The Bible was right after all

The Bible was right after all

The Bible you don't know
Many intelligent skeptics, when challenged to carefully examine the case for God and the Bible, have eventually come to accept the evidence that God exists and the Bible is the Word of God.

Lee Strobel
By all accounts, Lee Strobel, an award-winning journalist of the Chicago Tribune, didn’t believe in God or the Bible. Having graduated from Yale Law School, he honed his skills reporting important legal cases and had little respect for the Scriptures. He writes: ”For much of my life I was a skeptic. In fact, I considered myself an atheist. To me, there was far too much evidence that God was merely a product of wishful thinking, of ancient mythology, of primitive superstition” (The Case for Christ, 1998, p.13).

He eventually came to admit there was a hidden reason for his skepticism about God and Christianity: ”I had read just enough philosophy and history to find support for my skepticism…. I could see some gaps and inconsistencies, but I had a strong motivation to ignore them: a self-serving and immoral lifestyle that I would be compelled to abandon if I were ever to change my views and become a follower of Jesus” (ibid.).

Mr Stobel eventually began a thorough investigation concerning God, the Bible and Jesus Christ when he accepted a challenge from his wife. He spent two years gathering evidence, including interviewing 13 leading scholars, which led to him accepting the Bible was true and Jesus Christ was the Son of God, finally admitting that: ‘ ….the evidence of the world—of history, of science, of philosophy, of psychology—began to point to the unthinkable” (p. 14). As a consequence Mr Strobel became a Christian.


Allan Sandage
Allan Sandage, a leading astronomer, was also a skeptic about a God who could create the universe. During the 20th century, there were two main astronomical models that attempted to explain the origins of the universe. The first was the ‘‘steady state’‘ theory, which postulated the universe had no beginning and matter had always existed. The second was the ‘‘big bang” theory, which described the universe as having come to existence at a given moment in time.

Today, as more astronomical evidence has come to light, the big bang theory has convincingly won out. At first, this finding made many scientists uncomfortable. They felt the data they collected led to a strikingly similar conclusion to the opening words in Genesis 1:1—”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

A former director of NASA, Robert Jastrow, remarked in his book God and the Astronomers: ”A sound explanation may exist for the explosive birth of our Universe; but if it does, science cannot find out what the explanation is. The scientist’s pursuit of the past ends in the moment of creation. This is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by all but the theologians. They have always accepted the word of the Bible: ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth.’ (1978, p. 116).

In 1998, Allan Sandage met with other astronomers at a conference in Berkeley, California, and admitted that contemplating the majesty of the big bang theory had helped make him a believer in God. He was willing to accept that creation could only be explained as a miracle from God.


Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, was another skeptic about God and the Bible. His life was changed in 1987 when he went on a sabbatical leave to the University of London. Browsing through a bookstore, Richard Dawkin’s book, The Blind Watchmaker, caught his eye.

Until that time, Professor Johnson had believed the theory of evolution satisfactorily explained the origin of life. When he read this book that fiercely defended evolution by an author who relegated those who believed in God and the Bible as being ”ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that)” (Darwin on Trial, 1993, p. 9), he was surprised by the lack of objective evidence for the theory and became suspicious when he read the heated and demeaning attacks against those who doubted the theory.

As a result of his research, Philip Johnson came to confirm his belief in God and the validity of the Bible. ”The theory,” he writes, ”is sustained largely by a propaganda campaign that relies on all the usual tricks of rhetorical persuasion…. It is the officially sanctioned creation story of modern society, and publicly funded educational authorities spare no effort to persuade the public to believe in it” (Objection Sustained, 1998, p. 9).


Rachel Carson
In 1962, Rachel Carson published a book, Silent Spring, documenting the harm pesticides caused in the countryside, which resulted in the start of an environmental movement. The Bible, however, had already laid out basic principles to avoid contaminating one’s surroundings. For example there are guidelines for human waste disposal in Deuteronomy 23:12-13. ‘‘It is a noteworthy attempt,” says The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ”to control the spread of such insect-borne diseases as ophthalmia and poliomyelitis” (1982, Vol. 2, p. 644, ”Heal”).

Another law that served to contain the spread of harmful pathogens is found in Leviticus 11:35-36. ”Observance of these rules,” notes the same encyclopedia, ”would reduce the incidence of infectious fevers and diseases such as cholera, spirochetal jaundice, polioencephalitis, and bubonic plague. The legislation was the first of its kind to recognize that infection could be transmitted by both food and water” (ibid).

Today one of the greatest dangers to the environment is the indiscriminate cutting of trees, depleting forests, increasing erosion and destroying many animal habitats. The Bible talks about tree conservation when it says, ”When you besiege a city for a long time… you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them…..” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). The Israelites were taught by God to regard trees, especially fruit trees, as a valuable resource to be preserved and not to be indiscriminately destroyed.

Yet another biblical example of an ecological principle is found in Deuteronomy 22:6-7: ”If a bird’s nest happens to be before you…you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself….” God commanded the mother bird was to be protected so she could breed again to quickly replenish the species.

We can be thankful that many of these laws of conservation have now been discovered by scientists and are being applied throughout much of the world.


William Ramsay
William Ramsay, an early 20th-century British scholar, was born to atheist parents and followed in their footsteps. This eminent professor of humanities diligently prepared himself in the fields of archaeology and geography before departing for the Middle East and Asia Minor to prove the Bible was full of myths. Then, after a quarter century of research in the Holy Land, he astounded the intellectual world by announcing he had converted to Christianity.

