False Ideas About Truth - Part 4

References: (1) “What is truth?” was Pilate’s sarcastic response. Pilate turned on his heels and went out to speak with those demanding Jesus’ execution. He did not have time to ponder the question of the ages. (2) Pilate washed his hands before the multitude, saying “I am innocent of the blood of this JUST PERSON.” As Pilate was sitting on the JUDGMENT SEAT he released Barnabas, and he SCOURGED Jesus  and delivered Him to be crucified [Matt. 27:26]. He did this despite the fact that he knew that Jesus was innocent, and despite his wife’s warning saying, “Have nothing to do with this JUST MAN, for I have suffered many things today in a DREAM because of Him” [Matt. 27:19]. So Pilate and his wife both knew Jesus was just. (3) Some early Christian writers, such as Origen, suggested that Pilate’s wife CONVERTED to Christianity after the resurrection due to the dream. Eastern tradition VENERATE her as a saint, while Western interpretations are ambivalent concerning her. (4) The Gospel of John invites readers to DECIDE whether they will echo Pilates DISMISSAL and REJECTION  or “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have LIFE in His name” (John 20:31). It’s your CHOICE, but that choice has eternal CONSEQUENCES. (5) Some Christians, such as Augustine, and historians, such as Eusebius, wrote that Pontius Pilate became a Christian after learning about several MIRACULOUS EVENTS  that occurred following Jesus' death. (6) Ultimately Pontius Pilate remains one of the most COMPLEX and CONTROVERSIAL figures associated with Jesus' crucifixion. Scripture presents him as a man who recognized Jesus' innocence yet he yielded to political pressure and fear of unrest. History outside the Bible offers fragments, accusations, legends, and theories — but no definitive account of Pilate’s final years or his ultimate spiritual condition. (7) In the book The Comprehensive Guide to Apologetics edited by Joseph M. Holden in chapter 6 in an article Richard G. Howe writes “To ask the question, ‘What is truth?’ is to address the 2 separate issues of THEORIES of truth and TESTS of truth. A test for truth is how one DISCOVERS whether a statement is TRUE.  By contrast a THEORY of truth is how one DEFINES the terms TRUE and TRUTH. It is the difference between DISCOVERING truth and DEFINING truth.” (8) In terms of truth I list 8 self-defeating statements we hear in our secular culture and record the obvious counter questions, 3 come from Frank Turek’s book Stealing From God and 5 from an article called Road Runner and Self-Defeating Arguments by Vance Bradley on the web cite reddoorofsoro.org. (9) In the book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist the authors Norman Geisler and Frank Turek recommend what they call “the Road Runner Tactic” that takes statements that culture offers, and applies the statement to ITSELF to see if they make sense or are self-defeating. (10) Self-defeating statements VIOLATE the law of LOGIC called the law of NONCONTRADICTION which says  that OPPOSITE ideas cannot be true at the same time and in the same sense. This tactic quickly identifies the FALSE STATEMENTS and FALSE PHILOSOPHIES that permeate our secular culture. This is episode 271.

