An Ancient Book, History and the Modern Age

It seems that more and more now I'm reading or hearing in the media a response to Christians or people of faith with a biblical worldview, when they speak out on moral and scientific issues, that "this is the 21st century" and that "their views and the Bible are not relevant". Of course this response is not exactly new, as many of us have heard this type of reasoning in school and from some friends and acquaintances for many years now.

It's obvious though, that we are in an anti-authoritarian age and that the greatest authority that must be defeated by the secular society today is the authority of the Bible as the Word of God. It seems to me that during this postmodern era that we are into, that there is an increasing onslaught of challenges to biblical authority, right from the new atheists like Christopher Hitchens, to liberal theologians like Bart Ehrman, to secular academia, right on down to the average Joe who writes letters in the local newspapers.

It's so important for the church to take a strong stand for biblical authority through preaching, teaching and education. There are some excellent books out there on this and one I came across recently is Ancient Word, Changing Worlds, The Doctrine of Scripture in the Modern Age by authors Stephen J. Nichols and Eric T. Brandt. It has been helping students and laypersons to get a grasp of what really is at stake in the challenges to biblical authority. Also, James MacDonald had an excellent series of messages on his Walk in the Word radio program late last year called, I Choose the Bible as God's Word. Some other great resources are available from Dr. Daniel B. Wallace of Dallas Theological Seminary. He is an expert on textual criticism and has founded the Centre for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts.

The human condition and heart has not changed since the fall of man and indeed has not from when Moses gave the tablets of the Ten Commandments to ancient Israel from Mount Sinai, many think as early as1443 B.C. (Exodus 20 & 31). All through history, men of God have spoken words that are just as relevant for today as they were in their times and eras. (II Timothy 3:16 & II Peter 1:21) Some of the prophets and apostles were chosen by God to record it as the inspired Scriptures (The Canon) and many others spoke out profound words from Scripture that are still relevant and that we have from historical writings, especially from early Christianity and church history. All around us in the secular culture today, students are being bombarded with revisionist history which is causing misinformation and harm. In contrast to that, earlier this week Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds posted a great article from professor James Spiegel of Taylor University, entitled "Ten Lessons from Great Christian Minds".

From philosophy professor James Spiegel:

1. Augustine (5th century): Remember that you are a citizen of another kingdom.
   
2. Martin Luther (16th century): Expect politicians to be corrupt.
3. Thomas Aquinas (13th century): God has made himself known in nature.
4. John Calvin (16th century): God is sovereign over all, including our suffering.
5. Jonathan Edwards (18th century): God is beautiful, and all beauty is divine.
6. Thomas a’Kempis (15th century): Practice self-denial with a passion.
7. John Wesley (18th century): Be disciplined and make the best use of your time.
   
8. Fyodor Dostoevsky (19th century): God’s grace can reach anyone.
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (20th century): Beware of cheap grace.
10. Alvin Plantinga (21st century): Moral virtue is crucial for intellectual health.

Read THE WHOLE POST for his explanation of each point