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Can I Trust the Bible?
1 Peter 3:8-9, 15-16
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ... But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Recommended Resources:
The Bible Project
Wesley Huff
Frank Turek
Daniel Wallace
Cliffe Knechtle
Lee Strobel
NT Wright
Tim Keller
1. Is God Really Good?
Question 1:
How could a loving God call for the annihilation of the Canaanite peoples?
The single most important factor in understanding the Bible is context.
Immediate Context: the vast majority of these battles record the Canaanites aligning with other kings and coming out to attack the Israelites.
Extended biblical context: Genesis 15:16 “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites (Canaanites) has not yet reached its full measure.”
Linguistic context: intentional hyperbole.
Question 2:
Doesn’t the Bible promote or permit slavery?
Ephesians 6:5-8
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
Ephesians 6:9
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.
Philemon 1:16
… no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 1:10, slave traders are included in a list of things that are “contrary to sound doctrine like those who kill their fathers or mothers, unholy, ungodly, sinful, liars, and irreligious. These things are contrary to the gospel.”
Historical context: biblical slavery was radically different than chattel slavery in America.
Attributes of God to help you process moral arguments against the Bible:
1. God is just
2. God is love
2. Can I Really Trust the Bible?
Two primary factors for validating the accuracy of ancient texts:
1. Time span between the oldest copy and the original
2. The number and similarity of copies
3. Does Science make faith obsolete?
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Albert Einstein:
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
Werner Heisenberg (Founder of Quantum Mechanics):
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
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By Union Chapel1 Peter 3:8-9, 15-16
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ... But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Recommended Resources:
The Bible Project
Wesley Huff
Frank Turek
Daniel Wallace
Cliffe Knechtle
Lee Strobel
NT Wright
Tim Keller
1. Is God Really Good?
Question 1:
How could a loving God call for the annihilation of the Canaanite peoples?
The single most important factor in understanding the Bible is context.
Immediate Context: the vast majority of these battles record the Canaanites aligning with other kings and coming out to attack the Israelites.
Extended biblical context: Genesis 15:16 “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites (Canaanites) has not yet reached its full measure.”
Linguistic context: intentional hyperbole.
Question 2:
Doesn’t the Bible promote or permit slavery?
Ephesians 6:5-8
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
Ephesians 6:9
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.
Philemon 1:16
… no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 1:10, slave traders are included in a list of things that are “contrary to sound doctrine like those who kill their fathers or mothers, unholy, ungodly, sinful, liars, and irreligious. These things are contrary to the gospel.”
Historical context: biblical slavery was radically different than chattel slavery in America.
Attributes of God to help you process moral arguments against the Bible:
1. God is just
2. God is love
2. Can I Really Trust the Bible?
Two primary factors for validating the accuracy of ancient texts:
1. Time span between the oldest copy and the original
2. The number and similarity of copies
3. Does Science make faith obsolete?
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Albert Einstein:
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
Werner Heisenberg (Founder of Quantum Mechanics):
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”