References: (1) In Episode 268 we began discussing Frank Turek’s 4 questions that prove Christianity is true. Turek was considering Norman Geisler’s 12 points that shows Christianity is true and reduces Geisler’s argument down to 4 questions leaving out some obvious logical points. (2) The reason these questions are so VITAL are that they deal with our POSITION in ETERNITY (not to mention a BETTER LIFE here and now on earth). If, in fact, God is real and the NT is reliable, then what the Gospels say about Jesus is that He is who He claimed to be. (3) John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son HAS everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall NOT SEE LIFE, but the WRATH of God abides on him.” This makes the alternatives in eternity VERY CLEAR. Either (1) BELIEVE and ACCEPT Jesus in order to possess eternal life; or (2) REJECT Jesus and NOT SEE LIFE — instead you will be facing the WRATH of God. (4) The NT describes the fate of the nonbeliever by referring to this verse: “If anyone not found written in the Book of Life (meaning those receiving life through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior), he was thrown into the lake of fire” (where Satan, the beast, and the false prophet were thrown (Rev. 20:15). (5) Of course, truth exists. The mathematical statement 2 + 2 = 4 is true. The sentence: the earth is not flat — is true. The freezing and boiling temperatures for water are true. Historical events are true. John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963. Leviticus 17:11 emphasizes the importance of blood for life, which aligns with modern medical understanding of blood’s role in health. Rom. 8:21 speaks of the idea of decay and disorder in the universe, which relates to the second law of thermodynamics. It’s true that the universe had a beginning a finite time ago by the Big Bang. Isa. 40:22 implies the expansion of the universe, which is supported by modern cosmology. (6) The atheist claims there is no God, then objective moral values do not exist according to the atheist. But Christians biblical worldview know some moral values do exist. For example, Prov. 6: 16-19 lists 7 things that are an abomination to the Lord including a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. Thus, abortion is wrong, and the atheist is wrong by Craig’s Moral argument. If there is no moral truth, everything is permissible as Dostoevsky said. Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). (7) One of my favorite authors is the late philosopher Francis Schaeffer. He said, “There must be an ABSOLUTE if there are to be MORALS, and there must be an ABSOLUTE if there are to be VALUES. If there is no absolute BEYOND MAN’S IDEAS, then there is NO FINAL APPEAL to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments CONFLICT.” (8) In the trial before the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who asked Jesus in John 18:33, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Later in 18:37 Pilate asked, “Are you a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was BORN, and for this cause I have COME into the world, that I should BEAR WITNESS to the TRUTH. Everyone who is of the TRUTH hears My voice” (John 18:37). (9) The irony is DELIBERATE: Pilate had said to Jesus in John 19:10, “Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Pilate is talking to Truth incarnate yet Pilate CANNOT or WILL NOT recognize Him despite the fact that he knows Jesus is innocent. (10) Pilate was violating what he knew that Jesus was innocent and His wife’s warning where she said, “I dreamed about this man last night. He is a good man, don’t have anything to do with hurting Him” (Matt. 27:19). (11) The dream serves multiple purposes in the biblical narrative: It is seen as God’s way of confirming Jesus’ innocence to Pilate. Pilate’s wife’s message intensifies Pilate’s moral accountability, showing that even those close to him were aware of the MORAL GRAVITY of condemning Jesus. This is episode 270.

References: (1) “Metaphysics” by Aristotle. (2) Aristotle’s definition of truth: “To say of what IS that it is, and of what IS NOT that it is not, is TRUE; while to say of what is that it is not, or what is not that it is, is FALSE.” (3) Postmodernism, the predominant worldview of secularity, now poses its answer that truth and morality are RELATIVE. Moral relativism’s answer is that we have NO OBJECTIVE STANDARD by which we determine right and wrong. One person’s OPINION is just as valid as another’s. Morality is simply a matter of PERSONAL PREFERENCE, which results from one’s cultural, ethnic, or sexual orientation. Postmodernism continues its CONFUSING PRONOUNCEMENTS by saying that truth is also relative, saying there is NO SUCH THING as ABSOLUTE TRUTH. (4) We all know some things, for example, 2 + 2 = 4. It does not equal 3 and it does not equal 5. At exactly 212 degrees Fahrenheit, water boils. At 32 degrees Fahrenheit, water freezes. In every area of mathematics, medicine, science, archaeology, accounting, chemistry, geography, or geology, there are areas that cannot be COMPROMISED. Yet, when it comes to religion and morality, we are TOLD THAT THE RULES DON’T APPLY. How can it BE that the rules apply in other areas of study, but not on morality and religion? (5) Why do we demand truthfulness in every other area of life except that which pertains to morality and religion? Our secular culture has BLINDLY EMBRACED the claim that absolute truth does not exist. The prevailing attitude is that it is all a MATTER OF OPINION. And who are we to judge anyway? If truth is relative, then no one is ever WRONG. (6) “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. (7) “Truth Decay” by Steve Hale. (8) “Truth is not a SUBJECTIVE matter of TASTE, but an OBJECTIVE matter of FACT. Truth is truth no matter WHERE YOU LIVE on the planet. Those who claim that truth in morality doesn’t really matter take a different stance when someone treats them immorally. For example, they may claim that LYING isn’t wrong, until someone LIES TO THEM. Moral relativists don’t want their spouses to live like relativists. A wife doesn’t want her husband to be relatively faithful. Most male relativists expect their wives to live as if ADULTERY were absolutely WRONG. Do you think the moral relativists would ACCEPT the morality of a MURDERER or a RAPIST. Someone has said, ‘Moral law is not always the STANDARD by which we treat others, but it is nearly always the standard by which we EXPECT others to treat us.’ When people are the VICTIMS of bad behavior, they have NO TROUBLE understanding that the behavior is ABSOLUTELY WRONG.” This is episode 269.

