Dr Paul Allen

Miniature ofrom Folio 8r of the Syriac Bible of Paris shows Moses before Pharaoh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Logically, if God’s spoken word has authority, and if the Bible contains God’s written word, then the Bible must carry the same authority as God’s spoken word. King Josiah realized this, which is why he had such an intense reaction when he heard what was written in the “ Book of the Law ” ( 2 Kings 22:8 ). Although the Bible has been passed down for generations, scholars have concluded that the accuracy of its text has been remarkably preserved through the centuries by scribes who believed passionately in the importance of their work. The level of accuracy they maintained gives us confidence that the same meaning intended by the original authors, such as Moses , is what God’s Word still communicates today. The Bible is intended to bring us to faith in God and help us to live our lives to the fullest (see Matthew 4:4 ; John 20:31 ; 1 Peter 2:2). Although its words may in ...

RC Sproul on confusing grace and justice. My favorite illustration of how callous we have become with respect to the mercy, love, and grace of God comes from the second year of my teaching career, when I was given the assignment of teaching two hundred and fifty college freshman an introductory course on the Old Testament . On the first day of the class, I gave the students a syllabus and I said: "You have to write three short term papers , five pages each. The first one is due September 30 when you come to class, the second one October 30, and the third one November 30. Make sure that you have them done by the due date, because if you don't, unless you are physically confined to the infirmary or in the hospital, or unless there is a death in the immediate family, you will get an F on that assignment. Does everybody understand that?" They all said, "Yes." On September 30, two hundred and twenty-five of my students came in with their term papers. There were t...