· Web viewThe Bible: - what exactly is this?. Perhaps you sang this hymn in Sunday School - ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong;

The Bible: - what exactly is this?

Perhaps you sang this hymn in Sunday School -

‘Jesus loves me, this I know,For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong.Chorus:

Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!

This is a lovely hymn with a catchy tune. If you don’t know it, find it on the internet.That first verse tells us several things:

1. The hymn is about Jesus and me. At times the obvious is over looked.

2. It makes this singularly personal: This ‘Jesus’ loves ‘Me’. Here is no group hug, for the love of Jesus reaches out to the individual. Also, it is a two-way thing – Jesus and me. It can never be one way only. So what is shown by one should equal the other.

3. ‘I know this’, so this is something taught, remembered and understood. This is something experienced. The source of all this is ‘The Bible’. So this is something discovered through being passed on to us in a way that ‘touches’ us. This is not something caught like Chicken Pox, or absorbed like a sponge does water. So this is a relationship offered and we must make it our own, otherwise it will simply be a ‘second-hand experience’. Such an experience will leave us cold.

4. This understanding is revealed/discovered via the Bible (whatever that is).

5. Everything about this depends upon the Bible. Christians see this as their ‘source book’, God speaking to us personally to guide us to life and then through life.

So from the opening two or so lines of this 19 th century children’s hymn we discover an amazing number of ideas packed tightly together. If pressed at the time the author, Anna Bartlett Warner, would say that she was laying down a spiritual bedrock through this hymn. This foundation is the Bible and nothing else, and upon this foundation we are to build our life.While on the internet do please find ‘Jesus strong and kind’. There is a lovely version on YouTube featuring Colin Buchanan. This is an updated version of the hymn I mentioned above. Again, the tune is great and so are the words – a real inspiration to us when things get really tough.

But why bother about all this? Well our Faith is based upon just the Bible and nothing else. If you want to see this put in a formal way suited for members of the Church of England, turn to your Prayer Book, and then find the section titled ‘Articles of Religion’ – these are at the very end. Finally if your eyes are in focus again, find and

read Article 6 and see how it describes The Bible. This compresses what our approach to the Scriptures ought to be. Article 20 is a useful reminder as to how we are to approach the Bible.

By the way, these ’Articles’ are the foundational documents of the Church of England. All those Ordained (In ‘Orders’) have stated that they believe them totally. What any individual cleric may express these foundational documents still officially stand. So we ought not to dismiss them simply as a record of ancient history, as they are still the norm for every clergy.

Chapter 1 . What we base our Faith upon .

Now the place to start in any story is the beginning. So as the Bible is said to be the foundation of our Faith we ought then to consider this carefully.

Religion:It helps here to understand just what ‘religion’ happens to be. It is not as easy as first appears. 1. An approach that is quite modern stems from the way some philosophers have tried to compress us into segment. Once compartmentalised into an unchanging settled group behaviour it is hoped we can be understood. So once defining us, our behaviour and attitudes can be explained and so perhaps changed to more up to date ways. Some define ‘religion’ as a worldview or culture that is our driving force in our life and describes our suppositions about reality that we hold is correct.

2. Others maintain that ‘religious belief’ is any belief in something or other that is divine’ (Roy Clouser ‘The Myth of Religious Neutrality’). What ‘divine’ is, is quite another question to answer. This sort of definition will include all religions, philosophies, and general worldviews and cultures that grip and mould us. The different ‘religions’ that exist are simply rival social systems that follow set schemes of personal and social adherence. They are competitors to each other. We normally regard these as having an ethical content as well, but also accept the system as being greater than any one individual.

This expects that those who accept and follow such concepts will have an allegiance that over rides any other demand. It does not take much of a step to see that this has now to include political systems, systems like we saw rise in the 20 th century and are extremely powerful today. They, despite denials, have many features of what we will consider as being a religious system. Although many a ‘holy hand will be thrown up in horror’, we can, and ought to include atheistic societies.

Naturally, we include ourselves as Christians in the category of a ‘Religion’, but it is not as simple as that for we as Christians are not just followers of a set of propositional beliefs. We are to see ourselves as a holistic worldview that produces cultural (personal and group) changes. So we as followers of Jesus and His teaching naturally critiques other group’s religion, as well as those who claim to be Christians, yet whose ideas and lives have moved away from the original revealed pattern of teaching for whatever reason.

My, that was a mouthful! But I want to make it clear that Christianity is not a blind and soulless set of propositions or suggestions that we follow thoughtlessly. It is following a personal leader who wants the best for each one individually. So we claim to be in an unbreakable personal link between Jesus and us. Our faith as a Christian is expressed in our life, which we believe is the out-working of the ‘new life’ that He gives to each one who trusts Him for fellowship with God.

Almost unconsciously, this is recognised when others accuse us of not practicing what we preach. People who pass such a criticism may not necessarily be anti-Christian, but they simply recognise that our standards ought to reflect those Jesus set. We in fact let them down by not maintaining what they see as ‘good and right’. Here are ‘potential’ disciples being offended by us – we personally are a ‘stumbling stone for them’. Jesus had a lot to say about these people Also, this is true of us when we personally fail to follow Jesus and our conscience reminds us with some enthusiasm.

