Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: bnr-fos!bnr-public!davem@watmath.waterloo.edu (Dave Mielke) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Scripture ends? Message-ID: Date: 5 Jul 89 05:52:32 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada Lines: 38 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article kilroy@mimsy.UUCP (Darren, Nancy's fiance) writes: >Seriously, I think it is a mistake to assume that God inspired the >Bible writers to defend the entire book, when the book didn't exist >yet (I also reject the notion that the Epistles constitute prophesy, >since the writers are not saying "There will be a completed book"). A decision that each of us has to make at some time or other is "do I truly believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Bible really is the Word of God?". Many people make this claim but still insist on trusting in either their own reasoning or the secular historical record more than in the Bible itself. When one does this, he is really placing a higher authority on sources that are of far less an authority than God Himself. Proverbs 3:5 commands us "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.". Colossians 2:8 wanrs us "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.". Romans 11:33 reminds us "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable {are} his judgments, and his ways past finding out!". There are basically two approaches toward reading the Bible that those who claim to be believers use. One is to always have just a little doubt and look to other sources for verification of what the Bible says. The other is to know that the Bible is totally trustworthy and to use it to verify everything else around us. Speaking personally, I have found much better "success" using the latter approach, and also praying God for wisdom as I read. This approach tells me that Revelation MUST be the most recently written book of the Bible and I know that history will bear this out if sufficient facts are uncovered and if this world is permitted to last long enough. I, for one, refuse to let some potentially eroneous finding of mankind detract from exactly what the Scriptures say. How dare I question God? Dave Mielke, 613-726-0014 856 Grenon Avenue Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2B 6G3