In the fiction novel "The Morabi," Kalavit, who is the Morabi, was brought up believing in many gods. But as he matures and assumes the leadership position on his island he discovers that he doesn't have any confidence in them. And as things happen and Kalavit is set adrift in a canoe he realizes that he is adrift as well in doubt and confusion.
So many of us are like the Morabi. We were brought up believing in something but now as adults we don't know if we still believe or not. We feel like we drift in our confusion and doubt. The Bible says that we can have confidence in God but what if we don't believe the Bible?
There are so many reasons to trust this fantastic book. It is among the oldest in the world and it is still very popular in bookstores. Along with this, there are thousands of fragments and copies that date back a couple of thousand years or more. These copies and fragments confirm just how long the Bible has been a great influence in the world. Just as an example, there are something like 650 copies of the Iliad by Homer. This sounds like a large number, and very few would say that the Iliad we read today is much different than the original manuscript. When talking just about the New Testament of the Bible, there are 257 uncial (written in capital letters) manuscripts; 2795 miniscule manuscripts; 2200 lectionaries and 115 papyrus manuscripts. This comes to more than 5000 fragments and copies.
The sheer number of copies also confirms the Bible's continuing accuracy. Many of you have played the game "telephone" so you'll know what I'm referring to here. A person whispers a word or phrase into someone's ear. Then that person will turn and whisper it to another person. By the time you reach the end of the line the original word or phrase has become something else entirely. It is not that someone goofed up on purpose. It's just that this is what happens when humans transmit information to others. Mistakes are made. This explains the inventions of such things as erasers and backspace keys. But if you measure a new Greek or Hebrew translation of the Bible today against a copy from 2000 years ago you will be amazed at how correct it still is. And this accuracy takes into account the fact that the Bible has been copied over and over by many people over many centuries.
The Bible is not full of contradictions as a few will claim. Certainly there are some difficult texts that we have trouble understanding. And certainly many doubters will carry in a long list of so-called contradictions. The real truth is that scholars have trimmed the list of difficult passages to about two dozen. Sometimes these difficulties appear because we have so many copies and translations. As we mentioned earlier, people do make mistakes. A few of the difficulties remain because we just don't know what the original author meant. There were at one time many difficulties found in the King James Version of the Bible. But when ancient texts were unearthed that are now available to us today most of these problems have been fixed.
The Bible is a complex book and there are still portions of it we find difficult. But nowhere is any major doctrine in contradiction with any other major doctrine. Although the Bible was written by something like 40 different people over a period of about 1500 years, it is amazing how cohesive it is. And as new discoveries are made, I firmly believe that these remaining difficulties will be resolved as well. You can look at it this way. In the nearly two thousand years since the last book of the Bible was written, not a single discovery has come to light to discredit the Bible. That is quite a record.
The Bible is clearly a book that can be trusted. And it stands unique among other writings simply because of the contents. Many doubt the Bible until they actually pick it up and read it. Josh MacDowell, C.S. Lewis of Narnia fame, and others were atheists until they actually read it. Then they changed their minds and became committed Christians. Just Google "atheists who converted to Christianity" and read their stories. You can read "The Morabi" to see how it turns out for Kalavit. But I would love to hear how it turns out for you as well.
"For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth." Psalm 71: 5 (NASB).
So many of us are like the Morabi. We were brought up believing in something but now as adults we don't know if we still believe or not. We feel like we drift in our confusion and doubt. The Bible says that we can have confidence in God but what if we don't believe the Bible?
There are so many reasons to trust this fantastic book. It is among the oldest in the world and it is still very popular in bookstores. Along with this, there are thousands of fragments and copies that date back a couple of thousand years or more. These copies and fragments confirm just how long the Bible has been a great influence in the world. Just as an example, there are something like 650 copies of the Iliad by Homer. This sounds like a large number, and very few would say that the Iliad we read today is much different than the original manuscript. When talking just about the New Testament of the Bible, there are 257 uncial (written in capital letters) manuscripts; 2795 miniscule manuscripts; 2200 lectionaries and 115 papyrus manuscripts. This comes to more than 5000 fragments and copies.
The sheer number of copies also confirms the Bible's continuing accuracy. Many of you have played the game "telephone" so you'll know what I'm referring to here. A person whispers a word or phrase into someone's ear. Then that person will turn and whisper it to another person. By the time you reach the end of the line the original word or phrase has become something else entirely. It is not that someone goofed up on purpose. It's just that this is what happens when humans transmit information to others. Mistakes are made. This explains the inventions of such things as erasers and backspace keys. But if you measure a new Greek or Hebrew translation of the Bible today against a copy from 2000 years ago you will be amazed at how correct it still is. And this accuracy takes into account the fact that the Bible has been copied over and over by many people over many centuries.
The Bible is not full of contradictions as a few will claim. Certainly there are some difficult texts that we have trouble understanding. And certainly many doubters will carry in a long list of so-called contradictions. The real truth is that scholars have trimmed the list of difficult passages to about two dozen. Sometimes these difficulties appear because we have so many copies and translations. As we mentioned earlier, people do make mistakes. A few of the difficulties remain because we just don't know what the original author meant. There were at one time many difficulties found in the King James Version of the Bible. But when ancient texts were unearthed that are now available to us today most of these problems have been fixed.
The Bible is a complex book and there are still portions of it we find difficult. But nowhere is any major doctrine in contradiction with any other major doctrine. Although the Bible was written by something like 40 different people over a period of about 1500 years, it is amazing how cohesive it is. And as new discoveries are made, I firmly believe that these remaining difficulties will be resolved as well. You can look at it this way. In the nearly two thousand years since the last book of the Bible was written, not a single discovery has come to light to discredit the Bible. That is quite a record.
The Bible is clearly a book that can be trusted. And it stands unique among other writings simply because of the contents. Many doubt the Bible until they actually pick it up and read it. Josh MacDowell, C.S. Lewis of Narnia fame, and others were atheists until they actually read it. Then they changed their minds and became committed Christians. Just Google "atheists who converted to Christianity" and read their stories. You can read "The Morabi" to see how it turns out for Kalavit. But I would love to hear how it turns out for you as well.
"For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth." Psalm 71: 5 (NASB).
About the Author:
Norita Sieffert, a published author and professional speaker who also battled with the same problems and practices overcoming them on a daily basis. She has arrived at a place of complete commitment to faith in Jesus Christ. If you would like to view her latest Christian fiction titles on Kindle, go to her online bookstore.
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