A WORD ABOUT BIBLE CRITICS

The people who are most blessed by the Bible are, without question, those who believe it and receive it as the Word of God. That there are statements and passages hard to comprehend all will agree. Even the Apostle Peter spoke of St. Paul's writings as "some things hard to be understood" II Peter 3:16.


Most all of our Bible is written in Hebrew and Greek, and in those languages, as in other tongues strange to us, there are employed sayings expressed in what we call "figurative language" and "folk" sayings. For example, "the beam in one's eye" Matt. 7:4, or the camel to go through the eye of a needle - Matt. 19:24. Others are found in the Revelation. In Chapter 11:8, " And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." And again in 17:1, " The great whore that sitteth upon many waters." Now proceed to verse 15, "The waters ... where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Also Rev. 17:7, "The mystery of the woman and the beast ... which hath seven heads" and verse 9, "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." Incidentally, there are seven hills along the Tiber. I have seen them and know their names: Palatine, Capitoline, Esquiline, Viminal, Aventine, Caelian and Quirinal. Is there any other place that fits this description?


One of the objections of critics is that the Bible contradicts itself. Take a case in point. Proverbs 26:4 states: " Answer not a fool according to his folly" and the very next verse: "Answer a fool according to his folly." Which is right? Both. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don't! It depends on the occasion. Sometimes it would be like "casting your pearls before swine."


I knew Dr. Walter Wilson only slightly. He pastored a Baptist Church in Kansas City while I was also a pastor there. Once a critic told him, "You can't prove that one thing in the Bible is true." Dr. Wilson replied, "Yes I can If you will stand for it!" He then quoted Prov. 30:33: "Surely ... the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood."


Once while I was on vacation I met a fine young man who was employed by the National Forest Services. On a Sunday afternoon when we were both n camp we were engaged in conversation. He stated that he had a problem with the Bible because there were so many contradictions in it.


My reply was something like this: "Well, let's check this out. What are some of them?"


An embarrassed look came over his face, and he admitted, "I guess I don't know any."


Somebody had sold him a bill of goods, probably when he was in college.