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The following e-mail that arrived at GodSaidManSaid.com is not untypical of the messages we receive. The writer, K.L., asked for an answer, and because his questions are so common to so many, they deserve a response. The e-mail reads:
I have viewed much of your web site and find it very interesting. Your site contains some wonderful information, and is a great place to come to see some perspectives not readily available in popular society today. I do however have some questions for you, and I really hope you will take the time to answer them.After seeing how you pick apart various scientific theories based primarily on differences of opinion among the scientific community whom you are debunking (which is a completely legitimate form of debate, mind you), I would like to ask you this. How can you put such absolute faith in the word of the Bible, a book that has been interpreted many different ways by many different people and still sparks unprecedented amounts of debate even amongst its most well respected followers? It is a book of writings that has since been used to cause much war, pain, hate, and destruction by some of the faith’s most prominent leaders, over the course of the well documented written history of man. I honestly just do not understand.You seem rather fond of the King James interpretation/translation, which was interpreted / translated by King James, from a bible that had already been translated/ interpreted by someone else for the Vatican from its original language. In its original language the Bible is a text written by men of limited knowledge of the natural world, telling of events that took place often many many years before their written record was assembled. Unlike the Koran, a book claiming to be revelations made to Muhammad by Allah through the angel Gabriel, the bible’s numerous and sometimes anonymous authors claim no such divine guidance. So how can this assortment of stories written by uneducated, unsubstantiated authors, that has been diluted and twisted throughout the years, be so readily accepted as the infallible doctrine of the one true God?I ask these questions and raise these points because in many ways I admire your devotion to the word of our Lord. I am a practicing Christian and am truly interested to know if my faith, which is obviously tempered with an upbringing in modern science, and a fascination for the history of religion, can be augmented positively by a more literal belief in the Bible. Please get back to me as soon as you can.Wishing you peace and happiness, K.L.
GodSaidManSaid responds:
Dear K.L.: We appreciate the time you’ve taken to write. I must say that your letter epitomizes the world’s state of utter confusion. Many of your comments and assessments are based upon standard worldly misinformation; therefore, your conclusions are void of the simple clarity of childlike truth. But I note a hunger for absolutes in your spirit and the satisfaction of that quest is a most excellent and necessary blessing. All of your questions, by the way, are addressed on this website in the 20-plus hours (at the time of this airing) of text and streaming audio on GodSaidManSaid.
K.L., you’ve made several references to science of which it must be noted that no scientific truth has ever controverted the perfect principles of the word of God. The Bible is by definition true science. Webster’s original 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines the primary definition of science: “1. In a general sense, knowledge, or certain knowledge; the comprehension or understanding of truth or facts by the mind. The science of God must be perfect.” [End of quote] That is the definition in its original text. God’s word speaks of false science in I Timothy, chapter 6, verse 20:
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
K.L., for over 6,000 years the world’s greatest carnal minds, tutored by the master of deception, have attempted to debunk the words of God — and they have failed miserably. Truth never fails, no matter how sophisticated the opposition may appear. Science supports the scriptures although some theories don’t, such as the theory of evolution. But, a theory is not necessarily truth.
K.L., where there is confusion and doubt the mountain won’t move. Mark, chapter 11, verse 23:
For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Removing confusion and doubt is accomplished by establishing truth. We are commanded in I Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 21:
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
The word of God in your Authorized King James Version Bible is consistently proven to be truth. This site is devoted to the glorious truth of God’s word. Click on to “An Intro To God Said Man Said” in the “Introduction” category, and “Which Religion” in the “God Said Man Said: The Record” category on this website. The answer to your question, “How can you put such absolute faith in the word of the Bible?,” is quite simple: it is the truth and we and thousands of others have proven it beyond doubt.
It must be emphasized that for truth to be truth it must have zero tolerance for any other position. Truth, contrary to popular opinion, honors no opinion. Such is God, for he is truth and such is the position of Truth’s adherents.
Confusion and doubt abound because man has not taken time to prove his position and yet he has been busy adding and subtracting from the rigid truth. Psalms 19, verses 12-13:
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Presumptuous sin is the arrogant overstepping of due boundaries. This is forbidden by a curse. K.L., the only safety in Christ is found in the total surrender of oneself to the inerrant words of the living God. You can’t look back through 2,000 years of theological compromise and expect to know truth. It’s time to head back to the foot of the cross where one’s salvation was gained and proceed on from that ancient place of sacred truth to water baptism, to the day of Pentecost, and the full embrace of the glorious God, proving all things and holding fast that which is good.
It is true that God’s word, because it is truth and knows no opinion, is the ultimate divider. The first five words of the Bible alienate probably a majority of this world. “In the beginning,” the first three words, contradict the position of Buddha and the New-Age religions. Buddha’s position is that there is no beginning and no end, thus, the circle of life and the false doctrine of reincarnation. The fourth and fifth words, “God created...” have the evolutionists and pseudo-scientists up in arms. God’s word is truly a divider of good and evil, of truth and falsehood. Remember, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” And one more thing, there were only eight people in Noah’s Ark.
In regard to the Holy scriptures, your positions are completely erroneous. Please review the following subjects on this website:
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K.L., your statement that men of limited knowledge authored the scriptures and that they claimed no divine guidance is totally incorrect. I Peter, chapter 1, verses 8-11:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Again the scriptures declare in II Peter, chapter 1, verses 19-21:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
God’s word is a self-interpreting book. Sixty-six books were penned over a period of thousands of years by many holy men of God agreeing in perfect harmony with each other — a feat that only God could accomplish; a feat in itself that testifies of one author who is God.
Understanding that Jesus Christ gave the word to holy men to pen should cast a new light on your understanding. Psalm 68, verse 11, declares:
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
Jesus Christ gave the word, not uneducated and unsubstantiated authors, but Jesus Christ, the one by whom God created the universe (Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 2).
K.L., is it so hard to fathom that the God who created DNA would be able to preserve his word for the hearts of hungry souls to discover? The old testament was protected by the Levitical priesthood, preserved meticulously by the Masoretes and passed on to us in its perfection. King James commissioned a verbal armada of the world’s finest scholars, who reviewed over 5,000 handwritten Greek manuscripts from all over the known world, passing their workmanship through a maze of literary proofs and finally delivering into our hands the majority-text Authorized King James Version Bible in its perfection.
K.L., my recommendation to you is to click on to “Further With Jesus” (on the navigation bar on your left) and this time surrender your entire life to Jesus Christ without conditions. And by all means, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Then your unobstructed faith will grow and flourish and you shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; your leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever you do shall prosper (Psalm 1, verse 3).
References
Authorized King James Version
