For many living in our secular culture, there is widespread doubt about the Bible. There is a perception that we as Christians must somehow defend the Bible against all critics.
Wow. I get tired just thinking about it.
The problem is that the Bible is a big book and so many people simply feel overwhelmed by the task, including myself, and I spent several years in seminary!
So while such efforts at “defending the Bible” are well-intentioned, and they still serve an important purpose, they can distract the Christian from the main task in evangelism. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul summarizes the Gospel to his readers: Jesus Christ, and him crucified, and then risen from the dead. Remarkably, the evidence for the Risen Jesus is so strong without a belief in “biblical inerrancy”, that I am willing to concede for the sake of the argument just about any criticism of the Bible so long as I can get someone to take seriously the claim of the Risen Jesus. If someone can in view of the evidence grasp in faith the reality of the Risen Jesus, then I firmly believe that any other problems we have with the Bible will in time be resolved.
The following posting on our church’s Lenten series gets to the heart of the matter…
Rembrandt (1606-1699). The Storm on the Sea in Galilee.
Jesus “replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” (Matthew 8:26)
Have you ever struggled with doubt? I know I have, and I still do.
In Matthew 8:23-34, we read about Jesus sleeping on a boat while he was with his disciples. A storm picks up and the disciples wake him, pleading with him to do something. Jesus speaks and the wind and waves grow silent. The people are stunned.
I would be, too.
The problem is that I live in the 21st century. We have Science, Doppler radar, the Weather Channel, and Google now. By nature, I am
skeptical:
Surely, there must be a natural explanation for…
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Veracity 