WHAT is this book called 'bible'--claiming to be from 'the Creator God'-and WHY is it HERE?
A message from 'outside' our Universe? What for? Can't I just IGNORE this? Why believe this?
The collection of 66 writings known in English as the 'Bible' contains explicit claims to be a unique and urgent message
from a supernatural, unbounded agent ("God", "Lord", "Creator") to humanity.
Its writers and the participants in the narratives represent themselves as messengers or conveyors of different (but related) parts of the message.
- More than 3,800 times the Old Testament writers use the terms, “thus says the Lord,” “the word of the Lord came to” such and such a person, “the Lord said,” or some such equivalent.
- The New Testament writers use such expressions as, “declaring to you the whole purpose of God,” “in words … taught by the Spirit,” “what it really is, the word of God,” and “the Lord’s commandment.”
- The central character of the combined stories literally claims to be a 'full-peer, inside-part' of this Agent/God/Ultimate Being, and provides convincing evidences for this bizarre claim.
- This character (Jesus who is called the Messiah/Christ) repeatedly affirms that the written documents of the bible
(as produced thus far) was literally the 'word' of this God (of which He was a full-peer-inside-part).
- And that the appearing inside history of both the message and himself was to warn us of a critical post-mortem danger we face,
and to faciliate a way for us to avoid this post-mortem danger.
Needless to say, these claims should be of MAJOR concern to ALL humans--especially in light of:
- Our inability to verify or debunk this warning of post-mortem danger (having zero RELIABLE pre-mortem access to that irreversible post-mortem situation).
- Our inability to plausibly discredit the narrative accounts of this from-outside individual's life and speeches;
- Our inability to plausibly deny this individual's credibility when speaking about the danger and how to avoid it.
So, this article is designed to help a reader zoom-into these claims, beginning with a discussion of even the POSSIBILITY of
This revised/expanded version is a 'top-down' approach (more or less), and although I use texts from the Judeo-Christian sacred books as examples,
illustrations, and historical samples, the initial logic about disclosure by an Agent/Person/Thing/Group/God/Pantheon/whatever
from 'outside' our space-time universe should be clear to adherents of other religious traditions or those
'undecided' about such matters.
The focus of the class was on the (possible) Creator's (possible) communication to humanity.
The original class title was "God's Witness in History--the miracle of the Bible", since it was given in a Western setting, with detailed assessment of
the Judeo-Christian bible's claims to be such a communication.
It is currently being revised and expanded (Jan 2024).
Meta-Course Things (of course!)
The lessons so far (and intended in near future):
- Introduction--the concept of revelation
- The Human setting in which it would occur
- The possible "Other Side" setting from which it might occur
- If it 'occurred', what might it look like?
- Excursus: How we "process" communication
- Other means of revelation other than the Scripture
- The Christian revelation in history: the recording
- The Christian revelation in history: the recognition of the canon
- The Christian revelation in history: the preservation of the data (OT)
- The Christian revelation in history: the preservation of the data (NT)
- Translation, Preaching, and Theological Development in History
- Inspiration and Illumination: What they ARE and ARE NOT
- Inerrancy, the Data of Scripture, and the Approach of Honest Faith
- Hermeneutics and "Scripture Twisting"
- Important Distinctions within the doctrine of revelation
- Sola Scripturavs. Tradition
- The Clarity of Scripture vs. the "Hidden-ness" of God's Disclosure
- Skeptical Arguments of our Day
- Skeptical Arguments of our Day-Part II
- Course Implications for our Lives
God's Witness in History: The Miracle of The Bible--This Adult Education Elective is designed to examine the recent data, arguments, and issues around a central theme in historic Christianity: that God spoke into history and produced a written record of that for use by subsequent generations of the community of the faithful. There are many skeptics and anti-Bible arguments today, but God has left a faithful record of his work for the believer. This course will attempt to establish the central concepts in the doctrine of revelation and how they can be understood and communicated in today's world.
Objectives of the Course
- To develop a greater appreciation for the reliability of God's word
- To be able to think clearly and critically about modern day objections against the revelation of God in history
- To develop a clearer understanding of how much God desires to communicate with us, as indicated by the awesomeness of His revelatory process
- To develop greater humility and submission before God's Holy Word, resulting in more commitment, more consistent obedience, and greater depth of appreciation of God in worship
Who Should Attend This Course
- Professionals who encounter skeptical arguments against the Bible in their work settings
- Students who will be taking Religion courses in their schools
- Active Believers who study the Bible regularly and seek to understand it for applying to their lives
- Christians with intellectual questions and/or doubts about the Bible as God's Word
- Bible Students who want an 'update' on the current issues and data in this area
- Concerned parents of any of the above!
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