The Bible Really Is God's Inspired Word

Does It Make Any Difference?

"But does it really make any difference who wrote the books of the Bible?"  You might ask.   Yes, it makes a huge difference.  What weight would you give to a document that purported to be the last will and testament of a friend if it turned out that  he had not,in fact, written it?   Suppose experts told you that it was forgery-that well-meaning associates had written down what they believed were the wishes of your friend.  Would that not devalue the document?  Could  you have real confidence that it truly conveyed the wishes of your friend? 

It is the same with the Bible.  No wonder so many people-even those who profess to be Christian-feel free to ignore what it says on subjects like honesty, sexual morality and so forth.  How often have you heard people disparagingly say things like,  "Oh, but that is the Old Testament" -As if that means it is of little real value.  And this despite the fact that the apostle Paul described the so-called Old Testament as "the holy writings"  that were "inspired off God."

"Surely you cannot simply disregard the evidence of all experts and scholars,"  You may protest, Of course not!   We are indebted, for example, to honest scholarship that has helped us to identify the original text of the Bible.  Clearly, minor mistakes did creep into the text of the Bible as it was copied and recopied over the  centuries.  Remember, though:  There is a big difference between recognizing that minor mistakes crept into copies of the Bible text and dismissing the whole Bible as a human fabrication.

Next time: Maintain Faith in "the Holy Writings"

Watchtower, 2010