From the time man first understood what the Bible claim to be and from whom it claimed to have originated, it has since been regarded as earth´s most prized and precious possession. Merely the fact that it is a revelation given by God, in and of itself, makes it valued beyond all other valuables. But, is it the Revelation that claims to be? One thing is certain – it is or it is not. The law of the excluded middle is invoked and rejects the possibility of there being any middle ground. No gray-ness here. Nothing but black or white.
This old book, commonly referred to by the believing as the very word of God, must be precisely what it claims to be, or it is not. Either answer poses enormous implications. If the Bible is true and is the director revelation from the creator God to man as it claims, it is understandable that embracing it and its message affords enlightenment not available from any other source. The Bible alone reveals to the reader how this world began, what happened to make it as it is, and what will yet transpire toward its ultimate culmination. One need not read between the lines to understand this. Merely read the lines, and the origin, course, and destiny of humanity become very clear. The most supreme of all its revelations concerns what the creator God did, through the very incarnation of deity, to reconcile a fallen and rebellious planet to Himself. And this all through the humanly unthinkable plan of redemption, wrought by the substitutionary death of that deity, Jesus Christ, God’s son. Conversely, if the Bible is not what it claims to be, if it consists merely of ancient religious writings, fables and the sort, it is limited to being little more than an interesting but unauthoritative collection of outdated morals, once thought to be important but no longer are.
In reality, therefore, the stakes are so high with either position, one should not rest until a personally, satisfying answer is reached. Intellectual honesty, as well as one’s personal well-being for time and eternity, require it. This crucial subject, the origin and authority of the Bible, by its very nature, deserves, even demands, an honest and thorough examination of its claims. The Bible must be what it claims to be, or it is not what it claims to be. Either answer poses enormous implications. Either it deserves our faithful obedience to its claims, or it may be safely ignored. Middle ground simply does not exist.
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