certain clay – enough per day to equal a big hamburger if he was your size. The clay apparently absorbs the toxins in the fruit seeds. This has been tested and emulated in the lab with certain types of clay. I am not saying that you should eat dirt, though some health nuts do. What I am saying is this: God’s creation is awesome! Don’t tell me this brainless (almost) bird worked out that piece of science on his own. And did he gradually work it out by watching other birds drop dead around him?
We need to stand in awe of God’s perfect creation. Five times, God saw that it was good, and one time He says it was “very good,” Genesis 1:1-31. The Bible teaches that matter came from mind. Evolutionists teach that mind came from matter. Look around you – see the beauty and the brilliance and tell me that it was all one big accident. Check out the following passage (Psalm 19:1-6):
1. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
2. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
4. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
5. which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
Awesome is no accident.
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