Bible Accuracy
Bible Accuracy
One of the truly amazing facts about Bible history is the phenomenal accuracy that characterizes the text. Take, for example, Luke’s two New Testament documents, Luke and Acts. These books combined constitute more than a quarter of the bulk of the New Testament. Within these narratives the author is very specific with reference to historical data including persons, places, and titles.
In the book of Acts, Luke mentions 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 Mediterranean islands. He also lists 95 people by name, 62 of which are not named elsewhere in the New Testament (Bruce Metzger, The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, Content, p. 171). In addition, Luke is intimately familiar with the constantly changing political conditions of the Roman world. References to Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Quirinius, the Herods, Felix, and Festus are recorded. In not one of these citations is there a mistake.
Some early critics occasionally charged Luke with errors, a few of them even suggesting that he was quite careless. However, the discoveries of archaeology have vindicated him in every instance.
Sir William Ramsey, who initially doubted Luke’s reliability, did many years of “on-site” study of these matters. He eventually classified Luke as one of “the very greatest of historians” who ever lived (Luke the Physician, p. 222).
Noted scholar Philip Schaff once observed that the final two chapters of Acts have provided more information about the details of ancient sea navigation than any other document of antiquity.
This uncanny accuracy puts the biblical record in a class of its own. Even the best historians cannot avoid an occasional slip, but the writers of Scripture, guided by the Spirit of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), were protected from the inclusion of error into their works. If their credibility is established in such seemingly trivial matters, surely it may be trusted in the great theological themes it develops.
– Christian Courier
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Counting Our Blessings
We all know it, but need to be reminded occasionally how greatly blessed we are. The following mental exercise, created by economic historian Robert Heilbroner, gives us a startling comparison between our circumstances and those of many people in other parts of the world:
Remove all the furniture from your house except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blankets and pads for beds.
Discard all of your clothing except one well-worn outfit. Maybe keep one pair of old shoes.
Empty the kitchen of all food except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions and a dish of dried beans.
Move the family into a tool shed, with no electricity, bathroom or running water.
Give up all books, newspapers, magazines, etc. (no great loss, none of you can read)
Eliminate all bank accounts, stocks and insurance. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.
Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away, with possibly no doctor.
Let the head of the family cultivate a small plot on which he can raise a few hundred dollars’ worth of crops, part of which will go to the landowner.
Subtract 25 years from your life expectancy.
Does reading that make you want to thank God for the things you often take for granted? Maybe it will cause you to ask Him to forgive you for complaining about things you want but don’t have.
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Say What You Mean
Have you ever noticed how people often say something and it is obvious that they did not really mean exactly what they said? For example:
“If memory serves me right” often really means “I’m going to say something I’m not sure of, whether true or false, but if somebody discovers I’m wrong, then I can always blame my memory.”
“I won’t promise, but I’ll do my best” means “Don’t expect much out of me.”
“I’m still studying the question” means “I want to stay in a position to agree with both sides.”
“They say” usually means “I heard it from at least one source, but everybody must believe it.”
“It needs to be done” means “I’m not going to do anything about it, but the church ought to.”
“I’ve heard some criticism” usually means “I’m against it, but don’t have the courage to state my belief.”
“The whole church is upset” usually means “Two or three malcontents are trying to create dissatisfaction.”
“It might bring criticism” means “I know it should be done, but it will just take so much effort I don’t want to get involved.”
Let's make every effort to mean what we say and say what we mean!
- Selected
No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress,
you are still ahead of anyone who isn’t even trying.
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