Category Archives: Bible

Is the Bible Also the Word of God?

by Peter Ditzel

If the Bible does not have the authority of the Word of God, how can we believe any of it, including what it reveals about the personal Word of God?
Image by James Chan from Pixabay

There is currently a growing cancer among professing Christians that is founded upon one simple creed: Jesus Christ is the only Word of God. The Bible, according to the proponents of this creed, is merely a book written by men, and it is not the Word of God.

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The Truth Is Not Relative

by Peter Ditzel

Two men see a figure on the ground. One says it is a nine, the other says it is a six. Text reads, "Just because you are right, does not mean, I am wrong. You just haven't seen life from my side." Is the truth relative?
It is one thing to have differing views about nonessential, subjective opinions (e.g. the best pizza toppings). But is biblical truth relative?

The picture above seems clever. Because the two men are looking at the figure on the ground from different perspectives, each of them has a different understanding of the “truth” of the figure. It appears to make truth relative and, therefore, not something anyone can assert dogmatically. This opinion of truth might, as the caption suggests, make for peace. But is it the definition of truth that God wants Christians to have?

Is the Old Testament Wrong?

by Peter Ditzel

A picture of a woman tearing at her Bible with the overlaid words, Should we rip the Old Testament out of our Bibles?
If the Old Testament tells us “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” and Jesus says, “But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil,” does that mean the Old Testament is wrong? If Christians are under the New Covenant and not the Old, does that mean that we should rip the Old Testament out of our Bibles?

I want to warn you against neo-Marcionism. Some preachers and writers either now promote or are just on the verge of blindly rushing into this dangerous belief. Around the middle of the second century AD, Marcion of Sinope began spreading his belief system that came to be known as Marcionism. One of his central teachings was the claim that the God of the Old Testament couldn’t be the God of the New Testament. The God of the New Testament sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior. The Old Testament God was a legalistic God of retribution. Marcion’s solution to this seeming contradiction was to reject the Old Testament from the Christian canon.

Q. Why do you say “that which is complete has come” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 refers to the canonization of Scripture?

A. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is describing love, which, in verse 8, he says “never fails.” He goes on to say that the spiritual gifts of prophecies, tongues (the miraculous speaking in other languages), and knowledge will cease or end. Then, in verses 9-10, he says, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect thing comes, then that which is in part will be caused to cease” (Literal Version of the Holy Bible used throughout). I have mentioned in several articles that I believe that Paul is referring to God’s complete revelation to us in the form of the Bible. For me to simply say this does not, of course, prove it. So I would like to now explain my line of reasoning.

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