He explained this change was mostly due to the accuracy of Luke’s accounts in the book of Acts. ”Luke is a historian of the first rank,” he concluded. ”Not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense….” (The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, 1953, p. 80). Ramsay eventually wrote many books on the historical and geographical accuracy of Acts and the Epistles of Paul and was knighted for his contributions in the fields of archaeology and geography.


Health and the Bible
There are important modern practices that have derived from the health laws of the Bible. In the Middle Ages, two of the most terrible plagues to afflict Europe were the Black Death and leprosy. One third of all Europeans died in the 14th century as a result. Physicians tried everything, but failed to control these terrible plagues.

In his book A History of Public Health Dr George Rosen points out these devastating plagues were only halted when ”Leadership was taken by the church, as the physicians had nothing to offer. The church took as its guiding principle the concept of contagion as embodied in the Old Testament. This idea and its practical consequences are defined with great clarity in the book of Leviticus. Once the condition of leprosy had been established, the patient was to be segregated and excluded from the community… . It accomplished the first great feat in methodical eradication of the disease” (p. 63).

Seeing the positive results on leprosy, European countries used the same procedures to combat the Black Death—known today as the bubonic plague. Millions of lives were saved by applying this biblical injunction: ”Now the leper on whom the sore is…. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean … .and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45-46).

In spite of all the secular critics who rail against God and the Bible, there are some who, by carefully examining the evidence—be it history, astronomy, archaeology or health—finally come to the conclusion that the Bible was right after all. Then begins the great adventure of striving to live by its guidelines, which is to the lasting benefit of all.
The Authority Of The Bible by Frank Dunkle
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Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

“Remember, remember! The fifth of November.”

In 16th-century England, religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants had been ongoing for decades. Under Queen Elizabeth I, Protestantism became firmly established in England, while Catholics faced persecution and restrictions on practicing their faith.

When King James I ascended the throne in 1603, Catholics hoped he would introduce greater religious tolerance. However, they continued to face restrictions on their faith.

Frustrated by the continued persecution, Robert Catesby decided to take matters into his own hands. He assembled a group of conspirators, including Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy and John Wright.

Wintour later introduced Guy Fawkes to the group. Fawkes had served in the Spanish military during the Eighty Years’ War and had experience handling explosives.

Together, the conspirators developed a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament, assassinating King James I, members of the royal family and much of England’s Protestant political leadership.

Following the attack, the group hoped to spark a Catholic uprising and install Princess Elizabeth, the king’s daughter, as queen, using her as a figurehead for Catholic rule.

However, the plot began to unravel when an anonymous letter warning Lord Monteagle to stay away from Parliament was delivered in late October 1605.

The warning prompted authorities to search the Houses of Parliament. In the early hours of Nov. 5, 1605, Fawkes was discovered guarding a large supply of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords.

Fawkes was arrested and tortured until he revealed information about his fellow conspirators. Several members of the group attempted to flee, but the plot ultimately collapsed. Some conspirators, including Catesby, were killed while resisting capture, while others were arrested.

Those who survived and were convicted were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Fawkes died during his execution on Jan. 31, 1606.

The failed assassination attempt became known as the Gunpowder Plot and is still remembered in Britain today through Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night.

Observed annually on Nov. 5, the tradition commemorates the survival of King James I and the failure of the plot. Celebrations typically include fireworks, large bonfires and the burning of effigies representing Fawkes.

The Gunpowder Plot has also left its mark on popular culture, particularly through the 2005 film “V for Vendetta.” In the film, a masked vigilante seeks to overthrow a totalitarian government through a plan inspired by the historic conspiracy.

More than 400 years later, the events of Nov. 5, 1605, remain a significant chapter in British history, remembered through tradition, storytelling and popular culture.
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Is the Anointing of Jesus in John 12 the Same as in Matthew 26?

Do you think the anointing of Jesus in John 12 by Mary is the same one mentioned in Matthew 26?

“There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head…” (Matt. 26:7).
“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus…” (Jn. 12:3).

It is commonly taught that the anointing of Christ in Matthew 26:6-13 and the similar account in John 12:1-8 are the same event. There are similarities between these accounts but also major differences.

The similarities: Both events took place in “Bethany” (Matt. 26:6; Mk. 14:3; Jn. 12:1). The ointment was worth the same amount, “three hundred pence” (Mk. 14:5; Jn. 12:5). Objection was made that the ointment could have been sold and the money given to the poor (Matt. 26:9; Mk. 14:5; Jn. 12:5). The Lord’s response is practically the same in each account (Matt. 26:11-12; Mk. 14:7-8; Jn. 12:7-8).

The differences: John’s account took place at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary (12:2); the other account is at “the house of Simon the leper” (Matt. 26:6; Mk. 14:3). John’s account took place “six days before the Passover” (12:1); the other took place “two days” before the Passover (Matt. 26:2; Mk. 14:1). In John, it took place before the Triumphal Entry (12:12-15); the other took place after it (Matt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-11). In John, “Mary” is named (12:3); in the other, the “woman” is unnamed (Matt. 26:7,10; Mk. 14:3).

In John, the ointment was poured on Christ’s “feet” (12:3); in the other, the ointment was poured on Christ’s “head” (Matt. 26:7; Mk. 14:3). In John, Mary “wiped His feet with her hair” (12:3); in the other, the woman’s hair is not mentioned. In John’s account, only “one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot” objected (12:4-6); in the other, “some” of the disciples objected (Matt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4).

The details of the two accounts differ significantly, and not because of any contradiction, but because these were two similar but different anointings of Christ that took place four days apart.