"So, why are you a Bible-believer? To a non-believer like me, the Bible is unremarkable. Yet Christians speak of "getting into the Word" & so forth."
That is an excellent question, cloudyday2! And the Bible tells us Christians (meaning: 'of Christ', His follower) that when asked why we believe what we believe, we should have a ready answer.
First Peter 3:14,15 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear their intimidation, do not be troubled, but in your hearts set apart as sacred Christ the Lord, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentle strength {meekness} & respect.
The Apostle Peter adds it is to be done "in your hearts." This does not mean simply "with your hearts," or "from your hearts" (inwardly, or with sincerity & devotion), but it signifies local habitation.
That is to say: Peter, like the Apostle Paul (Eph 3:17), acknowledges an indwelling of Christ in the hearts of the faithful & this indwelling is not merely subjective, consisting of their constant recollection of Him, but real & objective. We pay due reverence & sacredness, to His presence.
The Apostle does, in those words "in your hearts," purposely calls attention to the difference between Isaiah's use of the name 'Immanuel' & the Christian meaning. To Isaiah, God dwelt in the midst of a people in its corporate capacity.
Peter knew that, through the Incarnation (Christ coming down from the invisible heavenly realm & becoming a human being in the visible realm), each individual Christian has God dwelling in him, united with him.
That is just one of the remarkable differences of Christianity from other religions & their books: the Lord of heaven AND earth, the King of kings & the Lord of lords, who we follow is ALIVE & not only alive but dwells within us forever. He rose out from among the dead with a new spiritual resurrected body & our hope is to obtain a similar resurrected body, just as He promised.
Gandhi spent 20 years in South Africa with his family as a lawyer before returning to India & practicing satyagraha ('truth & firmness') or passive resistance. I have stood at the tomb of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma: 'great souled one') in India. His decayed body/bones are inside that tomb as are Muhammeds or Abraham's. Christ's is not!
In Gandhi's autobiography, he states: "Between the Old & the New there is a fundamental difference. Whilst the Old [have] some very deep truths, I am unable to pay it the same honours I pay to the NT." The NT & its Sermon on the Mount part overjoyed him. About which he says: "It delighted me beyond measure" & "gave me comfort & boundless joy & "It is that Sermon which has endeared Jesus to me."
What really impressed Gandhi in the Sermon was the teaching of Jesus - 'resist not evil.' So he often quoted from Mathew 5: 39: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you & pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; to the one who takes your coat, give also your shirt."
I have personally discussed the main difference of the Lord Jesus Christ to Shiva or Krishna with Indians in India: Christ is holy (sacred, sanctified, sinless) while the others are both evil & good. The local, common people told me & know that most of the 'holy' men in India are fakes & we in the US are hoodwinked to believe in them.
I have personally observed Hindu's worshipping an idol of a 'rat' god, praying to it & burning incense to it, as one of the many gods they believed in & sought with which to find favor.
Hinduism is a good example of polytheism, like the Greek gods or the Egyptian gods of mythology & the majority of other religions. Only Christianity, with Judaism & Muslims believe in one God only. That is what the Bible teaches from beginning to end & is the very 1st & 2nd of the 10 commandments, unique to Judaism & Christianity.
These are remarkable just by themselves. But this just scratches the surface of how amazing Christianity is & the Bible, even from a secular, historical perspective.
The Bible-The Most Unique Book in the World-Part 1 | John Ankerberg Show The Bible—The Most Unique Book in the World-Part One
The Bible is not the product of human invention or ingenuity, nor does it contain a mixture of truth & error. It is not a hidden book requiring “higher” or “enlightened” consciousness in order to interpret it properly.
Nor is the Bible, despite cultic claims, an incomplete revelation requiring additional scripture to interpret it or to fulfill God’s purpose. Biblical claims leave us few options. Either the Bible is what it claims—the literal inerrant Word of God—or it is not possible to know if God has revealed Himself to us truthfully.
The Bible facts cannot be explained by recourse to human theories concerning origin & the biblical data itself leave inerrancy as the only option concerning content. The God of Scripture has revealed Himself as the God of truth, so autographic errors (original writings) would prove God was not their author.
Indeed, since no other religion offers genuine evidence for belief in their God, apart from the Bible we are forced to remain agnostic about God. He might exist, but beyond general revelation we can know nothing about Him. The following 7 points are necessary for understanding what the Bible is.
1. Biblical Inspiration
The Bible claims to be the inspired Word of God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God [God-breathed: Gk, theopneustos] & is PROFITABLE for teaching, rebuking, correcting & training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).
In what sense is the Bible inspired? Biblical inspiration is (a) verbal (extending to the very words, not just the ideas, of Scripture), (b) plenary (extending equally to every part of Scripture) and (c) perspicuous (sufficiently clear for the average person to understand & be spiritually nourished without recourse to scholarly or technical insight).
Directly or indirectly, the Bible claims/implies divine inspiration 100's of times. Here are several examples:
Jer 56:1,2 This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Take a scroll & write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah & all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now.”
Matt 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
2 Pet 1:16-21 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His MAJESTY. He received honor & glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the MAJESTIC GLORY, saying, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.
19More over, we also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt & you will do well to pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns & the morning star rises in your hearts.
20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 1:1-3 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times & in various ways, but in these last ('eschatological') days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things & through whom also He made the universe.
The Son is the radiant outshining of God’s glory & the exact representation of His Being, sustaining all things by His powerful WORD. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the MAJESTY in heaven.
John 12:49,50 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say & how to say it...Whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say. (John 12:49-50)
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place.
Hosea 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea...The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel…. (Ezekiel 1:5)
Exodus 24:4 (31:24) Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.
2 Pet 3:2,15,16 NASB ...You should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets--& the commandment of the Lord & Savior--spoken by your apostles...[Our] beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned & unstable distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures.
2. The Bible Is Authoritative & Powerful
Jeremiah 23:29 'Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘And like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ Because the Bible is the Word of God it is the most important literature in all the earth. It is important for what it is & what it does & how it applies to us.
“…My word that goes out from My mouth… will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire & achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (saiah 55:11)“For the word of God is living & active, sharper than any double-edged sword; it penetrates even to dividing of soul & spirit, of joints &marrow. It judges the thoughts & attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Because of its Divine nature, ignorance of the Bible is spiritually & otherwise dangerous. As Jesus told the hypocritical religious leaders of His day, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matt 22:29).
Matt 5:36-40,46,47 For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about Me that the Father has sent Me. 37And the Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness about Me. His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen
38& you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe the One whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life & YET they bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Here is just a microcosm of what people down through history have said about the Bible & the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout history, the Bible has touched every sphere of culture from art & music to philosophy & science. Now that is immensely remarkable & all on this short list (for time & space sake) thought the Bible remarkable.
"To read the Bible is to take a trip to a fair land where the spirit is strengthened & faith renewed.' - Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
"That Book, the Bible, accounts for the supremacy of England. England has become great & happy by the knowledge of the true God through Jesus Christ." - Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
"The Bible contains more philosophy than all the libraries that I have ever seen, & such parts as I cannot reconcile with my little philosophy, I postpone for future investigation." - John Adams (1735-1826)
"The first & almost only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the World. So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country & respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year." - John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the World is communicated to us through this book...I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason, & the balance by faith, & you will live & die a better man." - Abraham Lincoln (1909-1865) (to be continued)