Dr Paul Allen

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). One of the fundamental propositions of the Bible is assumed from the start: God exists. Not only does He exist, but He is also the Author and Creator of all life, and therefore, all things in existence owe their existence to Him. In a concise sentence—a mere eight words in Hebrew—the foundations of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures answer several of life’s biggest questions and introduce several other important questions. It is little wonder that the book of Genesis is subject to some of the fiercest critiques from avowed sceptics of every sort. If you can demonstrate the first sentence as false, every other line in the context of Scripture proves false. The rest of the Bible can be summarily dismissed if God does not exist. Likewise, if God did not create all that exists, He bears no intrinsic authority to impose Himself as the Ruler above all creation. Mankind need not be subservient to God if He is not Creator simpl...

  "But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property." Ex 22:8 The phrase “appear before the judges” in Ex 22:8 can also be translated as “appear before God.” The word translated as “judges/God” is Elohim, a common designation for God. While “judges” might be a possible translation in Ex 22:8, the most natural reading is to understand it as referring to God.  When the text indicates that the receiver of the goods (the “owner of the house” [22:8]) is to appear before God, it has in view a particular method for resolving the dispute at hand, namely, what scholars call suprarational procedures.  These are procedures that go beyond the pale of rational evidence, such as testimony, physical evidence or documentary evidence, by appealing directly to divinity to settle the matter.  Three basic categories of suprarational methods are used f...