References: (1) “Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True” by Norman Geisler. (2) “Stealing from God” by Frank Turek. (3) The Bible puts a great PREMIUM on truth. Psa. 61:7 says mercy and truth preserves. Psa. 85:10 says mercy and truth are aligned and since mercy is clearly valuable, then truth is equally valuable. Prov. 16:6 says in mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity. Prov. 23:23 implores us, “Buy the truth and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” We absolutely need all four concepts. There is a COST to truth, because truth is valuable. It requires DEDICATION to find it. (4) Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall KNOW the truth, and the truth will make you FREE” (John 8:31-32). Believers are commanded to speak truth to our neighbors (Eph. 4:25). Eph. 5:9 says the fruit of the Spirit is in truth. 2Thess. 2:13 shows that belief in the truth is a necessary component of salvation. 1 Tim. 2:3-4 says God “desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim.3:15 says that the church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth. 2Tim. 3:6-7 shows that people can be LED ASTRAY because they have not come to the knowledge of the truth. (5) Eph.6:10-18 reveals Christ’s followers are in a battle against the spiritual forces of evil embodied in principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (6) This is more than a wrestling match; it is a CLASH of worldviews between the secular view and the biblical view. (7) I list the conflict between the 2 views concerning: marriage, gender, truth, and morality. (8) Secularity approves of the LGBT+ community, but the biblical view is DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED to the practice of MUTILATING the bodies of impressionable youth. (9) “Jesus and the New Testament” article by Kevin Bauder from Central Baptist Theological Seminary. (10) Not one book of the NT was written during Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. If Jesus were to endorse the NT at all, then He would have to do it BEFORE it was written. His words about the NT would have to take the form of FORETELLING a later event. (11) I list several verses Jesus said about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (12) This I believe reveals that Jesus is INDIRECTLY saying that what His apostles and those who were close to an apostle would write in the first century would make up the NT and it would be TRUSTWORTHY because the Holy Spirit would give it as the very words of Christ. (13) “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. (14) They recommend what they call “the Road Runner Tactic” that takes statements that culture offers, and applies the statement to ITSELF like in the above situation. This tactic quickly identifies the FALSE STATEMENTS and FALSE PHILOSOPHIES that permeate our secular culture. (15) “Mere Christianity” by C. S. Lewis. This is episode 268.

