:first: Great post Turbo!Originally posted by Turbo Hi Nathan, and welcome to TOL. How did you find out about this page? Have you been "lurking" for long? I hope you stick around.
I reject that truth is relative. It seems like the point of your post was to tell people like me that we are wrong, and that your view (relativism) is right.
Belief does not determine truth or reality. For intance, many people believe that O.J. Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Others believe he did not. In reality he either did or he didn’t, and what people believe about it is irrelevant to what actually happened.
Also, truth is not determined by what is popularly believed. The earth rotated around the sun even when most or all people believed Aristotle’s teaching that the sun revolves around the Earth.
But it is possible to determine with great confidence the truth of a matter by carefully and objectively seeking out and examining the evidence.
Yes, the Scriptures do assert that the Scriptures are true, and that they are God’s inspired word. But those assertions are not what makes the Bible self-authenticating.
The Bible is self-authenticating because it was written by dozens of authors over a period of about 1600 years, yet it tells a coherent and consistent story, and historical event described by the later authors were clearly prophesied and prefigured throughout by the earlier authors.
Some examples of what makes the Bible self-authenticating:And the list goes on. Do you understand how these examples of internal authentication are more substantial than mere assertions?
- Psalm 22, written 1000 B.C. and centuries before crucifixion was developed, yet it describes many specific details about Christ’s crucifixion.
- Isaiah 53 is also full of prophesies about the Christ’s sacrifice.
- Genesis 22, the story of Abraham offering up Isaac, prefigures the crucifixion in several ways, as does the Passover. (Are you familiar with these stories and how they prefigure the crucifixion?)
- The year Messiah(Christ) would be killed (“cut off”) is foretold in Daniel 9.
- The small town where Christ would be born is foretold in Micah 5:2: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
How do you know that Christianity is right? Why are you a Christian? Upon what do you base your faith?
Until a few years ago, I was an agnostic evolutionist. But I was persuaded by the evidence that my worldview was false, and later that the Christian worldview was true.
No, not every last detail and story in the Bible must be confirmed externally to prove that the Bible is true in its entirety. Confirming certain key details can authenticate much or all of the rest. For example Jesus claimed to be God, and he said that the Old Testament Scriptures (the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings) are the authoritative word of God. If Jesus’ resurrection were able to be confirmed historically (and it can), then one could reasonably conclude that his claim of deity was legitimate, and that therefore the Old Testament really is inspired by God.
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