Chapter 2. The Bible is more than an ‘ordinary’ book

Today it appears that some of our Church leaders will leap into a multi-faith service on any excuse. This opens up a whole series of ideas, some of which when followed through will question the very basis of The Faith. One niggling question we face is concerning the uniqueness of Christianity. Is it really so that Christianity is the only way to God, or do other belief systems offer another genuine way(s)? Is Jesus one of many Faith leaders who can lead their followers to the Creator God? The other day I found this interesting quotation that sheds a helpful light on that question. It is part of a lecture that a Professor Max Muller gave some years ago:

‘….. for 40 years, as at the University of Oxford I carried out my duties as professor of Sanskrit, I devoted as much time to the study of the holy books of the East as any other human being in the world. And I venture to tell what I have found to be the basic note, the one single chord of all these holy books – be it the Veda of the Brahmans, the Purana of Siwa and Vishnu, the Qur’an of the Muslims, the Sendavesta of the Parsis etc – the one basic note or cord that runs through all of them is salvation by works. They all teach that salvation must be bought and that your own works and merits must be the purchase price. Our own Bible, our sacred book from the East, is from start to finish against this doctrine. True, good works are also required from the holy book from the East, and that even more emphatically than in any other holy book from the East, but the works referred to are the outflow of a grateful heart. They are only the thank offerings, only the fruits of our faith.’

That quotation helps us see the Bible in comparison with other holy books that lies at the heart of individual faiths. It is not so much the contents that are the contrast, but as to the basic purpose of these books. They all present a particular view of God, they all are concerned over our relationship with God, and they all endeavour to bring us into the presence of God. Professor Müller draws our attention to their one major marked difference when compared to the Bible.

We all know that the main thing facing all of us is death. So with this view of the method of personal salvation mistakenly before us and we all look for a way to insure

a life with God. Therefore, just how is this obtained, is the vital point. That is, ‘what is the nature of salvation’ presented by different faiths. As Professor Müller points out, those other faiths and their respective books present the ideas that salvation is gained through ‘good works’.As there is such a fundamental difference found, how can the Christian join in any type of worship with others that subscribe to so radical a difference of our understanding of God, His nature, and the way our relationship to Him is established? To join in such multi-faith worship is to deny the basic claims of Jesus and the uniqueness early Christians gave to Jesus – ‘no one can come to God except by Him’. The early Church would have dubbed such action as apostasy.

It is not an exaggeration to say that those other religions are idolatrous for they place their own efforts at the centre. It is these ‘good works’ that they depend on to so influence a divine. The claim is that they can win the favour of God and so enter whatever bliss is offered. This is a distortion of the divine revelation. For if so, how unfair of God to treat us in that way, for some are more gifted than others, some are more likable than others, some are able to help others more than you. We ought to be thankful that God does not gaze on us outwardly, but inwardly to see on whom or what we trust for eternity. How wrong is the mantra that ‘all roads lead to God.’ For we discover that fundamentally Christianity is so different to other world religions that it has nothing in common with them.It is also true that we are to see those who dismiss the whole idea of ‘The Divine’ as being a mere delusion, are really idolatrous, for they too place their own views and trust at the centre of their belief and so base their life and belief upon that view.

Chapter 3. The Bible is not a book, but a ‘collection of books’.

Christians claim that the Bible shows us God in a totally different way to those other world religions. The point that now needs considering is just ‘What is the Bible?

1. The Bible is not a book. Just open the title page of yours and you will find a list of contents. This shows a collection of books listed. Actually, the word ‘Bible’ is the Greek word ‘biblia’, and that mean ‘books’. A collection of books is a library, so our ‘Bible’ is just that. For us though, it is a library with a theme, and from start to finish it says that its contents is ‘God’s word to us’. It is not just God chatting about the weather or the political mess we happen to be in, but just about Himself and us and how we can get on together.

If you want some details about the Bible here are some – it’s always good to know about our beliefs for nothing ought to be hidden. The Bible is a collection of 66 books that we have divided into 2 sections: 39 in the first, and so 27 in the second part. The time span covered is some 1500 years, although the last 27 books (our New Testament) cover about a generation.

The first section is known as ‘The Old Testament’. The second shorter one is titled ‘The New Testament’. Sadly, both titles are rather misleading. They ought to be ‘The Old Covenant’ and ‘The New Covenant’. Yet even that does not help us today, for the notion of ‘Covenant’ is rarely used except for binding conditions in house deeds. ‘Covenant’ in the Bible points to God’s agreements with us, and whose sole purpose is to give conditions by which we can approach Him. Actually there are several of

these that feature in the Old Testament. Each one builds upon the one before, so it is like a series of chapters in a book. Or if you like an illustration from the natural world, it is like a flowers growing with each stage showing more, but never going back (first signs – leaf, developing further to a bud, and then the bud opening to the final wonder of the flower).

Why is all this necessary? Well, remember how our first parents decided that somehow God’s word was not really to be trusted – ‘did God say?’ (Genesis 3:1) Now once trust breaks down in any fellowship, relationships suffer a collapse. Those ‘Testaments’ show how God did approached and dealt with this cessation in our relationship.

