There are two types of skeptics. There are those who are searching to
understand the scriptures, and therefore God; and there are those who are
unbelievers and don't want to admit that there is a God. The latter tend to scoff
and mock at the beliefs of others. Unbelieving skeptics have to say the Bible
was written by men, rather than by the unction of the Holy Spirit. If they
didn't, it would be an admission that God and the Holy Spirit exist. Some of
these people, if they believe in God at all, apparently believe that God is not
powerful enough to maintain the truth of His Word accurately.
Peter and Paul both died in Rome
The theory that the early fathers only used oral tradition
to pass on the word, makes no sense at all. There were scribes that followed
Jesus. Since scribing was their occupation, we must assume that they wrote
about Jesus.
Peter, in his writings,
mentioned Paul's writings. Paul mentioned writing by his own hand and signing
others himself. We know that Moses wrote the first 5 books and that Job
mentioned even earlier scriptures. We know that the writings of the apostles
were circulated among the churches, because they said so.
The letter about circumcision not being necessary for
gentile converters was carried by Paul, Titus and Barnabas, to the churches
Paul preached in. Acts 15:25-27 says: It seemed good unto us, being
assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved
Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you
the same things by mouth. This letter
has been dated to 49AD.
There are skeptics that say the Bible is part of a
religious conspiracy, used to control the masses. This would have to be the most successful
conspiracy in the history of the world. Forty
writers over a period of over fifteen hundred years, followed by two thousand
years of follow up - I don't think so!
Paul was born in 5AD, converted in 30AD and made his first
missionary trip in 32 AD. In the mid 30's to the mid 50's Paul founded several
churches in Asia Minor and Europe . The letters he wrote to the different
churches were written between 51 and 66AD.
In The Gospel of Luke it says: "Forasmuch as many have
taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are
most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from
the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good
to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first,
to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That you might
know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed".
"In Paul's writings, he provides the first written account
of what it is to be a Christian and thus a description of Christian
spirituality. His letters have been characterized as being the most influential
books of the New Testament after the Gospels of Matthew and John."[1]
2 Peter 1:21
says: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost".
"Of
the 27 books in the New Testament, 14 have been attributed to Paul; 7 of these
are widely considered authentic and Paul's own, while the authorship of the
other 7 is disputed. The undisputed letters are considered the most important
sources since they contain what everyone agrees to be Paul's own statements
about his life and thoughts. Theologian Mark Powell writes that Paul directed
these 7 letters to specific occasions at particular churches. As an example, if
the Corinthian church had not experienced problems concerning its celebration
of the Lord's Supper,[1 Corinthians 11:17-34] today we would not
know that Paul even believed in that observance or had any opinions about it
one way or the other. He asks if we might be ignorant of other matters simply
because no crises arose that prompted Paul to comment on them."[2]
Paul wrote Galatians in AD 51, 1 Thessalonians 51, 2 Thessalonians 52, 1 Corinthians 54, 2
Corinthians 56, Romans 56, Hebrews 57,
Philemon 60, Colossians 61, Ephesians 61,
Philippians 62, 1 Timothy 62-64, Titus
62-64, 2 Timothy 64-66 and he died in 66.
"St. Luke wrote two books for the use
of the church; namely his Gospel, and the Acts of the Apostles. Both of these
he dedicated to Theophilus, which many of the ancients supposed to be a feigned
name, denoting a lover of God, a title common to all sincere Christians. But others think it was a real
person, because of the title of “most excellent” is attributed to him; which
was the usual form of address, in those times, to princes, and other
distinguished characters"[3].
"The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years, by
40 different authors. Unlike other religious writings, the Bible reads as a
factual news account of real events, places, people, and dialogue. Historians
and archaeologists have repeatedly confirmed its authenticity."[4] Although the Bible was scribed by 40
different authors, it had the same Holy Spirit guiding them in the writing. "The
Old Testament's accuracy was confirmed by an archaeological discovery in 1947,
along today's West Bank in Israel
The Bible tells us that in the end times people will have
"itching ears"- 2 Timothy 4:3 (AMP) says: "For the time is
coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome
instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying],
they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable
number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, "The
word "itching" is the Greek word "knetho" which means,
"to desire only that which is pleasant". Paul tells us that people
will turn to Myths. "Myths" is the Greek word "muthos"
which means "stories made up".
Titus 1:9 tells us: "Holding fast
the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine
both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers (skeptics)". Hebrews 5:14 (NIV) tells us that young men
need training in the scriptures, but that solid food is for the mature, who by constant
use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
There are some who say that the Bible can't be trusted
because it was written a long time ago and isn't applicable to today. To this I say, you obviously don't know who
God is. 2 Peter 3:8
says: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day". In
God's eyes, the Bible was written less than a week ago.
From the above we can tell that the young are naturally
skeptical, but that old men are skeptical due to rebellion. If a person has lived their life, exposed to
the Bible but rejected it, they have closed their hearts to it. No one can
understand the Bible who has a closed mind.
No one can reject the Bible, without rejecting God. Rejecting the Bible
due to intellectualism , is a closed mind. 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us:
"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned". That's the way God designed us. There are a plethora
of individuals who have set out to prove the Bible is not true; only to
convince themselves that is truly the Word of God.
Additional
information may be obtained at -
1. http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2012/10/the-king-james-bible_27.html
2. http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2012/09/the-bible.html
3. http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2011/12/the-bible-under-attack.html
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