References: (1) What makes Christianity UNIQUE among all world religions is not how you feel about it emotionally or how strongly you believe in it factually, what makes Christianity unique is that it is TRUE. (2) The universal Christian church has a SORDID HISTORY. Its history includes the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch trials, the Roman Catholic priests abuse of young boys, and the salacious romantic escapades of Protestant pastors. I am not trying to defend the universal Christian church; I am defending Jesus Christ Himself. (3) I need to CLARIFY this idea of being GOOD. The rich young man asked Jesus: “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”Jesus replied, “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus adds, “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matt. 19:16-17a). The Bible declares, “There is none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:10; Psa. 14:1-3; 53:3). Thus, that means that NO ONE human being is TRULY GOOD. (4) God made us to be in relationship with Him. We CHOSE to BREAK that relationship through sin and rebellion “because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). God offers us a chance to RESTORE and REPAIR that BROKEN RELATIONSHIP. God wants to be with us; He visited Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8), and He wants to have fellowship with those who believe in Christ His Son (1 John 1:3). (5) Rom. 1:16b says “(The gospel of Christ) is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.” I want to make 4 points about salvation. (6) Salvation is NEEDED. We CHOSE to break that relationship through sin and rebellion “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23; 5:12) . This is the DILEMMA of humanity. That is a DIRE SITUATION that must be RECTIFIED. (7) Salvation is PROVIDED. 1 Pet. 2:24 says, Christ “Himself bore our sins in His own body” on the cross of Calvary “that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes we are healed.“ I would interject that THAT HEALING is both physical and spiritual. There are those in the Christian Church who say that all healing scriptures are only spiritual and not physical. I can refute that declaration if you would like to hear that. Let me know. (8) Salvation is OFFERED. Eph. 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been SAVED through faith, and that (salvation) is not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, not of WORKS, lest anyone should boast.” Rom. 6:23 adds additional information: “The WAGES of sin is DEATH, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Salvation is OFFERED. Eph. 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been SAVED through faith, and that (salvation) is not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, not of WORKS, lest anyone should boast.” Rom. 6:23 adds additional information: “The WAGES of sin is DEATH, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (9) Salvation has to be ACCEPTED; it is a GIFT of God. You can accept it or refuse it. You have a CHOICE. You cannot hope that if you IGNORE the offer, it will naturally become yours. 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son (Jesus Christ) has LIFE ; he who does not have the Son does not have LIFE.” Life here means eternal life. (10) How do you have the Son of God? John 1:12 declares, “As many as received Him to them he gave the right to become CHILDREN of God, to those who believed in His NAME.” (11) I think believing in His name refers to Jesus’ AUTHORITY. Let me illustrate. You have heard in a movie where a police officer says to a criminal, “Stop in the name of the Law.” The officer may not have the ability to stop the criminal, but the officer has the authority of the government behind him, and the government has the where with all to exact what is deserved. Well, Jesus has the authority of Yahweh, the Creator of the universe, and Yahweh has the where with all to get to the bottom of it all and determine your eternal destiny. This is episode 267.