Chapter 4. The Bible – ‘Old’ & ‘New’ with their contents

It is here that things get interesting – believe it or not. For me at first, the Bible was just a collection of rather funny sounding books written by people with odd names. It was only when patterns and themes were pointed out to me that everything began to come alive.The Old Testament:Those first 39 books fall into 4 main types (collections).

The first is ‘History’. Here we see how God reached out firstly to one man + family in order to help him to discover how to enjoy a real fellowship together. Others likewise found the same.

Secondly, there are the ‘Prophetic Books’. This is God reaching out to people by giving certain individuals His words. These can be warnings that behaving one way will bring trouble, promises, encouragements, and so on. Now a notable feature is news about the future. Now for some that is hard to accept, as it is felt that the future is unknown. But what a limited view of God that is! For holding that idea, we limit God to bounds of creation as we know it. We shrink the whole concept of Almighty God. It is also the denial that God is the Creator and so is not limited to our concept of space and time.These books are not always easy to grasp, for they were firstly preached and then written to deal with local situations. But as God preserved them we find in them timely words that reach down even to us today.

Thirdly, we find the ‘Poetic Books’. These cover life just as poetry can do today. The difference is that in them God will teach us how to approach all aspects of life from His point of view.

Fourthly, there are the ‘Wisdom Books’. Basically, these help us approach life day by day. For example: ‘A soft answer turns away wrath.’ I wonder how many rows and arguments would have been solved in your life if that had been remembered?

The New Testament.This part will be much more familiar to us for we tend to concentrate upon this section of the Bible in preference to the older part. So we have the four ‘Gospels’. These are simply different narratives about Jesus.

Next comes ‘The Acts of the Apostles’. As the title suggests, it is the account of the earliest days of Christianity. After this we have ‘Letters’ to various churches from various Christian leaders giving authoritative teaching. Then lastly is the book ‘Revelation’. At times this book is given different titles. This is partly given by Jesus and partly by vision to John concerning the ending of creation as we know it, and the beginning of the new one.

So the Bible’s two parts. The first is designed to prepare us for the second. The first teaches about God’s final instalment of His plan to open a way to Himself. One that will be open to all to accept and be welcomed ‘home’. In the first there are clues, hints, teaching that opens up new ideas of how God is planning to act. We find exposure of wrong attitudes toward Him and encouragement to follow new different ways, together with account of lives that based their life on trusting God. The plan God outlines concerns the arrival of One who is special. His special ‘agent’ who will fully live as God wants and will open up the way for our forgiveness and so fellowship with God. This promised one was given the title ‘Messiah’. That word means ‘one who is anointed with oil’. Then it meant the special king sent by God to rescue His people. The New Testament shows us Jesus as the One promised, the One who has opened the way to our heavenly Father. He personally fulfilled all the promises we find in the Old Testament. God has nothing more to offer us than Jesus. He is God’s last Word to us.

We discover God’s promise to provide a free way of reconciliation was completed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The promise has two parts: the first from Abraham to Jesus; while the second is from Jesus onwards.

This promise Christians believe is shown and offered to us in the Bible. It is a matter of faith – or put in another way ‘our trust that this really is God’s word to us, and in fact His only word’. By this we discover that there is only one way to God, and that is Jesus. Like all beliefs, it is based on faith. Often at this juncture, we face the accusation that this is simply ‘blind faith’. Now if such a faith, or call this ‘trust’ if it helps, is accepted as genuine we will eventually face a situation of ‘putting it to the test’. Does it ‘work’ or simply fall flat? Testimonies over the years answer ‘Yes’, it does ‘work’. For you and your answer, it is a step you must take. Does commitment to Jesus absolutely mean a step into a divine fellowship that lasts? ‘Yes,’ is the assured response from a Christian. Again, that is a commitment only you can make. But here is a note of caution. Beware; such a commitment does change life radically. But, with Jesus it is always for the better.

Chapter 5. The Bible: Is it really ‘God’s Word’?

Now our belief in the divine origin of the Bible has problems. Some are more obvious than others. School RE classes for me largely presented a somewhat negative view, in that you could not take everything you read at face value. Other presentations may have affected just how you now regard this library we are encouraged to read. Some may see it as ancient unreliable history that contains wisdom and ideas gleaned over the years. A book that presents them in a better manner than other ‘holy books’. You may see it as merely a ’good luck’ charm. Something that every

good home ought to have just in case – of what we are not too sure: Maybe, in case God one day asks you what you found when you read it?

To be sure, there are some difficulties. But as I believe that it is God’s word to us, so He will provide the help that is necessary to discover more. There is a lot of help around today in the form of Bible Study Notes or Group Bible Studies run by Church.But I want to explore two problems that you may find difficult to find your way through.The first is this. If the ‘New’ in the conclusion to all the ‘Old’ promises so that we finish with those ‘ways to God’, why then bother with all the complexity of the Old Testament? That is a very fair question.

So let’s see just how Jesus approached this. Remember how Jesus claimed to be the only way to God, and those first apostles like Peter, said that Jesus is the only saviour. Well, just have a count of how many times they quoted the Old Testament to support those views. Now, that’s something you can start without any prior knowledge! The result will surprise you.

