Is the Bible True? (part I)

I have been thinking over the past few weeks about this particular question, not because I doubt whether the Bible is true, but rather because I know there are so many people (even Christians) who do. It got me to thinking (which can be dangerous) about whether this is even the right question to ask. Let me 'splain ...

When we ask if the Bible is true, or how we can know if the Bible is true, we are asking the wrong question in my opinion. Asking if the Bible is true, in that manner, implies that we can determine the answer without making reference to the Bible. In fact, it implies that we cannot make such a reference (i.e. assume the truth of it), or else we will be guilty of circular reasoning. We would be assuming the very thing we are attempting to ascertain the truth of. Such an approach would be entirely irrational.

But it is at this point we must consider the claims that the Bible makes, specifically the claims about God and knowledge. Consider Proverbs 1:7a.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."

What does this verse say about the nature of God? It says that in order to have knowledge we must first have a fear of God. It says the first step in the process of knowledge is to fear God. Now, we don't have to believe that this is true. In fact, I suspect most people would think it was silly that we would first have to fear God in order to know things. But that is what the Bible says, and remember, if we want to find out if the Bible is true, we must consider all that it says.

And so here we find the problem facing us is maybe larger than we first expected.

Do we have the ability to determine whether the Bible is true without referring to it? Can we come to a meaningful conclusion as to the truth of the assertion "the Bible is true" without assuming at least part of it is true from the outset? No. At least not according to Proverbs 1:7.

If we plan on determining whether the Bible is true, we have to evaluate the claims that it makes. In fact, due to the nature of the claim made in Proverbs 1:7, we cannot simply ask the question "is the Bible true" without considering, at least for the sake of argument, that the Bible is true. But once again, if we assume that Bible is true, then we cannot use that assumption as part of the process of deciding if the Bible is true - or can we?

This is why I say that asking "is the Bible true" is the wrong question to ask. It is the wrong question to ask specifically because of the claims that the Bible makes. Proverbs 1:7 says we must first fear God before we can know anything, meaning we cannot even know if the Bible is true unless we assume God exists, and unless we fear Him. But if we must first fear God, then we must first understand who he is. Why is that?

Consider this - if you came to me and said "fear the Great and Mighty Humbunny" you would probably expect my next question to be "who or what is the Great Humbunny?" That would be a reasonable question, after all, as it would be utterly impossible for me to fear someone or something I know absolutely nothing about, especially when we consider what the word "fear" means.

I do not believe that the word "fear" in Proverbs 1:7 means "to be afraid of." The Bible as a whole speaks about the relationship between God and knowledge from a different perspective than that of trembling in one's shoes. Fear, in this sense, is reverence, which is a realization of the person of God and the role he plays in our process of "knowing" things.

1 Peter 3:15 tells us to be always ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. But the very first part of 1 Peter 3:15, along with the last part, instructs us as to how we are to accomplish this.

"But sanctify the LORD in your heart" - that is the first part of the verse. What does that mean? It means we are to set Christ apart in our heart - we are to give him primacy in our heart as the means by which we will be able to give that answer for the hope that is within.

The "heart" in this case is not that physical organ that pumps blood - such an interpretation is not reasonable. I believe that the heart in this verse speaks of our intellect - the "thinking" part of our being. I believe we are to give our LORD the primacy he alone deserves in our reasoning. In fact, Pauls tells us that very same thing in Colossians 2. Verses 2-4 say basically the same thing as Proverbs 1:7.

"that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of undersanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no man may delude you with plausible arguments."

Where do the riches of both wisdom and knowledge reside? In Jesus. Consider Colossians 2:8.

"See to it that noone takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."

Paul warns us to be sure our way of viewing the world - our philosophy - is one that is Christ-centered, and not world-centered.

What do all these passages - Proverbs 1:7, Colossians 2:4 and 8, and 1 Timothy 3:15 have in common? I believe they clearly instruct us that God as our father and as our saviour play a crucial role in our ability to know things; to think properly; to reason correctly.

Now some of you may have noticed that I am using the Bible a lot here - there is a reason for that. If we are to determine whether the Bible is true, we must consider what it says, and what the Bible says about knowing and thinking and reasoning is that we must fear God; that is, we must give him the ultimate place in our intellect if we are to be able to know anything, including whether the Bible is true. And so this leads us back to the problem of asking the question "is the Bible true" in the first place. If we must set God in an ultimate place in our reasoning in order to know things; if we are to sanctify him and fear him and revere him, then we must know who he is. We certainly can't honor and revere a being we know nothing about.

But in order to know who God is, we have to look into the Bible (at least according to the Bible). We must assume that what the Bible tells us about God is true in order to know who God is, so that we can set him apart and revere him, in order that we can know anything at all, which includes knowing whether the Bible is true!

Do you see the great big circle we must traverse? Let me make it simpler.

According to the Bible, we must assume the Bible is true in order to know if the Bible is true.

Therein lies the problem - it is specifically why we cannot ask the question "is the Bible true" and come to an answer without assuming the very thing we are questioning. And so we see that we cannot hope to answer the question "is the Bible true" without being circular in our reasoning.

Does this therefore mean that there is no way for us to know if the Bible is true? No - it simply means we must ask the question differently. And that will be the subject of my next post on this topic just as soon as I get around to posting it!

-- BK