Another bit of mail from early 2004 to the Philosophy Club at GTC’s mailing list. It’s recently become relevant again to some things that have been going on in Bible study and to the questions flying around in my head.
If the Bible is the main source of Christian knowledge on
God, a Christian theoretically would consider the Bible a
prime source of morality. That is, if that said
Christian believes his or her morality comes from the
Bible or Christianity.
The one and only source of knowledge of God is God Himself as He expresses Himself through the Word. Jesus is called the Word of God; so when we speak with Jesus in prayer, we are then also receiving the word of God, and a source of knowledge there also. God will never contradict something He’s already said–this is a crucial point–so we check out everything we hear in prayer with the Bible, so we know it’s accurate and sound. Let it never be said that God wants mindless flunkies who don’t question and are never skeptical: honest skeptics (those who want real answers and for whom their questions present genuine barriers to faith–and are not just an intellectual smoke screen that sum up to be an excuse not to have to believe in someOne that might change their lifestyles) are special in God’s sight. Luke the physician records, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Paul was a first-century theological teacher. Could they trust what he told them? They checked it out in Scripture to be sure. Now, why would they be more noble if God didn’t love and approve of people questioning Him? To ask God a question is to provide Him with an opening to display His wisdom and might in our minds, hearts, and lives–keeping in mind that this question must of course be genuine.
That’s a bit of a tangent, but I just wanted to make clear that (1) prayer and the spiritual ministry of Jesus is as important as the written Word; and (2) God rejoices over an honest skeptic.
That being said, if all of the
Bible reflects truth, how does one reconcile such
apparent contradictions? In my opinion, they serve as a
source of invalidation for the Bible. However, I’m
curious as to how a Christian approaches this issue.
I wonder at the objectivity of bringing a generalized claim to the floor without evidence, but to answer your question as to how a Christian approaches this issue–well, by taking each apparent contradiction in turn and seeking out the answer. God is not afraid of our toughest questions, although men (like myself) may not be adequate in speech or knowledge to convey the answers ourselves. “Seek and ye shall find….”
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