One of the reasons why some people doubt the reliability and authority of the Bible as a source of the truth is the fact that many religions today, despite their claim that the Bible is the foundation of their faith, differ in their teachings, practices and beliefs. That is, they do not seem to have a common faith and they do not share a common set of teachings and doctrines.
To be frank, not all religions claiming that the Bible is the foundation of their faith are telling the truth. Most of them do not use the Bible as the basis of their faith instead they cleave and adhere more to dogmas which are never taught by the Bible, just like what the Catholic Church does.
The Catholic Church had invented so many dogmas which are without any biblical basis, and yet they are accepted and followed without question by Catholics. For example, they believe that Mary was sinless and immaculate, although the Bible never mentioned that Mary did not commit any sin at all. They also believe that when she died, even her physical body was brought to heaven. However, that is not biblical; it is even against the Bible.
Translation:
Catholic Life page 63
Nihil Obstat: Artemio G. Casas
Imprimatur: Rufino J. Santos
God wanted (or desired) that the mother of His Son have (or attain) perfect holiness. So as soon as Mary was conceived, God set her apart not to have inherited or original sin. This is what we call Immaculate Conception that was approved and declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854 as one of the dogmas of the Catholic faith.
Translation:
Catholic Life page 63
Nihil Obstat: Artemio G. Casas, Pbro.; Imprimatur: Rufino J. Santos, D.D.
Written by Gerard Linssen C.I.C.M., S.T.D.
When St. Mary died, she was brought up into heaven, soul and body. God did not allow the most holy body of Mary (whom He used for the human form of Jesus) to rot. The most awaited glory of the saints in the resurrection was given to the holy Mother of God at the very instance of her death. After she partook in her Son's suffering and death, she was given a special blessing to be immediately with Him in His resurrection and glory.
Disharmony due to doctrinal differences among many religions today is a manifestation of their lack of understanding of what the Bible says. If they were really of God, and if their respective faiths were all founded on the Bible, as they claim, such disagreements and differences would not exist. That only proves that the Bible is not really the foundation of their faith, but something else.
ACTS 4:11 (KJV) says,
This is the stone which was set at nought of the builders, which is become the head of the corner.
The foundation of the Christian faith is Christ. Christ is the chief cornerstone of the Christian faith. Christians must not have any other foundation but Christ. Many religions today have doctrinal issues because Christ is not the foundation of their faith, and neither do they regard the Bible as an authority of the truth. Instead, their faith is founded more on the beliefs and speculations of men, and on dogmas invented by men.
Indeed, the Bible is a credible and reliable source of the truth. Archeology, history, science, and many other fields of study, have proven that the Bible is an authority of the truth, be it spiritual, scientific, or historical. Let me cite an example to prove my point.
In the past, people used to believe that the earth is flat. Actually, until now, there are still some who believe that the earth is flat and not round. These people call themselves “flat earthers.” To prove to them that the earth is round, an experiment was conducted. They let a boat with a multi-colored banner sail toward the horizon. As it sailed farther, they saw how the boat gradually disappeared, until it finally vanished from their sight, proving that the earth is not flat. Because if the earth were flat, even if the boat had sailed very far, there would still be a faint and minute trace of it. But why did it disappear? It is because the earth has a curvature. If you will watch the live feed of the International Space Station, you will see the curvature of the earth.
Although the International Space Station is unable to capture the full image of the earth because of the instrument’s proximity to the planet, Apollo 11, which was launched by the USA to the moon in the late 60s, was able to take the first full- view photo of the earth. And that photo proved that the earth is round.
But even before the USA did it, Russia had already taken a photo of the earth as seen from a Russian Molniya satellite in 1966. The photograph likewise showed that the earth is spherical.
I would say that such a discovery was quite late already because more than 2,700 years ago, the Book of Isaiah had already hinted that the earth is round. The book of Isaiah was written in 723 B.C., and now it’s already 2,000 years after Christ. Adding 723 to 2019 would give us the number of years since the Book of Isaiah was written; it has been more than 2,700 years ago.
What did Isaiah write about the earth more than 2,700 years ago?
ISAIAH 40:22 (KJV) says,
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth . . .
If the earth has a circle then it is not flat. It is just like the moon and the other heavenly bodies, except for meteors and meteorites. You will notice that almost all heavenly bodies are round. Implying that during their formation, there was an equal pressure all around. Try observing the bubbles that children play with. All bubbles are round because of the equal pressure around them. The universe is like that. There is an equal pressure in almost all heavenly bodies that is why most of them are round. The truth that the earth is round had been recorded in the Bible long before science discovered it, proving that the Bible is an authority of the truth.
When it comes to history, the Bible is even more reliable and more complete than any other history book. Why did I say so? In the history of the Assyrian Empire, it did not mention that Assyria once had a king by the name of Sargon. It was not recorded in their official documents but it was recorded in the Bible, specifically in ISAIAH 20:1 (KJV) which says,
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
The Bible mentions of an Assyrian king, Sargon. The Assyrians never knew him because his name was never mentioned in their history books. This is one reason why some Assyrian historians tried to discredit the Bible; they accused the Bible of speaking falsehood for mentioning a certain King Sargon whom they knew not.
Actually, the absence of the name of King Sargon in the history of Assyria is not enough reason to question the credibility of the Bible, because even Moses, a prominent biblical figure, was neither mentioned in the history of Egypt. And it is apparent that the Egyptian historians deliberately did not mention Moses and the Israelites in the history of Egypt, despite the fact that they enslaved the latter for more than 400 years, because doing so would put Egypt and the Egyptians in a very disgraceful and embarrassing situation. Remember that the Egyptians were defeated by the Israelites because God was on the side of the Israelites. The entire kingdom of Egypt was devastated by the curses of God. So, to spare themselves from shame and ridicule, they opted to discard the name of Moses in their historical records.
We can say that the historical documents of both Assyria and Egypt are incomplete and inaccurate because they scrapped out from their accounts the names of King Sargon and Moses, respectively. But the Bible, as a book of history, is complete and accurate.
In fact, physical evidence that proves that there was indeed an Assyrian king by the name of Sargon had been found. In 1842, a limestone relief, wherein the name and image of King Sargon were inscribed, had been discovered by French archeologist Paul-Émile Botta. The discovery of this artifact further proves that the Bible really speaks of the truth.
Another scientific truth that the Bible had spoken about 2,800 years ago concerns with what science calls “black holes.” A black hole is a spot in space where a giant star had exploded. Before science learned about it, the Bible had already foretold that there are things in heaven, like the stars, that shall wax old and perish. Even the processes of the universe like the explosion of stars (red giant) from which new stars would be formed, and the collision of galaxies from which new galaxies would also be formed, were already written in the Bible long before they were discovered by science. (Psalms 102:26)
What I have cited are but a few of the so many proofs of the Bible’s truthfulness and reliability. Without a doubt, the Bible is the foundation and source of all truths, be they physical, scientific, or spiritual.
Visit our official website:
https://www.controversyextraordinary.com