Debunking Biblical Error Charges.

INERRANT SCRIPTURE, ERRATIC CRITICS – (1)

- DEBUNKING THE ACCUSATION OF BIBLICAL ERRORS AND CONSEQUENT CONCLUSIONS

BY: AUGUSTINE ANYIMADU-AHENKAE

“These were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and

believing, you may have salvation” – St. John 20:31

NOT SURPRISED

Accusations of Biblical errors and inconsistencies are not new, nor are they privy

of unbelievers. Many are those Bible students who, on first encounter with supposed

inconsistencies, become a little embarrassed or wish things were different. However,

as they study more into what the Bible really is and stands for, they gain

understanding into it, and do not see them any more as the inconsistency or

embarrassing error an outsider may see. But that takes a little study into the

Bible’s nature and background, humility before God, and a simple faith, which the

Bible seeks to adduce in the first place. Not so for the outsider or unbeliever, and

definitely not the least so for an erratic atheistic critic waiting to pounce on the

least “proof that God does not exist”, or that “God is not omnipotent” blah blah

blah like Kwaku Ba and others before him, seeking to sow seeds of doubt in people’s

minds with the intention of weakening their faith and

drawing them away from God. Jesus was right – “the thief cometh not but to kill,

steal and destroy” the treasures of faith, life and hope the believer has, because

he himself has lost his. I know much water has passed under the bridge in recent

weeks, lots of accusations have gone on, which we will not let remain unanswered,

but alas, if only the playing field could be level! If only the responses would be

given at least the same kind of front page exposure as the attacks were given!

If I

speak in parables, forgive me, because “SE ABOA KOKOSAKYI KASA KYERE BONIKYEREFO A

OTE NO WO ABEBUO MU”.

ERRATIC CRITICS, INERRANT SCRIPTURE

Critics who claim the Bible cannot be God’s word because it is supposedly full of

errors show their gross ignorance of what the Bible really is, what it stands for,

and how it should be correctly interpreted. Such misunderstandings arise due to one

or more of the following:

- Ignorance of what genres the individual Biblical Books are written in, and

therefore the correct way to interpret them and get the intended message from them

- Wrong and false notion of the fact of Inspiration and Inerrancy, mistaking

the Bible to have been sent down in printed form from heaven or by God, without the

human messengers playing any role in the transmission of the message, which makes

the writer and first audience’s context irrelevant

- Wrong and faulty, over literalistic interpretation of many passages, not

excluding the ones they claim are errors

- Their own desire and wishful thinking, expecting the Bible to tell them

every little detail of everything on the face of the earth, whereas that is not the

purpose it was written for

- Dishonesty and failure to admit the truth even when it is shown them that

the apparent inconsistencies are resolved within scripture itself by other passages,

or by a more correct interpretation which takes the context into account

- Ignorance of Hebrew culture, or any of the original languages in which the

books were written, coupled with their stubborn refusal to accept the authoritative

interpretation of the church whose book the Bible is.

- Approaching with a skeptic mind, unbelief, and lacking the guidance of the

Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth

RIDICULING THE MIRACULOUS?

- Some of their attacks on the Bible come because they reject and ridicule

anything miraculous. They forget that the Bible details God’s encounter with humans,

and once the divine intervenes in human affairs, laws of nature are suspended,

miracles happen on our behalf, therefore if the Bible may not contain records

miracles, what else should it record?

For instance, one of the things they criticize- which Kwaku Ba did not leave out of

his own catalogue- is the incredible story of the talking donkey of Balaam. Ignorant

critics like Kwaku Ba do not understand how God can make even a donkey talk when He

needs to, and therefore claim that is an error, blah blah blah! “Ebei, Mister!” Did

you read the story at all in Numbers 22? It wasn’t as if the donkey habitually

talked so that you could call it a talking donkey! That phrase is misleading. The

story is recorded as an extraordinary event, a miracle, a spectacle, something out

of the ordinary, which was occasioned by the angel of God who stood in Balaam’s way

to prevent him from going to do what he stubbornly planned to do.