References: (1)  I followed the arguments that that Norman Geisler used in his book "Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True." But in his book Stealing from God  Frank Turek boils that argument down to 4 questions:     1. Does TRUTH exist?     2. Does GOD exist?     3. Are MIRACLES possible?     4. Is the NEW TESTAMENT historically reliable? (2) Allah, the God of Islam, and Jahweh, the God of Christianity share some similarities. For example, both are proclaimed as one (as opposed to the gods of pantheism or polytheism); both are transcendent, creators of the universe, supreme rulers, and omnipotent. Both have communicated through angels and prophets and will eventually judge all humankind. But the differences are so SUBSTANTIVE  that to claim the  2 religions are IDENTICAL is IMPOSSIBLE. (3) “5 Minute Apologetics for Today” by Ron Rhodes lists 10 differences between Allah and Yahweh. (4) When the apostle Peter stood in front of the religious leaders of his day in Jerusalem and said regarding Jesus, “Salvation is found in NO ONE ELSE, for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV). (5) Neither Peter nor Paul were refusing anyone the right to believe DIFFERENTLY. Instead, they were taking a CLEAR STAND about their own UNDERSTANDING of spiritual truth — which is something all Christians must do. (6) C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, wrote that “If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong ALL THROUGH . . . . If you are a Christian, you are FREE to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least SOME HINT of the truth.”  Lewis says further that we should think of other religions in terms of ARITHMETIC. There is only one right answer to 2 + 2 — and that’s 4, of course — but if someone answered 6, that answer would be closer to the truth than someone who answers 37. (7) As a Christian I can appreciate the truth in some aspects of Buddhism. For example, the first 2 of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism state that there is a lot of SUFFERING in the world, and our DESIRES are often the cause of the suffering. Buddhism also teaches many things that I appreciate and affirm as clearly MORAL: we should not murder, lie, steal, or engage in immoral sexual behavior. (8) But here’s where the discussion starts to get MESSY. While many world religion academic courses show how much is held in common, the reality is that there are vast DIFFERENCES on the most FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES. So while there is some common ground say between Buddhism and Christianity, there are also enormous TENSION POINTS. (9) The Dalai Lama has stated publicly that the CENTRAL DOCTRINES of Buddhism and Christianity are NOT COMPATIBLE. He has been quite open about you cannot be a Christian Buddhist or a Buddhist Christian. (See, for example, the Dalai Lama’s book The Good Heart, pp. 81-82). (10) Christians embrace Jesus as God in human form; Islam ranks Him as a prophet second to Muhammad. Neither does Islam consider Jesus as divine or as the Savior of the world. Also Islam says someone else took His place on the cross, so Jesus did not die for sins and He did not appear to over 500 people after being raised from the dead contrary to 1 Cor. 15:3-8. (11) Okay, let me sum this up. There is just one way to God, and it is through Jesus (John 14:6). “So,” you might ask, “are you saying that all those people who aren’t Christians are going to hell? Does someone really GOOD and NOBLE, like Gandhi, go to hell just because he didn’t ACKNOWLEDGE Jesus as the only way to God?” Many who ask these questions, will go further and say, “Because if you are saying that, you have lost me. I just can’t believe that THAT is right. Are you saying that good Muslims, good Hindus, good Jews, good Buddhists are going to hell if they don’t profess Jesus is Lord?” (12) We must trust the character of Yahweh. Much of the Christian’s relationship with God rests on our understanding of, and faith in, His CHARACTER and His NATURE. If God is the one true God, He is utterly, completely fair and just. He will do the right thing by every person. Gen. 18:25 says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth, do right?” Psa. 25:8, 10 say, “Good and upright is the LORD . . . . All the paths of the LORD  are lovingkindness and truth.” (13) Yahweh God will treat every person with complete and total love.  “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Yes, people are saved by Christ alone, but it is God who will make the final ASSESSMENT of where someone STANDS in relation to Christ’s saving grace. This is episode 266.