If you were present at that time and actually had asked Jesus why He kept quoting from the Old Testament His reply might startle you. ‘Oh, you mean The Scriptures.’ Turn to John 10:35 and we read this: Jesus – ‘The Scriptures cannot be broken.’ Not the ‘Old Testament’, but just ‘The Scriptures.’ If pressed again the reply is similar – ‘Oh you mean, ‘The Word of God’.’ Mark 7:13 ‘Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.’ As you like to get things straight you ask just one more time, the answer would be something like this: ‘Ah. You mean ‘The Law’. Now just turn to Luke 10:26 - “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied’. In the Old Testament, ‘The Law’ simply means ‘Teaching’, and not regulations, as we will normally take its meaning to be.

Time and again we find the expressions like; ‘Thus says the Lord.’ So to those who spoke or wrote those words, that was their belief. To those who listened then, the way Jesus and others made their claims was not denied, but simply ignored or put off until another time for considering them. Sadly, we do exactly the same today!

The early Christians followed in exactly the same way. Their writing and preaching witness to belief that what we call ‘The Old Testament’ is as relevant to our belief and practice today as it was then. It was in their letters and upon their lips as teaching for those early believers.As to the form of The Scriptures, they have come to us in written form. It is true that then vast chunks were committed to memory – as many Jews still do so today, but for reliability they were written down for us. This is just how our New Testament developed. But as to their nature and authority, we take them all as ‘ the Word of God’.

Now here is something we can all do. Open your Bible where Malachi (last book in Old Testament) ends, and the first page of Matthew begins. You will find a page inserted, and on the vast majority is printed thus: ‘The New Covenant Commonly Called The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’. If you removed this sheet, exactly where would you replace it? With a bit of thought you would not put it back to the same place. For twice in the

book Malachi it foretells the coming of God’s special One, and then in Matthew 3:1 it says that this One has certainly come. So go on searching for the appropriate place to slot in that removed sheet. The truth is that our Bible is one. In fact we cannot understand much of the New Testament without the Old Testament as important background. The book ‘Hebrews’ illustrates this point well.

As years proceeded those early Christians died, so eventually Christian leaders saw the need to collect the work of writers they learnt to trust. This is called the formation of ‘The Canon’. So the group of 27 were settled upon. We still do have copies of works that were rejected. Read these and you will see why they were excluded. Even so some of these rejected ones have been grouped under the title of ‘The Apocrypha.’ Some are a good read, and that is all there is to them. Over the years some attempted to include them into the Bible.

Chapter 6. The Bible over the past 200 years or so.

For the centuries, the Bible as a whole has been acknowledged as ‘The Word of God.’ Therefore, as such, they are truly God given words for us to accept without question. But about 300 or so years ago, a change took place that dramatically changed this view for many. It all grew from an unproven assumption, but as it sounded good and, as well as giving the opportunity to challenge authority, these assumptions grew into a generally unquestioned certainty. It goes under the general title of The Age of Enlightenment, or as the Age of Reason or simply The Enlightenment. It was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th to 19th centuries.The notion went a bit like this: We as humans are improving in our minds and understanding. We now realise that past discoveries and accepted ‘Truths’ are either mistaken or totally wrong. The idea that the earth was the centre of the solar system is a prime example of this. The way all this was tackled is a real blight on Church History. Some feel that how things developed began the decay of Church authority. The Church of the day considered that they were the only rightful custodians of knowledge and reason.

Galileo Galilei who lived from 1564 until 1642 spanned this period of growing scientific discovery. He has been called the father of modern physics and astronomy, and as a good ‘Son of The Church’ he sought to show that there was no conflict between science and religion. Sadly, those around him who had power, disagreed strongly. Galileo was right and the others totally mistaken at this point in the argument. Over the years that followed discoveries and developments gave new insights into nature, new understandings of the world and its working, new insights of science opened up new areas of knowledge. Through these advances life improved. It was gradually realised that we are not necessarily bound by past ideas, of whatever category they might be for all is open to questioning and improvement. This includes science, politics, literature, morals, business affairs, and even religion.

The thinking went along these lines – we have a settled idea, someone then comes with a different one, whereupon disagreement takes place. The ensuing conclusion is an improvement of the first and a probable better modification of the second.

(Thesis, antithesis, synthesis is how to describe the idea here.) This is how progress is made and we want to advance in living, this principle must be applied to all areas of our life. In this way we will better humanity. Therefore, if we want improvement, any limitations are to be thrown off, no matter what they are.Together with this grew the concept that we as humans are always improving. So, what was held as correct in past thinking, need not necessarily be so. Every part of human life has to be examined in order to progress and so improve ourselves. This produced a plethora of books by philosophers claiming to improve upon the ideas of the past, as well as present ones deemed correct by rival philosophers! Before long, it appears that some theologians felt a bit left out of the picture, and so turned their attention to the Bible and applied the same ideas. Sadly, they made a basic error. That is, that by their ‘reason’ they were able to examine the Bible along the same principle of improving upon past ideas and concepts, which by the very nature of being old was naturally suspect. To me, herein lies a fault that lead them astray – just as many of the philosophers alive even today, although a diminishing number. For they were attempting to evaluate something not of the same category as other areas of thought or science.

Those who were applying these principles did not seem to consider if those methods they applied were not without fault themselves. They assumed that their own standards/criteria were perfect and not able to be improved upon or without bias or personal ‘blindness’. Let alone, if they were the right methods to use for the work they undertook.