As to whether that passage should be taken literally or metaphorically is not the

issue I’m concerned with here. The issue is that even if taken literally, it is more

than possible for God to let a donkey talk to rebuke its stubborn master! Who does

not know that many animals recognize spirits? Cats and dogs are just a few examples,

but I give you a challenge: go fast and pray for quite some time, lead a holy,

prayerful life and see if the animals will not see you when they see you. So the

donkey saw the angel, which its master did not see, and the Bible says “God opened

its mouth so that it spoke….” So it was not that the donkey was a talking donkey, it

was God who opened its mouth so that it spoke, at that time, not forever, and you

have a problem with that? St. Anthony of Padua used to call stones and fishes to

come and listen to God’s word he preached, St. Francis of Assisi communicated with

the birds and animals, and the list can go on

about saints who, living in our times, used God’s power to confound laws of nature

or science. Who said God cannot do whatever He wants to do?

INSPIRED, TRUE, AND INERRANT, BUT NOT PRINTED FROM HEAVEN

As I just said, critics who claim the Bible cannot be God’s word because it is

supposedly full of errors show their gross ignorance of what the Bible really is,

what it stands for, and how it should be correctly interpreted. They think the Bible

fell down from heaven, neatly printed, like the commandments God gave to Moses on

the mountain. Even more than that, they make a more serious mistake of thinking that

since God thus supposedly dictated it, then it should have carried all future

scholarly research findings, and every line should be impeccably precise as to every

dot or iota, as if only one person sat down to write the entire book.

They are not the only ones who make that mistake though. Some Christian

fundamentalists also make the same mistake, in that whereas these atheists and

critics expect the Bible to be a Physics or History Encyclopedia, containing the

latest scholarly research, our well meaning brethren the fundamentalists on the

other hand also want it to be the detailed comprehensive guide for every little

thing they do, including even what kind of food they eat or perhaps even how to cook

those foods! We know some people who think that even going to hospital when they are

sick is sinful because it implies one’s faith in God is not strong enough. Mama mia!

Both errors come from one source: a wrong and erratic view of the Bible.

Hear Kwaku Ba:

“What is more worrying is the fact that the document is presented as the literal

spoken word of the Living God. If that is true then we would expect the Bible to

present accurate information, and be more knowledgeable than any other field of

inquiry known in the world today.”

“ However it is becoming increasingly clear that the Bible is abundant in

scientifically wrong statements, unsupported claims, as well as the condoning of

what many consider unethical behavior.”

Misleading, to say the least. Spoken word of God it is, yes, but transmitted

through human language and culture, and passed on by copying, hence the human

element in it cannot be simply wished away. That is why there is always the need for

authentic interpretation.

Wherever that wrong idea originated from, I don’t know, but I guess it has to do

with the advent and spread of Islam, who believe God literally dictated the words of

Koran to Mohammed, and he, without any other corroborating witness, put all that

“word of God” down word for word, comma by comma, an “i” for an “i”, so that the

human element played no part in it. Consequently, many who have been influenced by

this thought have mistakenly taken the Bible to be like the Koran, resulting in a

false, overly literalistic interpretation of scripture, without any regard to its

context – no exegesis, no hermeneutics, just a false, literalistic interpretation.

Their false conclusion is that since God must have verbally dictated every word of

scripture verbatim, everything in there- including even military statistics or

chronology, as well as scientific facts- should be razor-edge precise and reflect

all future scholarship! Newsflash: You have

missed the point!

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION AND INERRANCY-FROM THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

Before I discuss further why this is not true, let me quote from the authoritative

source to analyze what they actually mean when they say the Bible is free from error

and inspired. Three papal encyclicals come to mind:

Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Providentissimus Deus (The most Provident God),

promulgated on Nov 18, 1893; Pope Benedict XV’S encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus (The

Paraclete Spirit), promulgated Sept 15, 1920; and Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Divino

Afflante Spiritu (Under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit) promulgated Sept 30,

1943.