References: (1) When Mortimer Adler, editor of the Great Books of the Western World, was asked why the “God” section was the largest section in those books, he observed that it was because more implications FLOW from the SUBJECT of God than from any other subject. (2) “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek says that the 5 most consequential questions are: origin, identity, meaning, morality, and destiny. (3) The answers to each of these questions depend on the EXISTENCE of God. If God exists, then there is ultimate MEANING and PURPOSE to your life. If there is a real purpose to your life, then there is a REAL RIGHT AND WRONG WAY to live it. Choices you make now not only affect your life here and now but will affect your ETERNAL DESTINY. (4) On the other hand, if there is no God, then your life ultimately MEANS NOTHING. Since there is no enduring purpose to life, there is no right or wrong way to live it. Dostoevsky said, “If God does not exist, everything is permissible.” So if there are no restrictions on morality; EVERYTHING GOES. And it doesn’t matter how you live or what you believe — your ultimate destiny is ANHILATION. All creation will be incinerated in the final heat death of the universe. (5) So which world religion, if any, answers the God question correctly? Allow me to answer that question by saying, if you desire to work on a jig-saw puzzle, you know you need the PICTURE on the BOX TOP to help you. Correspondingly, does any religion provide the true box top for life? (6) First, many say it is UNREASONABLE to believe that only one religion could be EXCLUSIVELY TRUE. Okay, let’s accept that statement for the time being. What is your evidence? Without evidence the statement is merely an opinion, and everyone has one. Don’t just spout out your opinion and leave it there. You have the right to your opinion, but all opinions are at the same level of value without evidence. (7) If one religion were really true, it would mean billions of people from other religions are wrong today and have been wrong for centuries. (8) Easygoing Americans are more likely to believe that NO RELIGION is the truth. This sentiment is often illustrated by a parable from an ancient Hindu text of 6 blind men describing an elephant. One man touches its trunk and compares it to a snake. Another feels its ear and compares it to a fan. The third man places his hand on the elephant’s leg and says it is like a tree trunk. A fourth pushes on the elephant’s side and insists it is like a wall. The fifth man holds the tail and suggests it is a like a rope. The last man feels a tusk and declares that the elephant is a spear. (9) The skeptics HOPE has many things WRONG with it. On closer inspection the elephant story creates more problems than it SOLVES. (10) In her book “Confronting Christianity” the author Rebecca McLaughlin lists seven problems: the problem of respect, truth, history, conversion, ethics, monotheism, and the problem of Jesus. I address only 3 only 3 of McLaughlin’s 7 problems. (11) In terms of a Supreme Being or Beings that are worshiped, there is no absolute God in Buddhism, although many have interpreted Buddhism as a search for God. Many Buddhists believe that the existence of suffering and evil in the world offers evidence against belief in God. (12) God doesn’t DECIDE to do holy, just, and right things; this is something He IS by nature. All that is right and holy, just and good is DERIVED from His core nature. (13) In their book 77 FAQs About God and the Bible, Josh and Sean McDowell say, “This is incredibly important! What people miss and fail to understand about God is that He is PURE GOODNESS. All that is perfect and right and beautiful and complete and meaningful and eternally full of contentment, joy, and happiness is because of Him and comes from Him. His very nature and essence are good.” (14) Once we comprehend in some small way the infinite, almighty, loving God, we can begin to see ourselves for what we really are without Christ as our LORD — fallen creatures alienated from a holy and just God by sin. If we trust in Jesus as our LORD and Savior only then can we begin to discover what we can become by God’s grace. This is episode 265.

References: (1) The Bible stands out as a unique text because it transcends time, offering timeless wisdom and guidance. (2) The Bible is unique because it speaks in the present time. (3) The Bible is unique because it unfolds a single continuous story — of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. From Genesis to Revelation, one SCARLET THREAD OF REDEMPTION runs throughout it: God is redeeming His people through love. (4) In my life time C. S. Lewis has been one of the greatest popularizers of the Christian faith along with other Christian apologists like Norman Geisler, Frank Turek, William Lane Craig, J. Warner Wallace, Alistar McGrath, and Doug Groothuis. (5) Let me now articulate 6 habits that should be ABANDONED if we want to hear God’s voice clearly. Habit 1. Refusing stillness. Habit 2. Speaking constantly in prayer. Habit 3. Neglecting Scriptures. Habit 4. Persisting in known sin. Habit 5. Expecting God to speak only through emotion. Habit 6. Divided allegiance. (6) Lewis says God continues to speak. The real question is whether we are willing to REMOVE what PREVENTS us from hearing Him clearly. This is episode 264.

