Utterly Life Changing. . .

The text of Scripture has been preserved by scribes and scholars in various manners: the physical recording of text on differing mediums, the meticulous copying of the Old Testament by the Masorete Jews, and the preservation of God’s inspired Word by the canonization of Bible books.
The Scripture was recorded on several materials. One material the Bible was recorded on was papyrus, made from beating out the reeds growing in the shallow lakes and rivers of Egypt and Syria. It was shipped to parts of Byblos, hence the word Bible, the modern meaning of which is “book”. Parchment made in Pergamum, manufactured by scraping shaved skins, was utilized; as well as, vellum made from calf skin that was dyed purple and written on in gold or silver ink. Ostraca, or pottery shards and clay and wax tablets were also engraved with a stylus. Inks were composed of charcoal, gum and water and pointed reeds were used to inscribe Scripture on scrolls.
The Masorete Jewish scribes ritualistically copied the text in such a high degree of perfection that they considered the copy more valuable than the original. Thus, many older copies of Scripture are no longer extant.
The choice of books canonized into the Bible was not created by the church; but, they were recognized for inclusion by tests of their spiritual authenticity. Where the books written by a prophet or a spokesman of God? Was the writer confirmed by acts of God? Does the message tell the truth about God? Does the book come with the power of God? Is the book accepted by God’s people? The heresy of Marcion in A.D. 140 prompted the gathering of Scripture for canonization. The Apocrypha has been unilaterally discounted as inspired Scripture by Reformation churches; although, it is included in the Catholic Bible.

The Bible is the God-breathed, inspired Word of God. It is utterly reliable, utterly unchanging and utterly life changing!

Observing Truth

Archaeology and Science are uncovering Truths of God’s creation from the sub-atomic level to the vastness of space. The Anthropic Principle states that the universe is specifically tailored for man’s benefit; on this point, some astronomers and Scripture agree. Genesis 1:26 states, “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Two major tenants of Science are observation and hypothesis; albeit, merely dissecting and cataloging an object or animal does not reveal its genesis or life-force, this is where fact meets faith. God’s fingerprints are apparent on every quark-sized bit of His Creation. In the dead social emptiness left by Postmodernist movement, the world is hungry for truth. Our task as Christians is to know our Father through His Word and to communicate this Truth to the world in an intelligent method.

Archaeology has uncovered a body of documents since 1935 known as the Lachish Letters. These documents consist mostly of ostraca, or shards of pottery, inscribed in ink. They are record of the time period before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Interestingly, an imprint of the seal of Gedaliah, a property owner, was discovered in Lachish. This melds seamlessly with the Scripture, that records the name of Gedaliah in II Kings 25:22, "And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler"(McDowell, TNE, 114).

There is much material evidence that speaks of the truth of The Bible's inerrancy, but the genuine test of its veracity is the undeniable effect of it on men's life.

McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Nashville:Thomas
Nelson Publishers,1999.