The Wow Factor

Is the Bible the inspired word of God or another book written by man?

    To be honest, the Bible was written by man. They sat with an ink cup and penned every single word. Why? To tell a story!

    When is the last time you bought and read a book? The market is inundated with every kind of book on every subject, we can imagine from history, self help, romance, parenthood, farming and the list goes on. Each writer takes their own experiences and expresses them with words hoping that they will assist in making our life easier. It has taken most of them years to get to that point. They share their story of trial, error, and victory to willingly help make it easier for us to reach our goal.

    If we believe there was indeed an American Revolution, why do we believe it. The answer would be because at some point in our lives we went to school had a class in history and read about The American Revolutionary War. We studied it, took tests on the subject, and historically believe it to be the truth. We were not there to see the battle of Concord, Bennington, or Saratoga, but we know by reading that these events occurred. We know that in June 1775 that George Washington was appointed our first commander-in-chief. Written documents and artifacts from this era back up the claims of these stories.

    The Bible starts with an awe-inspiring account of history. It is a collection of writings, compiled from 66 separate books, written over a span of 1,600 years by at least 40 distinct authors, now that's a history book! Each of these authors has given their account of events in history. These events were important enough to be protected for future generations. If we believe, The American Revolutionary War happened then why not believe the history of the bible.

    Most writers will dedicate a book, and somewhere in the chapters reveal where their inspiration came from. This principle holds true for the bible as well. Why is it unfathomable for some to believe that the 40 authors of the 66 books written in the bible all received their inspiration from God? Why would we choose not to believe writers who sacrificed everything just to leave us a message? They shared with us what they had seen, and what they had heard.

    Why is it so difficult for us to believe Paul when he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work," or Peter who wrote in II Peter 1:20-21, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

    These 40 were the authors if you will, but God was the editor every step of the way, every word. Wow!