A passage from Divino Afflante Spiritu explains Inerrancy:

“there is no error whatsoever if the sacred writer, speaking of things of the

physical order "went by what sensibly appeared" as the Angelic Doctor says,[5]

speaking either "in figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the

time, and which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even among the most

eminent men of science." For "the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately--the

words are St. Augustine's--[6] the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them, did not intend to

teach men these things--that is the essential nature of the things of the

universe--things in no way profitable to salvation"; which principle "will apply to

cognate sciences, and especially to history,"[7] that is, by refuting, "in a

somewhat similar way the fallacies of the adversaries and defending the historical

truth of Sacred Scripture from their attacks."[8] Nor is the sacred writer to be

taxed with error, if "copyists have made mistakes in the text of the

Bible," or, "if the real meaning of a passage remains ambiguous." Finally it is

absolutely wrong and forbidden "either to narrow inspiration to certain passages of

Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred," since divine

inspiration "not only is essentially incompatible with error but excludes and

rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the

supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true. This is the ancient and constant

faith of the Church."[9]

Principally, the points from this quotation are:

1- Since scripture did not intend to teach men about the essential nature of the

things universe, which are in no way profitable to salvation, there is no error

whatsoever if the sacred writer, in speaking of the things of the physical order,

went by what sensibly appeared.

My example is that if at the time of writing, the conventional wisdom was that the

earth was flat or square or oblong or whatever, and the sacred author mentioned

that, it was not, and is not an error just because today we know it is not so, since

the sacred author did not set out to teach about the nature of the universe.

2- The sacred author did not err if copyists made a mistake in copying or if the

real meaning is ambiguous.

3- All scripture is inspired- not only certain portions of it, but all of

scripture, in its entirety.

4- Divine inspiration is incompatible with error, and since the scripture is

inspired, it cannot err.

From Spiritus Paraclitus:

“The Lord's words are true; for Him to say it, means that it is."[32] Again,

"Scripture cannot lie";[33] it is wrong to say Scripture lies, nay, it is impious

even to admit the very notion of error where the Bible is concerned.[34] "The

Apostles," he says, "are one thing; other writers" - that is, profane writers - "are

another;"[35] "the former always tell the truth; the latter - as being mere men -

sometimes err,"[36] and though many things are said in the Bible which seem

incredible, yet they are true;[37] in this "word of truth" you cannot find things or

statements which are contradictory, "there is nothing discordant nor

conflicting";[38] consequently, "when Scripture seems to be in conflict with itself

both passages are true despite their diversity."[39]

Analysis:

1- Scripture cannot lie. God’s words are true. If God says it, then it is.

2- It is wrong to think the Bible errs

3- Apostles (and by extension the Biblical writers) tell the truth (about what

they’ve heard from God), whereas profane writers sometimes err

4- Even though many things are said in the Bible which sound incredible, they

are true

5- Scripture cannot contradict, discord, nor conflict with itself; where there

are apparent discords, an examination will reveal both passages to be true despite

their diversity.

Finally, from Providentissimus Deus:

"The Books of the Old and New Testament, whole and entire, with all their parts, as

enumerated in the decree of the same Council (Trent) and in the ancient Latin

Vulgate, are to be received as sacred and canonical. And the Church holds them as

sacred and canonical, not because, having been composed by human industry, they were

afterwards approved by her authority; nor only because they contain revelation

without error; but because, having been written under the inspiration of the Holy

Ghost, they have God for their author."[57] Hence, because the Holy Ghost employed

men as His instruments, we cannot therefore say that it was these inspired

instruments who, perchance, have fallen into error, and not the primary author. For,

by supernatural power, He so moved and impelled them to write—He was so present to

them—that the things which He ordered, and those only, they, first, rightly

understood, then willed faithfully to write down, and finally expressed

in apt words and with infallible truth. Otherwise, it could not be said that He was

the Author of the entire Scripture. Such has always been the persuasion of the

Fathers. "Therefore," says St. Augustine, "since they wrote the things which He

showed and uttered to them, it cannot be pretended that He is not the writer; for

His members executed what their Head dictated."[58] And St. Gregory the Great thus

pronounces: "Most superfluous it is to inquire who wrote these things—we loyally

believe the Holy Ghost to be the Author of the book. He wrote it Who dictated it

for writing; He wrote it Who inspired its execution."[59]

Points:

1- All the books of the Bible are canonical, that is, to be accepted as

scripture. The church accepts them as scripture primarily because, written under the

Holy Spirit’s inspiration, they have God as their author.

