Posted by Mike Willis on Wednesday, February 01, 2012.
Tonight,
at UNC at 7, there is a "dialogue" between UNC religious studies professor Dr. Bart Ehrman and Dallas Theological Seminary professor Dr. Dan Wallace. The topic? "Is the Original New Testament Lost?" which means, "Can we be sure we have the original Bible?" and really means, "Is the Bible reliable so it's literally the truth that sets me free?"
You know my answer. YES! On a scientific level, there is no "book" on the planet that has more original copies. 20/1, the Bible wins. To say that the Bible isn't reliable is to say that NO book is reliable. So what's authoritative then? Our era's answer?: us. Yikes. More Bible scrolls/manuscripts are uncovered every year and Dr. Wallace is one of the first men called to go take a look. On a spiritual level, billions of lives have been eternally changed because of God's Word (the Bible) so we may know Him and His plan to restore us through Jesus by our faith in Him. The only way a document can be so preserved over thousands of years is that people for that long have found it to be the most important, spiritual, true Word ... so much so that they were willing to die to preserve it. Of course, God is the ultimate preserver of His Word, so we could have it in 2012, too. What a blessing. We should not neglect absorbing and applying God's Word. In fact, the Bible is laden with men who "meditated on it day and night", called it "honey on their lips", a "sharp two-edged sword piercing to the soul".
I just watched again this hilarious interview with Dr. Bart Ehrman by Stephen Colbert. It exposes the ridiculousness of his claims in comical form, but the reality is that people are devouring his books, he's teaching hundreds at UNC every semester. This appetite is not singular to Dr. Ehrman. While interviewing Joel Osteen, Piers Morgan characterized those who believe everything the Bible says as "dragging the Bible to the modern age kicking and screaming." It's not like God looks down on us "brilliant" humans and says, "Whoops, I got it wrong, you are right, forgive Me, I should have written that differently."
I'm not angry at Dr. Ehrman or Piers Morgan. They ask good questions that anyone would ask. But God has answers. My heart and mind ache for them to believe. This is what Dr. Wallace will emphasize tonight. We all have to make a choice about what's authoritative. You have one perfect option.
So what can Christians do in response? Be a student of God's Word who believes and applies. Don't make assumptions about something you haven't read since your pre-teen confirmation. Let God speak to you through His Word, don't interpret it, accept what it says like every other generation before us.
Last night, I read various verses in Romans to some friends and they understood how clear God's Word is about how to be saved and they were saved last night. They placed their faith in Jesus, as His Father wills, and repented from their assumptions: "I was believing in smoke and mirrors" and "I had the vocabulary about Christianity, but not Jesus Himself". It was a beautiful moment. The truth will set you free.
