The Reasons Why Christians Need No Proof.
By Dr. James. A McBean D.Th., MCC
Copyright © 2008 Library of Congress
Washington.D.C.20559
E ven if there was no Bible, even if there were no proof, and even if there were so-call contradictions found in the Bible, we Christians would still continue to believe in Jesus. We read about the Christians of the catacombs of Rome, how they died for their faith. People do not give up their lives willingly for something they know to be a fake. Before I was converted to Christianity. I believe in Jesus, base on what I read and what I have heard about him. After my conversion, Jesus was not just a read about a newspaper article guy. I know him just like how I know my wife. Every born again Christian has the same experience. We have seen the change that took place in our own lives. Changes that even shocked us. We Christians need no external proof, and many of us do not even need Biblical proof.
Job 11:7 Can you by searching find out God? Can you perfectly find out the Almighty? Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst you do? deeper than hell; what canst you know?
We Christians Need No External Proof.
1 John 5:10 (KJV) He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Rom 8:17 And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together.
So Call Biblical Contradictions.
For example, Gen 15:13 Said that the People of Israel would be in Egypt for four hundred years. But, then: Other scriptures said they spent four hundred and thirty years. Why the contradictions? No contradictions, and I will tell you why. When the president of the United States said that the slaves were free. Form the president sign that paper every slaves in the United States were free, but on paper. Some never know that they were free. And, still: the slaves masters came up with a clever trick that the slaves need to serve seven more years apprenticeship, to prepared them for their freedom.
From the time that God spoken to Moses by the burning bush, and when Moses stand before Pharaoh and said. Thus said God. “Let Israel go” It took some thirty years more for the elders of Israel to accept the deliverance, and for Pharaoh to be broken. The additional thirty years were man’s failure. In God’s book, the people were free at 400 years. Years ago I gave away my favorite jacket and pants to an old preacher. He brought back the jacket and pants to me, and I have to assured him again that I have a garment factory, and one jacket and pants mean nothing to me. I gave him the clothing because I love him. He was given the clothing weeks ago, but did not believe it. We need no proof and no constant reassurance to the existence of God, or to the validity of the Bible.
Genesis 15:13 (KJV)And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; Acts 7:6 (KJV) And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Exodus 12:40-41 (KJV) Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. Exodus 12:41 (KJV) And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
Elders Of Israel Was Not Ready For The Deliverance.
Here we see the elders of Israel meeting with Moses, (probably) the first time. They meet with him when the fire got hot under them tail, and they saw that they have no other choice but to get out of Egypt.
Exodus 5:16-20 (KJV) There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. [17] But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. [18] Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. [19] And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. [20] And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
There is Proof?
People have examined ancient documents, traveled to Bible lands, and done all they could to disprove the Bible and show it is full of mistakes. Work is going on all the time. It is exciting to hear that many of the new discoveries back up the Bible record, and confirm that the Bible is accurate in its details of history. All the time, our knowledge is growing of what really did happen long ago. And more and more, the Bible record is being shown to be true!
“Modern archaeology has provided solid extra biblical corroboration of historical fact otherwise known to us only from scripture. It has proved beyond all reasonable doubt the accuracy of the Bible as a historical document. Even still, it should come as no surprise that some scholars remain determined to discredit the Bible as a divinely inspired historical record, stubbornly overlooking the overwhelming array of proof and documentation. Carnal man is disinclined to accept and submit to God's Word. These critics will blithely gloss over mounds of facts and plain evidence rather than accept the Bible for what it is. Some few have even chosen to pervert and twist the clear testimony of archaeology to suit their own purposes-deliberately misinterpreting and misrepresenting those facts rather than concede the authenticity of scripture! Nevertheless, the past 150 years have witnessed remarkable archaeological confirmation of the Old Testament”
The "mythical" Hittites
“Bible critics had long scoffed at references in the biblical record to a people called the Hittites (Gen. 15:20, Ex. 3:8,17, Num. 13:29, Josh. 1:4, Judge. 1:26 and elsewhere). Their evaluation was that the Hittites were simply "one of the many mythical peoples" fabricated by Bible writers--or, at best a small and unimportant tribe. However, critics were wrong! In the latter half of the 19th century, Hittite monuments were discovered at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in Syria, amply vindicating the Bible narrative. Later, in 1906, excavations at Boghazkoy (ancient Hattusas, capital of the Hittite empire) in Turkey uncovered thousands of Hittite documents, revealing a wealth of information about Hittite history and culture. The Hittites, it is now known, were a very real bad formidable power. They were once one of the dominant peoples of Asia Minor and the Near East, at times exercising control over Syria and parts of Palestine. The Bible had been correct after all! Today, books abound on the history, art, culture, and society of the Hittites--a strong witness by competent scholars against those critics who had once been so quick to challenge the Word of God!”