Read some of the work produced and you will find that a few years later another theologian (or philosopher) came along totally replacing past ‘correct’ findings. So the muddle continued over the years with changing notions that were often bizarre in outlook and conclusions. One theologian named Duhmn, changed the Hebrew of the book Amos solely on the grounds that in his view Amos had made a mistake. He had no evidence to back up his claim but simply that in his view Amos was totally wrong over a particular issue. Oh dear! It is hard to know how to comment on something like that. It is a case of making things up as you go along.

This approach continued up to the early years of the 20 th century. It was based on the assumption that human nature is always improving due to the advances made through ‘reason’. This largely meant to the theologians then the notion of sin was outdated, and idea guilt was a mistaken concept. Then along came the Great War. When the true nature of ‘improved humanity’ rose up ‘red in tooth and claw’ for all to see in all its real barbaric horror, these fanciful dreams and concepts evaporated like mist in the sun. That fanciful hypothesis of continual human improvement was shown to be mistaken. This understanding was of course reinforced by the various wars that followed and ruthless atrocious episodes by states that are totally atheistic. The Second World War with the treatment of God’s people, the Jews, just reinforced the error that we are ‘day by day improving in every way’. This past century has proved to be a massive demonstration on the stage of history, of our ignorance regarding our own very fallen nature. The little read Old Testament book ‘Ecclesiastes’ describes us in two ways. The first ‘that we are but dust’. The other sees us as ‘breath’. (Eccles 3:19-20) The result is

not a very stable combination to give us any self-confidence for continue improvement and growth!Actions that are still being perpetrated upon helpless people today in the 21st century still show us that those vacuous dreams and notions churned out over the past couple of centuries are not just a terrible mistake, but a delusion that blinds us to our true nature. Also the added damage they have done is enormous, for they have undermined a fundamental principle of any society - the concept of trust. If trust (or confidence) is damaged then life becomes more than uncertain, for the fabric of society is undermined. What was once held to be true and trustworthy is dismissed because core values are doubted. The only thing we have shown to be improving is the growing skill we have in killing others, as well as deceiving others. We ought to include our self in that list.

Chapter 7. The Bible: Our Confidence

You will by now have realised what I am driving at. Exactly where does the Bible stand in all this thinking? What in it is true, or is it all mere fancy produced by fear of the gods? Can anyone be absolutely certain as to the genuineness of its contents? Does it contain ‘Truth’ and should this really bother me much? Much more pertinent – Is it Truth? These, and many other comments have been thrown at clergy and others who value the Bible and hold it as the way God speaks to us now. The carnage of the last century convinced many that whatever God is like, He is certainly not a God who loves or cares about us in any way.

What can make it even worse is finding some Christian leaders today pouring scorn upon those who hold that what the Bible says is trustworthy and true. Also, we find that the emphasis Jesus made on taking the Gospel to the whole world has been modified and ‘softened’. Their reasoning that all religions are basically equal leads them to feel that we ought not to press our ‘western religion’ on others.

This attitude can be seen in a statement that was issued by ‘The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches’ after a meeting in Bangkok in 1979. They redefined the Christian mission in terms ‘of seeking the socio-politico-economic well-being of the nations, with evangelism and church planting added in if circumstances and resources allowed’. That is the type of statement that would make happy anyone who consider all religions equal, or feel that any sort of outreach is an unjustified action that ‘condemns’ other religions and being mistaken.

The result of such undermining is summarised in the words of a man who lived through similar times. It is a man called Amos. This is what he said: 8:11-12 - “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east,searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

Our friend Amos lived at a time when religion was doing fine. Also, the country was doing fine – peaceful, prosperous, at ease with all, and even with God. Everyone was getting along happily and they welcomed even those who had different faiths. They too were accepted as equals. But quietly old standards and absolutes were weakened. Read through Amos and we find a gradual formalism where God is slowly being relegated to the bench reserved for old aged pensioners like me. ‘The God of our fathers’ is an interesting concept but what He says is now rather old fashioned for modern society. We now feel that what He said is uncertain and vague, and indeed overly restrictive. The collection of religious books known as the Bible has to be sifted and all the old ‘mixed up thoughts’ put to one side and gradually improved through modern scholarship.

Amos warned people then of a ‘spiritual desert’. Today we find spiritual leaders uncertain what the Gospel is, moral guidance changes as rapidly clouds and sun on an English summers day. Preaching is hazy as many preachers are uncertain as what is truly from God, if He ever bothered to say anything certain, or even if they also believe very much! The majority of Christians today cannot find where the 10 Commandment are found, let alone just what they are or even mean. (Can you find these in the Bible, or even the Lord’s Prayer?) Is the Bible even read at home, or preached in Church or explained. There is for us today, as Amos said was true in his day, ‘a famine of hearing the words of the Lord’.You will hear some ecclesiastical leaders happily assuring us that any doubts or queries or concerns about death and beyond, that the wish to be certain is mere spiritual weakness and a sign of spiritual immaturity. To me the end of that passage from Amos – people will be ‘searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it’, is so very true in this land today. It is also a sure judgment from God.

