The charge has often been made that the Bible was written by mere men, not God, as Christians have long insisted. And clarification is surely in order here. It is true that men did write the Bible. What is not true is the charge that men authored the Bible, and the difference is enormous. The Scriptures themselves make it quite clear throughout both Old and New Testaments that the Author of the Old Book is none other than God Himself. The human instruments, which numbered about 40, were the vehicles, or penmen, God used in the physical composition of its several separate books. While God could have personally penned the whole Book, He graciously employed people, which provided a human dimension to the Bible that it would not have had had God produced it alone. Most of these human writers never knew the other contributors. While some were contemporaries, there were nearly 15 centuries that separated the first writers from the last writers. And, geographically, they composed what God inspired them to write on three different continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. And, in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages. Their personal backgrounds were extremely diverse. Included were generals, politicians, and prime ministers, fishermen, kings, a physician, a tax collector, a rabbi, a servant, a shepherd, a carpenter, a fruit picker, cattleman, a builder, priest, and a tent maker.
And, during the 1500 years these 40plus penmen were writing, some were in the desert, some were in a palace, and some were in prison. Hitherto, should you encounter someone trying to depreciate the Bible by claiming it was merely written by men, by all means, provide the clarification explaining how men did write it, but God authored the Bible. The process by which the Author engaged man the writer is called “divine inspiration.” It literally means “God inspired, or breathed, into man the capability to accurately write what God wanted written, while omitting what God did not want written. While doing so, God utilized the several literary stylistic differences, the personal vocabulary and life-experiences of the writers. The result is our Bible, composed and penned by men but authored and orchestrated by God Himself, constituting a Book of the divine and also human dimensions. Written by men? Yes, and we are glad it was. We identify with its humanness. Authored by God? Yes, and we are glad it was. We submit to its authority.
For Christianity Clarified, this is Marv Wiseman in Springfield, Ohio.
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