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You Can Trust the Bible
by Pastor Bill Pevlor

Last week a short article in Readers Digest caught my eye. It was a story about how archaeologists and historians are being “surprised” by continuing discoveries that confirm the accuracy of biblical accounts of history. Obviously, unwilling to take the Bible at its word, many scholars are only convinced of truth if there is some empirical evidence to back it up.

I know the idea of believing anything, including the Bible, without hard physical evidence is a wild concept in our scientifically dependent society. To “believe” we must conduct several “scientific” studies. Then the findings have to be subjected to years of additional scrutiny by the scientific community. And just as we start to believe it, another study comes by to refute the findings of the first study. You have to wonder why so many people place so much faith in science. Science hasn’t proven an ability to accurately determine the side effects of a new diet pill, much less determine ultimate truth.

Think of the tremendous advancements science and society could make if they reversed the process; if they started their search for truth at the source of ultimate truth - the Bible. Centuries and even millenniums could be saved in research time if science would acknowledge the truth already established in the Word of God.

Let me give you some real-life examples. Throughout ancient history scientists believed the earth was flat. It wasn’t until the 15^th century that explorers discovered the earth was actually round. If scientists had consulted the Bible, they would have known the earth was spherical in shape from the writings of Isaiah. In the 40^th chapter of the book that bears his name, Isaiah wrote that God “sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” The Hebrew word translated as “circle” actually means “sphericity” or “roundness”. Isaiah’s writing pre-dated “scientific” discovery by 2,200 years.

Before the invention of the telescope, the much revered Ptolemy had determined the number of stars at 1,056; Kepler determined there were 1,005 and Tycho Brahe listed 777. Today we scoff at such foolishness. Scientists now know the universe is continually expanding and beyond accurate measurement. The prophet Jeremiah would have scoffed, too. Around 600 B.C. he wrote “the stars of heaven cannot be numbered.” The truth has been in the Bible for centuries; found in Jeremiah 33:22.

There is no other book like the Bible. It is the inspired Word of God. It, alone, contains ultimate truth. It is accurate historically, scientifically and in every other way. It is a book you can trust. In fact, the only way to really benefit from the truth found in the Bible is to put your trust it. Putting trust in God’s Word is called “faith”. Faith is not based on scientific evidence. In fact, the Bible describes faith as “the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Ultimate truth is not found by intellectual pursuit, but by faith.

Scientist have spent centuries “discovering” truth that has already been established in the Bible. How many discoveries are you missing out on in your personal life because you insist on searching for the truth without, first, going to the source of ultimate truth? Sure, it is possible to learn the truth the hard way; through your own experimentation. However, the hard way takes a lot longer and usually creates a great deal of heartache along the way.

A final thought on the subject comes from Sir William Herschel who said “All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the sacred scriptures.”

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Victorious Faith Ministries
219 State Street, Algoma, WI 54201
Phone: 920-487-5775