Nevertheless, how can I be sure that the Bible is what it claims to be: the Word of the Sovereign Lord designed to introduce you and me to Him. Well, perhaps this little illustration will help at this point. I want to get to Cambridge and I see a bus with that destination on it. So I jump on board, but as I then arrive at Ely something fundamental is wrong. Yet if I do arrive at Cambridge time and again without fail no matter the hour or conditions, then my trust in the genuineness of the claim of named destination is proven correct. My confidence in that claim of that sign ‘speaking the Truth, is justified. I can really believe that word.

We depend on trust for the whole spectrum of life. It extends far beyond a bus and general situations like that. Just think about relationships (I love you.), or right on to the nature £10 note (our currency), if not so our financial system collapses. We ought to see that the notion, the principle of truthfulness, is the accepted norm for a stable society. When that ceases we do not have a settled society, for anarchy has come home to roost. In the rapidly moving laws over morals in the UK, this ‘progress’ is fully illustrated.

For us trouble began when we doubted that what God said was the full truth. The idea suggested was not that He lied to our first parents, but that He gave only part of the full truth about His growing relationship with us. So the claims of those modern bible ‘scholars’ that in the bible we don’t have the complete picture about God – ‘I

think that there are mistakes. It stands to reason that being written so long ago from so many sources there are bound to be errors and primitive ideas.’ Such claims arise from pride, pride that by our reason alone we can deduce the truth about God. We place our self as the prime arbiter in matters of truth and ethics.

We see a similar suggestion about God and His words to us, being echoed again. Sadly, we have fallen for the same suggested deception we found when first opening our Bible. If you go down the route of thinking that, ‘the bible is no more than a collections of fallible human documents that only gives us clues to the divine’, then we live in a world of doubt and uncertainty. Not only were the original writers deluded, but we likewise are not just confused, but deceived as well. We become like those poor folk who pick over rubbish dumps seeking a possible treasure! Something found looks good and genuine, then along comes one who ‘knows’, looks pityingly upon the ‘find’, and shakes their head, so informing us of our folly. We are then left in the position of accepting the ever-changing opinions of hesitant, fallible ‘scholars’. A sure case of ‘the blind leading the blind’, with both falling into the ditch of despair and hopelessness.

The Christian approach is totally different, for we all know so well that we make mistakes and errors of judgment, no matter how clever or wise we happen to be. So we step out in trust believing that on so important a matter. God would not give us the only means to find Him that in essence was something that was flawed in the manner suggested. We agree that God is our ultimate authority, so it is important that we find what He wants us to know. The use of ‘reason’ alone has proved to be a slippery resource for we can never be sure of finding a stable base upon which to stand. If that approach via reason is unreliable, then two others means of discovery lie open to us. The first is the experience of other people concerning God. While the second is the Bible itself.

So is the first suggested alternative practical? These ‘experiences’ can range from those who state that they ‘feel closer to God in a garden than anywhere else’, right on to others who depend all they know of God upon a sudden cure of an ‘incurable’ illness. Some will describe ‘a strange goose pimple’ like feeling that came upon them when entering a quiet cathedral! So the list can grow longer and longer. The real question to ask is, ‘What through this do they find that God is like?’ A second maybe, ‘What is their response?’ The vagueness and lack of response ought to tell us that something is wrong. Perhaps what was experienced was just like a tap on the shoulder that was telling them to realise, that there is much more to finding the God who cares, than such fleeting events experienced. God promises in Jeremiah - ‘You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart. (29:13).

There is a great line is an Old Testament book that gives us a thought to explore. So please turn to Deuteronomy 32:31. You will find this sentence: – ‘For their rock is not as our Rock.’ Well the background here is that Moses had just been told by God that he would just see ‘The Promised Land,’ but not enter it. So instead of going into a sulk, Moses uses the time left to him to prepare the Jews for what they will experience on entering into God’s promised gift of a land of their own. He says that the people they find there will be building their hopes and lives on other gods and other standards.

But, and it is a large ‘BUT’, God’s people have a foundation for life that is greater than anything else around. In this, Moses claims that the words of God give a foundation to life that is far superior to any other. Actually, in that chapter the word ‘rock’ is used to name God.Likewise, Christian’s over the years have claimed the same. Look through the New Testament and find Paul’s first letter to the little church at Corinth, and in chapter 10 he talks about Jesus being the ‘Rock’ in the Exodus. Through Him the people found sustenance. Incidentally, in this way Paul links Jesus with God – but that is another subject. To us Jesus is our ‘Rock’ and His words take the same significance and authority as those of the Old Testament.

Chapter 8. The Bible and us today

Previously we saw how Jesus and others who followed Him saw the Old Testament – it was ‘The Word of God’. It is helpful to remember that we as Christians are not a body in pursuit of the truth as we already have it. We are called to know it and share it. This is not an optional extra for this is God’s approved way by which we grow and also how the church grows.Forget the clever schemes or gimmicks that many regard as ‘fool proof’ in promoting growth. God’s method of church growth is all a matter of preaching (teaching clearly) God’s Word, that is then watered in by believing prayer. If you find that idea hard to digest in our modern technological age, just read the fifth book of the New Testament – Acts of the Apostles. That which makes the Church a distinctive group in the world is the Word of God. Every other scheme has us standing on shifting sand. Look back through our history and you will see we were people of the ‘Word of God’, sadly for some years now our attention has moved away. We have no real confidence or assurance over the Scriptures, so little wonder people pay little attention to what we say. If you on your travels get lost, you will only pay attention to a guide who is certain and has a map!

