Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Guide” is titled “The Bible as History”. A compelling lesson, showing us how archeology (science) has validated certain Biblical accounts. So many Christians want the Bible to be the determiner of all knowledge. Yet the Bible is silent on many topics. The Bible does not explain dinosaurs whose skeletal remains litter the earth. Where did they come from? Even our “Prophet” gives cryptic references to this. What of the planets even in our solar system? Details regarding their differing formation are not given. Our moon with its pock-marked surface speaks of chaos… not cosmos. Why is this? Did the physical results of sin extend to our moon? And if so, why, how? What of diverse creatures like the duck-billed platypus, a semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal that spans several different genus? This and more underscores what the Bible is primarily for. It is primarily for the purpose of knowing God and winning us back to love and trust Him, lest we get too side-tracked here.
As EGW states, “God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible” (1 Selected Messages pg. 21). Not on trial “in logic”. It’s not that God is illogical. On the contrary, God is reasonable and exhibits true logic. It’s just that human logic is so faulty. So prone to draw conclusions that are based on sin and self. In the Bible, God does not give us definitive information on everything… God gives us the information we need to know Him and be brought-back to a right relationship with Him.
“The word of God, like the character of its Author, presents mysteries that can never be fully comprehended by finite beings. But God has given in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine authority. His own existence, His character, the truthfulness of His word, are established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. True, He has not removed the possibility of doubt; faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration; those who wish to doubt have opportunity; but those who desire to know the truth find ample ground for faith.
We have no reason to doubt God's word because we cannot understand the mysteries of His providence. In the natural world we are constantly surrounded with wonders beyond our comprehension. Should we then be surprised to find in the spiritual world also mysteries that we cannot fathom? The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human mind” (Education pg. 169-170).
It is gratifying to have science or history validate certain facts recorded in the Bible. Yet, in the final analyses, our faith must not rest on human validation. God leads us to see beyond the seen to the unseen. To see what is real.
The things of God are truly foreign to sinful mankind. Yet, mankind is still made in God’s image. The impress of God’s character has still not been effaced from almost everyone’s heart. And we who have faith in God, who trust Him and His methods are called to live-out in our lives the truths of our Godly image. We need not attempt to establish the veracity of God’s word in some scientific debate with non-believers. We are called to live-out in our everyday lives the principles of love and truth. This is our purpose. This is the purpose of God’s will and God’s word. To demonstrate before a skeptical world the very nature of God seen in your life and mine. God’s word is not a definitive treatise on the sciences, though the true interpretation of science (which we may never learn this side of eternity) will be in harmony with God’s word. Again, let us not get side-tracked here. We can be very adept at debating or of showing the human validation of scriptural history. But if we know not our God nor live-out in our lives the character of our God, then all our wisdom will be of little avail. Even a child can exhibit love and truth. Even a child knows love and truth when they see it. Let us be the people of the “Book”. Not just knowing its contents but knowing the God of the contents and following Him in all our ways.
With brotherly love,
Jim