2- We cannot say the human writers have erred in the Bible without implicating

God, because He is the primary author.

3- Process of scriptural composition explained: Holy Spirit moved them to write,

and he was so present to them, that they first understood what He wanted them to

write, and then faithfully expressed these in appropriate words and with infallible

truth.

A LIBRARY OF BOOKS

The Bible is not just one book, but a library of Books. Its name itself , from the

Greek “Biblos” (singular) or “Biblia”(plural), attests to this. And Literature

students will tell you that the different genres have their own unique approaches

and methods of appreciation or interpretation so as to get the author’s intended

meaning and apply to applicable situations. Not only do we have different books by

different human writers (God being the sole author of each) in the Bible, but we

have different forms of writing and different conventions, each type and context of

which must be taken into account in interpretation. Most of the apparent

contradictions or “errors” are resolved when these facts are taken into account. For

instance, the claim as to inconsistencies in different account of the same phenomena

is resolved easily upon a critical evaluation of those said accounts as regards the

different writers’ primary concern, audiences etc,

which brings to light why one writer will give a brief description of an event

whereas another gets into detail, or why one emphasizes one aspect whereas the

other emphasizes the other aspect more. Some examples in question are some NT

accounts like the genealogies, some of Jesus’ sermons and miracles etc. For most

part, as oral traditions which were later written down, different witnesses

emphasize or deemphasize one or another detail, and that sometimes make them appear

to conflict in terms of number or precision, but a critical study of each apparent

contradiction reveals the stark reality that both or all of them unify around the

same theme, have the same message, and the minute detail wherein they differ is not

essential to the message. However, atheists look at the non essential discrepancy

and because it is easier to see it as an error than look into it, jump at it and

declare it is an error.

CRITICS STILL MISSING THE POINT

When atheists like Kwaku Ba complain about supposed “talking snakes” in the Genesis

account or talking donkeys, or that the Bible says the earth is supported by four

pillars, they are not only showing their ignorance of what kinds of genre those

Biblical literature are, they are woefully missing the point. The point is, how does

it affect one’s salvation whether Noah took 7 birds or 2 birds into the Ark? How

does it affect our salvation whether or not a literal snake talked to Eve? Are the

intended lessons of not disobeying God, not yielding to temptation, not blaming

others for our sins, punishment existing for our sins, God’s love and salvation

promised and intended by God , and the many others- are these not clear enough from

reading the narrative? Who cares whether ten thousand or twenty thousand people

built Solomon’s temple? Is that fact that he built a magnificent temple to glorify

God not enough an inspiration for us? All those

catalogue of so- called errors- which are either numerical inconsistencies many of

which scripture itself resolves anyway, or may be some ancient scientific worldview

which was the belief at that time – how does any of them change the fact that Jesus

is the Son of God, and that faith in Him leads to eternal salvation?

LITERALLY ERRATIC CRITICS: By the way, I never knew that all Christians are supposed

to practice judo or karate. Kwaku Ba’s opening statement was:

“The Hebrew bible is the most revered document of the Christian religion and also

highly regarded in the other Judo-Christian faiths”

- You mean JUDEO-CHRISTIAN or “ judo Christian”? Are we all judo fighters? I

understand the error- it may be a typo. We all do it all the time. You may find a

lot in my own writing – probably because I’m hurrying or just that my typing skills

are not there yet. It may even be that my English is still not good enough, but all

add to the point. The point I’m trying to make is, so long as you have a human

factor added to anything, mistakes may happen – mistakes not necessarily implying

falsity or error in the sense of untrue, but sometimes non essential copyist errors

like the typos of today! Just as in spite of Kwaku Ba’s mistake of spelling the

Judeo-Christian as Judo-christian (which could possibly mean a different word) I

still understood what he was trying to say, similarly, when a copyist makes an error

or when one writer says that God created the earth before the sun and another says

the reverse, the message is still clear: God

created everything. The Bible has not erred, nor has its human author, for the

message he wanted to convey is very clear.