“Some critics had also disputed the historicity of the Babylonian captivity. The Bible recounts, in detail, the carrying away into slavery of the nation of Judah by the armies of Babylon early in the 6th century B.C. (II Kings 24-25). "Another Jewish myth" was their scholarly consensus. In 1935 to 1938, however, an important discovery was made at a site thought to be ancient Lachish, 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Lachish was one of the cities recorded in the Bible as having being besieged by the king of Babylon at the same time as the siege of Jerusalem (Jer. 34:7)”
Finish Dake's Notes.
The questions of Job 11:7 are sometimes used as proof that God is so great that the most learned cannot comprehend Him; but this is an improper use of the questions. One cannot find the person of God in the telescope, in the laboratory, or in other ways that some seek for Him. One would not try to know a man by such methods, so why try to find God that way? To know a man one must be introduced to him, becoming acquainted with his traits and ways by living with him under all circumstances of life. So it is with God: one must become aquainted with Him, fellowship with Him, daily experience Him, and read and accept His own revelation of Himself in the thousands of plain statements of Scripture. It may be true that some of the learned cannot comprehend Him, but it is a fact that the most simple-hearted believer can.
If one has been taught to question the literalness of biblical statements about God, and if he won't accept what God says about Himself, then a knowledge of Him is impossible. But if one will believe the Bible when it speaks of His person, His body, His soul and His spirit faculties, in the same way he would believe such a description of an ordinary man, then knowledge of God is the result.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the ascription of human physical parts, attributes, and passions to God, and taking the substantiating statements of Scripture to be literal and not figurative. In support of such teaching an appropriate question is: If God did not mean all He said about Himself in over 20,000 scriptures, then why did He say such things? They certainly do not add to a true understanding of Him if the passages do not mean what they say. Furthermore, why would God, in hundreds of places, refer to Himself as having physical parts, soul passions, and spirit faculties if He does not have them? Would it be necessary for Him to tell us He has such in order to reveal that He does not have them? Would He not be more likely to say in plain language that He does not have eyes, hands, mouth, ears, and other physical members?
It is logical not to question the plain, simple statements of Scripture about God and His body; it is logical to understand them in the same literal way that we understand like statements about angels, men, and other beings. We have no Biblical authority to do otherwise. Romans 1:20 alone proves this.
The truth is that God has revealed Himself to be seen by the natural eyes of men repeatedly, and Biblical writers have given a clear record concerning what He is like. The many personal descriptions of God's body and thousands of plain declarations regarding His soul passions and spirit attributes should not be denied or interpreted contrary to what is written; they should be believed in all simplicity. The constant rejection of revealed facts about God certainly will not give us a true understanding of Him. To acknowledge them as truth will not make God any less glorious, powerful, or great than He really is. God can be like man in physical form and still be as magnificent as we have always thought Him to be. He can have a spirit-substance body and still be like man in size and shape; and He can have passions, feelings, desires, intelligence and will-power without being confined to man's limitation and sinfulness. Truly He is not only all that men, angels, and other beings are in this respect, but infinitely greater in everything; and man in reality is simply a miniature of God in attributes and powers.
He has appeared to many as a person—to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:7,19-22); Cain (Genesis 4:6,9,16); Abraham (Genesis 17:1-22; Genesis 18:1,22; Genesis 19:1); Isaac (Genesis 26:2-4,24); Jacob (Genesis 28:12-15; Genesis 32:24-32; Genesis 35:1); Moses (Exodus 3:1-4; Exodus 24:12-18; Exodus 33:9-11); Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15); Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10,21); Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-18); David (1 Chron. 21:16-17; 2 Chron. 3:1); Isaiah (Isaiah 6); and others. See Forty-four Appearances of God.
