WHY DO THEY BOTHER?
Oh, if we could just put God into a box. Not just any box mind you, it would have to be a box of exquisite design and craftsmanship, with all of the appropriate religious markings and symbols, viewing windows (one-way glass obviously), and carrying handles for easy transport from place to place. Of course, it would need to be sealed shut by the proper authorities, and only allowed to be opened for research purposes. This is an absurd notion clearly, but it is in effect the ultimate, logical conclusion to the purely intellectual pursuit of scriptural understanding, through higher criticism. Which begs the question: “If someone doesn’t believe in the truth of the Bible, and is antagonistic towards its message, why on earth would they bother devoting their lives to studying it, unless of course they were attempting to destroy it?”This is an overwhelming theme that seems to permeate the historical study and analysis of Old Testament and New Testament theology. However, the never ending effort to categorize, alphabetize, and systemize the contents of the Bible has produced little in the way of consensus among scholars, on how best to tame God’s Word. Not surprisingly though, “…the majority approach would be built on the presupposition that denies biblical inspiration… viewing the New Testament [and the Old] as conflicting theologies.”2. But the notion that we can just dismiss the contribution of the Holy Spirit and randomly strip away portions of the Bible that we deem to be, “…enshrouded with the opinions and reinterpretations of the writers.”3, and make our own determinations as to; whether this story is truth or mythology, or whether these words were really spoken by Jesus or just embellishments fraudulently appended by His over-zealous followers, based exclusively on the conjecture of people who don’t even accept the message or the messenger, is ridiculous to a staggering degree.
The Bible is either truth or it is a lie. It was either divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit or it’s not worth the paper it is printed upon. Jesus is God in the flesh, the savior of all of mankind or He, as C.S. Lewis so aptly put it, “…would either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God…”4.
So in reaction to the so called rationalistic approach of Tubingen criticism and the feeble philosophies of men like; Baur, Holtzmann, and Bultmann, Bible believers say, bring it on! Do your worst and still the Word of God will stand victorious, as it has for thousands of years. Is God in the least bit concerned that His Word has of late been challenged by human objectors, bent on its destruction? Quite the contrary, it is certainly not the first time an adversary has dared to ask the question, “Has God indeed said…?”5. Indeed, from the beginning, Satan’s goal has been to chip away at God’s Word as if he were a miner, extracting its precious gems by exploding the shafts that support the quarry. But true to form, God has anticipated such an attack and He revels in the irony of its defeat, stating through the prophet Jeremiah, “…What is the chaff to the wheat?’ says the LORD. ‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the LORD, ‘And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? ‘Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the LORD, ‘who steal My words everyone from his neighbor… and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,’ says the LORD.”6.
The Bible clearly teaches the concept that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”7. It is painfully obvious to a truly objectionable viewer, that this is the inconvenient truth that eludes the advocates of higher criticism who employ themselves in the industry of dismantling God’s Word. We must put ourselves in that box and allow His word to dismantle us, to critique us, to reveal what is true and what is false within us, and to illuminate us with His wisdom, not the other way around.
Works Cited
1. Moody Handbook of Theology, Enns, Paul, 1989, Moody Press, Chicago, IL. Ch. 9, pg. 76
2. Moody Handbook of Theology, Enns, Paul, 1989, Moody Press, Chicago, IL. Ch. 9, pg. 76
3. Moody Handbook of Theology, Enns, Paul, 1989, Moody Press, Chicago, IL. Ch. 9, pg. 76
4. Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity, London: Collins, 1952, pp. 54 – 56
5. New King James Version, Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publisher, Genesis 3:1
6. New King James Version, Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publisher, Jeremiah 23:28-32
7. New King James Version, Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publisher, Proverbs 1:7