THE BIBLE: GOD’S WORD IN HUMAN TONGUE

Apart from Jesus, nothing is more of God’s word than the Bible. The Bible is fully

God’s word. However, to put it in a rather imperfect similitude, like Jesus, the

Bible is fully God’s word and fully human – in other words, it is God’s word in

human tongue. It is inspired by God, but God used human instruments who fully

understood what God wanted them to say and then put the message in ways their

audience could understand and appreciate. That is why one needs to discern the

intended purpose of the author, the context of the original audience, the form of

writing, among others, and under the guidance of the living Holy Spirit, apply it to

current situations. The Bible has more authenticity, veracity, authority, power, and

life than any other document human beings can ever lay our hands on - past, present

and future. As God’s word, it is inerrant, or does not err. Its message does not

change nor err: God, the Omnipotent and Almighty God who

created human beings and everything else, for His own glory, has loved us so much

that even when we disobeyed Him and lost our communion with him, condescended to

take human form (cf Phil 2:6-11, John 3:16), was crucified, died and rose again for

us, and has thus restored the union between man and God. This message is

foolishness to the world, nonsense to those who seek wisdom, yet for those who

believe, it is the power of God for salvation, (cf 1 Cor 1: 18ff) which we get by

faith in His Son Jesus, and living afterwards in his grace.(cf Eph 2: 6-8, Phil

2:12-13 etc)

DIVINE REVELATION, A GRADUAL PROCESS

However, this word and message of God, His Divine Revelation, is presented to us

gradually from the beginning, through a people God selected as his point of contact

to reach out to the rest of humanity, as he made it clear in Exodus 19:5-6:

“Now therefore if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall

be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you

shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

There! So even though God had in mind reaching out to the whole humanity to draw

them unto Himself, he decided to first select a people He could call His own, who

would bear His message to the rest of the world. What God did among them and in

them, the records of His interactions with them, His words to them, which is meant

for the rest of humanity, plus accounts of their own collective life as God’s people

and others, are what is recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. Evidently, for

such records, it is clear that while we will have records of God’s dealings with

them- miracles, prophets’ messages etc, we will also have records of their own human

frailties, excesses, sins, wars, conquests, troubles, victories, battles, etc, which

are subject to their cultural and historical limitations etc. To that extent, the

Bible, which is God’s word, is couched in human tongue, for it contains all of the

above, and all of the above are INSPIRED OF GOD,

and the message it carries does not err. Consequently, to give them God’s message

or word over the years, the different writers from different backgrounds employed

different genres and means of communication, including direct instructions, poetry,

historical narratives, prophecy, and others. Understanding this background helps

clear a lot of air about apparent inconsistencies. In the New Testament, we have

accounts of the historical Jesus, his life, works, impact, and the beginnings of

the church he founded. By this time, the fullness of God’s revelation had come in

Jesus (cf Heb 1:1)

DIFFERENT ANGLES OF THE SAME STORIES

Because many of the Bible stories were told by different eyewitnesses reporting the

same stories or episodes, there are bound to be insignificant differences in the

details and the perspectives from which they are written. Yet they are all true,

even if minute details differ- and they do not necessarily have to contradict each

other. The community of faith which codified them accepted all of them, because

these bore testimony to the truth they had received by word of mouth. But the

unbeliever will look at it and quickly think, for instance, “Oh, the Bible has

errors – see, why did Peter say there were one thousand baskets left over and Paul

say there were five thousand baskets left over?” Whether 5000 or 1000 is not

relevant – the relevant message is that there were many baskets leftover! If the

Koran or any other book had also been a collection of people’s experiences of God

written by different writers in different ages etc, there would

certainly have been many more supposed inconsistencies than what is charged about

the Bible. As it is, the fact that all these different sources carry a unified and

same message attests to the Bible’s authenticity, and to God’s guidance in it. No

wonder it is so full of life and active, still powerful, potent, sharper than any

two edged sword, able to cut through joints and marrows, reproves, corrects,

instructs – oh what a library of God’s power!