Sixty-three Facts about God:
1. He is a person (Job 13:8; Hebrews 1:3). 2. He has a spirit body (Daniel 7:9-14; Daniel 10:5-19; Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1; Rev. 4). 3. Shape (John 5:37) 4. Form (Phil. 2:5-7) 5. Image and likeness (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9) 6. Back parts (Exodus 33:23) 7. Heart (Genesis 6:6; Genesis 8:21) 8. Hands (Psalm 102:25-26; Hebrews 1:10) 9. Fingers (Psalm 8:3-6; Exodus 31:18) 10. Right hand (Rev. 5:1-7) 11. Mouth (Numbers 12:8; Isaiah 1:20) 12. Lips (Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 30:27) 13. Tongue (Isaiah 30:27) 14. Feet (Exodus 24:10; Ezekiel 1:27) 15. Eyes (Psalm 11:4; Psalm 18:24; Psalm 33:18) 16. Ears (Psalm 18:6; Psalm 34:15) 17. Head (Daniel 7:9) 18. Hair (Daniel 7:9) 19. Arms (Psalm 44:3; John 12:38) 20. Loins (Ezekiel 1:26-28; Ezekiel 8:1-4) 21. Voice (Psalm 29; Rev. 10:3-4) 22. Breath (Genesis 2:7) 23. Countenance (Psalm 11:7) 24. Soul (Matthew 12:18; Hebrews 10:38) 25. Soul passions, as grief (Genesis 6:6) 26. Anger (1 Kings 11:9) 27. Repentance (Genesis 6:6) 28. Jealousy (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14) 29. Hate (Proverbs 6:16) 30. Love (John 3:16) 31. Pity (Psalm 103:13) 32. Fellowship (1 John 1:1-7) 33. Pleasure and delight (Psalm 147:10) 34. Joy (Neh. 8:10; Galatians 5:22) 35. Peace (Galatians 5:22) 36. Longsuffering (Galatians 5:22) 37. Gentleness (Galatians 5:22) 38. Goodness (Galatians 5:22) 39. Faith (Galatians 5:22) 40. Meekness (Galatians 5:23) 41. Self-control (Galatians 5:23) 42. Spirit (Psalm 143:10; Isaiah 30:1) 43. Spirit faculties, as mind (Romans 11:34) 44. Intelligence (Genesis 1:26; Romans 11:33) 45. Will (Romans 8:27; Romans 9:19) 46. Power (Ephes. 1:19; Ephes. 3:7,20; Hebrews 1:3) 47. Truth (Psalm 91:4) 48. Faith (Romans 4:17; Romans 12:3) 49. Hope (1 Cor. 13:13) 50. Righteousness (Psalm 45:4) 51. Faithfulness (1 Cor. 10:13) 52. Knowledge (Isaiah 11:2) 53. Wisdom (1 Tim. 1:17) 54. Discernment (Hebrews 4:12) 55. Immutability (Hebrews 6:17) 56. He wears clothes (Daniel 7:9-14) 57. Eats food (Genesis 18:1-8; Exodus 24:11) 58. Rests (Genesis 2:1-4; Hebrews 4:4) 59. Dwells in a city (John 14:1-3) 60. Sits on a throne (Isaiah 6; Daniel 7:9-11) 61. Walks (Genesis 3:8; Genesis 18:1-8,22,33) 62. Rides (Psalm 18:10; Psalm 68:17; Ezekiel 1) 63. Manifests other powers and physical presence like other beings
Is it not as easy to believe what the Bible says about God as to believe what it does not say? If God had said one time that He did not have physical parts, soul passions, and spirit faculties as we know them, then the subject would be closed. But when He repeatedly uses physical parts and ordinary soul and spirit faculties to reveal Himself, then we should believe what He says about Himself. If we refuse to do so, we are guilty of unbelief.
The Bearer’s Of The “Mind Sword”