Just when the Jews were about the leave their wilderness wandering, God wanted the other nations to pass this comment on meeting them: ‘And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws.’ Deuteronomy 4:8. In other words, what they were like day by day was to be a witness to their world of the nature of the God who led them. The same applies to the Church of God today. Our daily life is to be an encouragement for others to seek and find the God we serve. Now honestly, can that be said of us in this land today?

A great Christian teacher, John Calvin, said this about the Bible – ‘Just as those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognise it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of glasses will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. This, therefore, is a special gift, where God instructs the church.’ (Institutes 1.6.1). This takes up what the Bible says about itself.

There are several parts of the Bible that helps us see the nature of the Scriptures.

One example is the opening verses of the Letter to the Hebrews. Here the author ties together the Old Testament with the coming of Jesus – both were God given; both speak to us of Him. Both the Old and New Testament are simply described as God speaking to us about Himself. So we see the ‘Bible’ status in His eyes: ‘From Him to us, sent with love.’A second example is found about half way through Paul’s second letter to young Timothy – actually chapter 3, verse 16-17. Paul here describes scripture as ‘God breathed.’ Here he affirms that scriptures origin is first and foremost from God. It is true that we do have the witness of nature and our own moral awareness to help us realise God’s existence, but supremely we learn through a spoken and written word. Its other value, Paul says here, is helping us in our own personal walk through life with Him. Now, there is much more in those verses than the above brief comments. But that is for your own journey of discovery!Likewise, there are other sections that describe the effect the Bible will have upon us that prove to be life changing. One interesting section is in a letter that Peter wrote – actually his first one. So please turn to 1 Peter 1:23. OK quite short, yet packed with amazing things to help and encourage us.

Chapter 9. The Bible: God’s imperishable seed, and how this is activated

As you will well know, life is much more than food or comfortable clothes or shoes, let alone a nice house. We find that we need friends, help, encouragement, love – oh, you can add much more to my list.Peter in his first letter speaks to a troubled church. A lot of bother came to them from the generally hostile attitude of others, yet sadly there were internal problems that caused them ‘angst’ – an anxiety that not all was right with the fellowship.

So Peter begins with who they happen to be in God’s sight – people, individuals who have a specific character born of God. This new nature that He gives His people has an amazing potential – they are now actually God’s ‘imperishable seed’. Remember that within a seed is life. Its sole purpose is to reproduce the parent plant as it grows and develops. This new life comes through ‘the living and abiding word of God.’ What an amazing picture Peter gives here of the new child of God who has all the potential growth that The Lord gives, and it is there through the Word that is active (alive) and always present with and for us (abiding). This naturally develops a totally new life style.

Peter identifies the origin of this new life as ‘the good news’, and also it has the eternal quality of the One who gave it – (Jesus v. 25). Naturally, we must identify and eliminate all that destroys any fellowship life – 2:1, instead seek that which builds up our new life: the natural sustenance suited for that growth is ‘spiritual milk’ ~ the word of God. So Peter outlines here how the Word of God not only gives us new spiritual life, but that through His Word He also sustains and enables us to grow spiritually. (2:2-3). If we do not feed with what God supplies, it is little wonder that the church does not grow, let alone us as individual believers.

Just ask members of the local church about some basic facts of the Christian Faith – subjects like Prayer, Salvation, Atonement, Sin. Heaven and Hell. The reaction will be like if you asked them how to make gold! This lack of knowledge means that there is a lack of our understanding of God. No wonder there is a loss of enthusiasm, together with a lack of any expectation of anything ‘happening’. We expect nothing from God for we know next to nothing about Him. We do not expect prayers to be answered for we do not really believe that our heavenly Father is in the habit of answering anything we happen to ask. We exist in a sort of spiritual coma – alive like a pot bound plant, but certainly not in any way active like a young puppy. With such a general spiritual lethargy are we a great example of Christianity to show others in our village?

We turn to the Bible with as much enthusiasm as we sit an exam. Perhaps if we saw this as an invitation to a royal banquet our approach would be with greater enthusiasm. For as Peter points out in 2:2 of that first letter of his, God’s Word is perfectly designed to supply all we need. The more we taste the more we will want.

Christianity is not instinctually acquired, rather it must be learnt. It is such that even the youngest can grasp the basics – remember how we started pages ago: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so’. We can also move on to some of the greatest minds around and they will say that they come to the Bible as ‘mere apprentices’ discovering new wonders each day. God’s word is infinite in depth and wonder, and the great thing is that He wants to share all this with us so we can gain all the wonders He has lined up for us.

Chapter 10. The Bible – the inspired ‘Word of God’.

For us to and warm our

A pressing point for us is how we are to interpret what we read. Here before us is a large collection of books written by vastly different people over a wide time span, so can we as individuals expect to make much of it in our totally different culture?Interpretation arises out of our view of the Bible. If it just a random collection of old fashioned opinions of the gods and nature, then naturally interpretation will reflect that view. The view will be like entering an old room with fading Victorian wallpaper. What, if any, truth about God is there for us to find, is the task of the experts to try to unscramble such faded attempts of the past.To attempt to find any meaning for us about God and our life in the Bible will be foolish, for opinions and conclusions will change with each new ‘expert’ that arrives on the scene. We pick up a black book with gold edged pages and find – nothing really, but uncertainty.