LAUGHABLE CHARGES

The more serious charges of Biblical errors come from some Moslem fundamentalists

and of course some atheists as well. It is not like they are the only ones who see

the supposed discrepancy: they misinterpret them. Kwaku Ba’s Catalogue on Ghanaweb

are indeed very laughable, and one is tempted to ignore them on looking at them.

However, for what it’s not worth, and for all the much ado about nothing he creates,

we will have to take care of them.

Some will suffice for now till the next part:

Charge:

“NU 22:21-30 A donkey sees an angel, recognizes it as such, and then speaks in human

language (presumably Hebrew) to his master.

Comment: After talking snakes in genesis we now have talking donkeys”

ANSWER: As already answered above, this shows the questioner does not even believe

in miracles. So why are we talking about the Bible, which details God’s encounter

with humans, and therefore must necessarily record miracles? That was no talking

donkey: God only opened its mouth to speak at that moment, as the passage says

explicitly. What’s erratic about that?

As to the talking snake in Genesis, if he knows the kind of literature the account

is, he will not misinterpret it as some do. By the way, for the sake of argument,

assuming a snake talked to Eve, what is unbelievable about it since this was at the

beginning of things and man was one with nature? The most important thing is,

whether the snaked talked to Eve or not, the message is clear: disobedience to God’s

law merits death, the devil tempts us to sin, we must not yield to temptation, we

have the power to overcome sin, God in his infinite mercy and love calls us to

himself even in our sins, He forgives us and saves us. Even little children who read

the account do not miss the message – ask Sunday school children! In the end, the

Bible succeeds in carrying its message across, so why should we care whether or not

there was a literal snake who spoke to Eve, or what form of communication it took,

when we know the snake represents the devil who

tempts us?

Charge:

“DT 1:1 Moses speaks to "all" of Israel, perhaps 2,000,000 people (see EX 12:37

above).

DT 2:14 All of the "men of war"--some 600,000--who left Egypt in the Exodus were

dead just thirty-eight years later. (See EX 12:37 above.)

Comment: Ancient Israel had a standing army of 600,000 men? How? Even today the US

army is now reaching that figure and that is if you include reserves, selective

service, and school students on military scholarships”

Answer:

Kwaku Ba’s problem is not only that he makes laughable charges; like other anti

Christian writers, he deliberately falsifies facts and information. For instance

where did he get this blatant lie from, that “the US army is now reaching” 600,000

men “if you include reserves, selective service, and school students on military

scholarships?

A US army demographics flyer indicated that for the fiscal 2009, the strength of the

US army reached a total of 1,112, 7003, the breakdown being 549,015 active, 358,391

guard, and 206,297 reserve. So how did Kwaku Ba come up with his total of 600,000

which he said includes everyone?

Again, who cares the strength of Israeli army at the time of David? What part does

it play in our salvation? Nevertheless if we had space and time to delve into

ancient numerology and the process of copying etc, we would understand why certain

figures are what they are now- but again, who cares? That someone copied a number

rightly or wrongly does not limit the message in any way.

Charge:

“DT 7:15 Moses promises his people that the Lord will take away all sickness.

Comment: Did that include SARS, Bird Flu and AIDS? These diseases have become

prominent in the last few years. Small pox has been eradicated but it was by the

efforts and over 10 billion dollars of the UN and WHO, not any specific deity”

Answer:

What a childish question and what a childish charge! How does this denigrate

scripture? For your information, it is not Moses alone who promised God would take

away all sickness. Psalm 103: 1ff emphasizes that God heals all our diseases.