References: (1) A Visual Guide to Biblical Apologetics by Joseph M. Holden and Sarah R. Enterline. (2) The third historiographical test for the Bible’s historical reliability is the external test. Recall that this test compares the text with external sources of historical or archaeological facts. The question is: Does the text align or not with data OUTSIDE ITSELF? If so, it is considered reliable; if not, it is NOT reliable. (3) There are thousands of artifacts that directly or indirectly CONFIRM the historicity of the Bible. I have said before that when I was in college in the late 1950s there were skeptics that questioned the Bible’s reference to the Hittites. But at that very same time there was an established museum at the University of Chicago that had artifacts from the Hittite dynasty that was discovered some 50 years before. I think the skeptics knew that basic fact but hoped that the people to whom they were talking DID NOT KNOW it. I have said many times that atheists will DO ANYTHING to win an argument even going SO FAR as to purposely MISQUOTE historical and archaeological facts. (4) “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. (5) The first century historian Flavius Josephus made specific references to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and James in his “Antiquities of the Jews.” In this work, Josephus gave us many background details about the Herods, the Sadducees and Pharisees, the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, and the Roman emperors mentioned in the Gospels and Acts. (6) Higher criticism in the 19th century, for example, made many DAMAGING CLAIMS that would completely OVERTHROW the INTEGRITY of the Bible, but the explosion of archaeological knowledge in the 20th century REVERSED almost all of these higher criticism claims. Notably archaeologists William F. Albright, Nelson Gluek, and Ernest Wright developed great respect for the HISTORICAL ACCURACY of the Scriptures as a result of their work. No archaeological evidence has ever REFUTED any Biblical claim. (7) Dr. Rick Cornish’s book “5 Minute Apologist” p. 66, says “In a court of law the BURDEN OF PROOF lies with the accuser, namely, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The same approach should dictate how we evaluate sources of information which have a long track record of being right. Claims of the Bible being proven wrong falls short of that boast. What many critics mean is that the Bible includes passages they can’t figure out. So what? Christians know that better than the skeptics do.” (8) What sets the Bible apart from other religious writings? The Bible stands out not only in its CONTENT, but in its power to SPEAK, CONVICT, and TRANSFORM. It is unique due to its acknowledgement of divine inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16). Christians hold the belief that the Bible is not merely a record of human thoughts about God, but instead the very Word of God about humanity, BREATHED OUT by His Spirit and ALIVE with His presence. (9) Not only is His word living and powerful; He speaks in the present time. This is episode 263.

References: (1) “The Historical Reliability of the Gospels” by Craig L. Bloomberg. (2) Bible deniers declare that the Bible is FULL of contradictions. (3) Bart Ehrman, the NT scholar at UNC and the author of several skeptical books. (4) Richard Dawkins, the author of several books including “The Blind Watchmaker,” “The Selfish Gene,” and “The God Delusion." (5) For Christians finding a contradiction in the Bible would have the effect of destroying our faith because the Bible says that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith [Heb. 12:2] and all Scripture is given by inspiration of God [2 Tim. 3:16]. The apostle Peter said that Jesus has the words of eternal life [John 6:68]; and Jesus Himself said, “If you continue in My Word, . . . . you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). If any PART of the Bible were found to be anything other than the truth that would imply that God Himself is NOT TRUE. (6) Hundreds of examples of so-called contradictions exist, but not a single one has ever proved to be a GENUINE contradiction. (7) Hundreds of examples of so-called contradictions exist, but not a single one has ever proved to be a GENUINE contradiction. (8) But now faith is back in public life. (9) Around the time when I was in college I discovered a book that answered about 500 alleged contradictions in the Bible. On every occasion where I have had to consider a cited contradiction I have been able — after some effort — to realize that these supposed contradictions actually have reasonable answers for the truth of what the Bible said. (10) Voddie Baucham says, “The NT is a RELIABLE COLLECTION of historical documents, written by EYEWITNESSES during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report SUPERNATURAL EVENTS that took place in fulfillment of SPECIFIC PROPHESIES, and claim that their writings are DIVINE rather than HUMAN in ORIGIN.” (11) There is simply NO CASE OF PROVEN FRAUD or error in the Bible. Instead, the Bible condemns deceitful practices and dishonest schemes through its teachings (Exod. 20:15; Prov. 11:1; 21:6). (12) “Understanding the Bible” by John Stott. (13) The main THRUST of the biblical message is that God LOVES the VERY REBELS who deserve nothing from His hand but judgment and condemnation.” This is episode 262.