For those who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God – note that I have not said that ‘the Bible contains’ the inspired Word of God. If that is so there is still a real puzzle for us to solve – for can we ever be sure about what we claim to find? For us the Bible is God’s word for us.

Our Bible is very much a human book for we have names ascribed to many of them. God gave them His words and they used their language and verbal forms to record

them. So the way into God’s mind is via their words. We can gain the sense if we endeavour to ask the meanings and insights the writers would give us if we could cross-question them. We try to see their thoughts and feelings when writing. So, what did Elijah feel when discovering Queen Jezebel’s threat to his life? It was so damaging that he cracked under the strain. Why did God deal with him in the way we find written? Does this say anything to us about the stress and strain we personally face into day’s very unsettled world? Our worlds differ vastly but our mental stability is just as fragile. Elijah was shown a side of God’s character that few realise He has, so how does this help us and through this how can we help and encourage and restore others?

All sixty-six books are the product of the single divine mind, even though they are often vastly different in approach and content. Within that variety there is a single message presented in different ways. We gain an overall view of God and our relationship to Him – or lack of one. So however this is put it always is a constant, therefore no one statement will contradict or over-ride another. Therefore, our guiding principle must be the self-consistency of scripture. So if a problem presents itself we take heart that we are not necessarily the first to think that was. It always helps to see what others think, and this much wiser than simply dismissing it as a flaw.

It helps to discover just how consistent certain themes are found in different books from different ages. So we see how patterns are woven in, and the Bible is not chaotic in material or construction. We can chase through subjects like God’s kingdom, the promised redemption achieved and applied by Jesus, the coming end we all face.

Lastly, it helps to see the wonderful harmony of scripture, so one passage will throw light upon another. ‘The Bible was written for us’ –treasure that thought.In its reading we must take care and reject the idea that there is confusion over what it says or teaches. It does not matter whoever it is that makes such a claim, for as the Articles of The Church of England so wonderfully put it – ‘ it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and keeper of holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree anything against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of Salvation.’ Article XX.

When the Bible becomes a matter of proven trust, then the whole will become the way God will warm our hearts and open our understanding. It will be just as those two travellers to Emmaus found when Jesus opened up the Word of God on that eventful journey on the evening of Resurrection Day. For us that day turned death into life, and those travellers found the divine record was opened.So for us too, it is through the work of The Holy Spirit that what was formerly closed and dark, He opens our eyes to see and warms our heart to the wonders of the Scriptures.May you let the Word of God come and enlighten your spiritual darkness.

(The Reverend) Gordon Mansfield.

If you would like to discover more of God’s word, then I would recommend the following:

J I Packer – ‘God has Spoken’. ISBN-13: 978-1473637092.

Jim Packer is a very thorough writer who has the knack of writing clearly about bible truths. He has written books which have been a real help to many who have queries or doubts, or just want to discover more about our ‘Faith’.He has helped me in the above with ideas, but my many mistakes are all mine!

Below is a summary of the above – I promise it is very short!!

Present day attitudes to the Bible.1. a The Non-Christian – fairy tales for children b The Christian – many find it embarrassing. While it is not all true, especially the Old Testament, yet they like to keep it

but not to read it.c Both think it is irrelevant and impractical and also outdated.

2. The bible is orthodox and true (my view)The bible is bang up-todate, because its author is God. It is His word it

therefore has complete authority over us. It should be regularly read and carefully studied.

3. The Bible matters because of its authority.It is our custom today to demand authority in our society – helps it run

properly. So especially do we need a reliable source for religion. Some try the following:

a) If the Church’s tradition or its current leaders there is always to danger of addition and error.

b) Reason as a guiding authority, but we all makes mistakes. So we will end up with the type of God we want – and therefore miss out.

c) The Bible.4. But the Bible only has authority if God is its author. So the crucial importance of authorship. This is a point we expect in important matters – e.g. Will, cheque.

Yet have we any reason to think that God is the Author of the Bible?

5. Yes, for Christ treated the Bible of His day as God’s Word.This should be final for us – for what Christ says, God says

a) He guided His life by it. Matt 4. Matt 26:53-54 ‘How else’.b) He spoke of it as if it were God’s Word. e.g. Matt 5:17-18, John 10:34-36

6. Yes, for The Apostles treated it as God’s Word. e.g. 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21

7. If Scripture is God’ Word, what does this tell us about inspiration?a) God is the ultimate author – Jeremiah 1:9b) It was not by dictation – Jeremiah 1:1c) But by double authorship – not alternately but concurrently.d) The writings (not the men) are infallible because God cannot lie.

8. If Scripture is the infallible Word of God, what does this mean to us?It means we are in the same position as The Apostles who heard Christ and also the Old Testament writers.

To have an open Bible is both a privilege and a responsibility.

It is a sure fact that many of us are getting older faster than we like. Usually this takes us by surprise.I came across this book recently and found it remarkably helpful in my own countdown.So I would like to recommend it to all who are aging a bit faster than we like!

It is by:

J I Packer.Title: Finishing our course with joy.ISBN: 978-1-78359-089-6

It is not expensive and certainly well worth reading.