Isaiah 53:5 says that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed. It takes faith in God, and

once one believes and trusts in him, all things are possible. That God heals does

not mean he automatically heals everybody who does not even believe in him. Why do

you think Jesus did not work many miracles in his hometown? Because of their lack of

faith!

Charge:

“DT 25:5-9 A man has an obligation to produce a child with his brother's widow. If

he refuses, his sister-in-law is to spit in his face in front of the elders.

Comment: So you mean God requires that if you do not marry your dead brothers wife

you should be spat on in public? And by the way, what if the woman is not interested

in that person? Does she have to shut up and receive her husband’s brother’s penis?”

Answer:

There are many customs practiced by some societies that people from other places

frown upon, just as there are many foods or meat some people eat that others frown

upon. This just happens to be a Jewish custom which is not required for salvation,

nor does the Bible enjoin on us all to practice it. So what’s your problem?

Charge:

“JS 10:12-14 God obliges Joshua by making the sun and moon stand still (so that he

can finish his battle by daylight).

Comment: A big fat lie. The author of the Bible did not learn about gravity. It is

the earth that is moving around the sun and not vice versa. If the earth stops

moving right now, it will be pulled towards the sun at an unimaginably high speed

and will crash into it and be completely destroyed without a trace. The author of

the bible is an ignoramus and fool to say such a thing. Shame on him.”

Answer:

You have the nerve to call the Biblical author a fool? Do you know God is the

author? Beside the point. Kwaku, fact is, the more you criticize, the more you

reveal your ignorance. Whoever said that the event you are talking about was

recorded as an ordinary, natural event so as to follow natural laws of gravity? Did

you not read that it was recorded as a miracle? If it followed natural laws of

gravity, why would it be a miracle? Yes, the sun stood still, as recorded, but only

because God, the maker of the sun and everything else, made it stand still for that

period of time.

Another point, we all know the earth is rotating, but tell me, as you walk

naturally, do you see the earth going round? You don’t, unless you deliberately

experiment it. As you normally look up in the sky, you see the sun, clouds, moon,

stars etc moving, even if that may not be the case scientifically. For ordinary men

like Moses and Joshua, among others, all they experienced was that the sun did not

set and they had a prolonged day to win their battle. So the sun stood still for

them. The Biblical author did not err. What he wrote was true.

I will have to answer the rest in the next installment, just to keep the article

sizeable.

THE COMPLETENESS OF SCRIPTURE

That Kwaku Ba had the nerve to suggest that we should upgrade the Bible, add to it

or take something away from it is not only preposterous but reveals how hollow and

shallow his knowledge of what he condemns is. Scripture itself warns against anyone

trying to add or subtract anything from it, therefore we are sure no one will mind

him on that. Dreamers who want the Bible to be for them a one source encyclopedia

of everything will be disappointed because that is not what it is, nor is anyone

going to add anything to it.

On the other hand, those who approach it with humility of heart and mind, seeking

knowledge about God and his wisdom will find in the Bible treasures of wisdom,

knowledge and power for the victorious life God has planned for each of us.

See you in part 2.

God bless you all.

God bless our homeland Ghana/And make our nation great and strong/bold to defend

forever/the cause of freedom and of right/fill all our might with true humility/make

us cherish fearless honesty/and help us to resist oppressors’ rule/with all our will

and might forevermore.

-Augustine Anyimadu-Ahenkae

Bronx, New York

gtrabboni@yahoo.com

REFERENCES

Benedict XV Spiritus Paraclitus (The Paraclete Spirit)Rome: Libreria Editrice

Vaticana (Sept 15, 1920)

Leo XIII Providentissimus Deus (The Most Provident God)Rome: Libreria Editrice

Vaticana (Nov 18, 1893)

Pius XII Divino Afflante Spiritu (Under the Inspiration of the Divine Spirit)Rome:

Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Sept 30, 1943)

Robertson, A.T. (1930), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman).

Robinson, Edward (1855), Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York:

Harper Brothers).