Is the Bible God’s Revelation? [Containing Folder/Edit]

1. Introduction

1. Definitions.

1. Sacred. Of divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired nature.
2. The Textus Receptus Bible.
3. Textus Receptus Biblical closed canon or canon of Scripture. Which “The group” agrees that no more books/texts/scriptures should be added to the collection.
4. Masoretic text?
5. TANAKH?
6. Divine Revelation.
7. Divine Scripture. “The Bible”. Any communication represented by symbols in any printable surface “originated” from God.
8. The Bible. The collection of [books?|scripture?] “We” believe are God’s Revelation to Man.
9. Canon:

• Most accepted local definition: List of books that one can logically prove are God’s revelation (or inspired by God, for that matter)

10. Criteria. One of the elements or filters used to identify a book as God’s revelation (for example, written by an apostle)
11. Model. A set the criteria that, once structured, can be used to define the bible or the criteria used to define what its limits are and selection filters.

2. Focus of the Analysis. The question for the analysis seems hard to disambiguate so we are creating several for the reader to identify the pattern and the focus of the question, the first one being (subjectively) more specific:

1. How do we know that each one of the books of the Bible individually is indeed revealed by God? 
2. How can we even know what or where God's revelation is?

• What were the criteria used to recognize or define this Biblical canon?

1. What were the criteria used to define the Masoretic Text?

3. Aren’t we elevating texts (The Bible, especially the letters) that can be very close to perfection to an absolute perfection state (revealed/inspired)?
4. How do we know that ALL of the Books of the Bible are perfect|inspired? and not just 1 or some?

• How do we know that some of them were not left out of the canon?

5. By whom, when, and where was the canon created?

3. Motivation of the analysis.

On top of the regular motivation for analysis of the section (Apologetics), we might want to underline these elements:

6. The action with suspicion of error is an error in itself. If I act on the suspicion that my action is against God, the act itself is against God (according to the Bible, even the decision to do it is). If one does not know (or is unsure) if an action has a negative moral value or not, performing that action will have a negative one in itself.

• The 2 credible opposite “truths” protocol. Therefore, when we analyze 2 opposite moral-charged statement explanations, and both can be apparently true (to our understanding), we have to examine both of them until we are sure that one of them is God's instead of acting/rushing into them.

7. Without us being sure that the Bible is God’s revelation, is impossible to obtain conviction to follow it.

• We should treat a wise man's suggestion and God’s commandments differently, especially the ones that put at risk the things that we value

8. Goals of the Analysis

• With God's help, find the truth

2. Posed Information Analysis.

1. Models Posed

1. Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

• Was the book

• Received
• Collected
• Read
• Used
• And passed down

By the community to whom it was delivered?

• IB2 - The book has to be life-changing with witnesses of it
• R: Who created this model? And how would this make it divine?

2. Larry A. Taylor (apparent Atheist) Quoting--> Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World - Josh McDowell

• Is it authoritative
• Is it prophetic
• Is it authentic
• Is it dynamic
• Was it received, collected, read, and used
• Extra details (from the book p33-2D):

1. Not abounding in historical and geographical inaccuracies and anachronisms.
2. Do not teach doctrines that are false and/or foster practices that are at variance with inspired scripture
3. Do not resort to literary types and/or display an artificiality of subject matter and styling out of keeping with inspired scripture.
4. Do not have a lack of distinctive elements that give genuine Scripture its divine character, such as prophetic power and poetic and religious feeling.

• R: The argument cycles itself “Do not teach doctrines that are false and/or foster practices that are at variance with inspired scripture.”

3. The Meeting House - declaration

• Old Testament

1. Jewish

• New Testament

1. Apostolicity.
2. Catholicity. Did the early churches (for whom these were written) receive them widely? (Recognized them)
3. Orthodoxy. Do they contradict another letter(book of the canon)?

• R: Why should we accept this model?

4. FBCK

• Was it written during the apostles' lifespan (first century)
• Should teach John 3.16 story
• Should not contradict Moses

5. Cliffe Knechtle - University of Arizona

• Internal Consistency. Are there contradictions within the text that point to massive confusion on the part of the authors
• Literally Style.
• Archaeological evidence.
• Manuscript Evidence.

6. Other Posed Models:

• Pastor Jhon Mix:

1. Revival Movements. There has not been anything else that [has] caused the historical revival movements that The Bible has.

1. R: Rock Music is provided as an example of big life-changing events, but there are a lot of others, like big protests, movements, revolutions, religions, healing revivals, wars, etc... that could be argued they have and will lead to massive and radical changes in people's behavior.

2. Redemption Related Books. Any book included in the canon should be related to man's redemption

1. R: The redemption topic seems to inherit importance to a book but definitely not divine authority.

• Personal divine experience.

1. R: The personal experience of a writer should not embed all of his writings.

2. List of single Arguments (non-models).

1. Is it Authoritative? Did it come from the Hand of God (Does this book come with divine “thus saith the Lord”?)

• R: 

2. Is it Prophetic? Was it written by a man of God?

• R: 

3. Is it Authentic? [The fathers had the policy of “if in doubt throw it out” this enhanced the “validity of their discernment of canonical books”]

• R:

4. Is it Dynamic? Did it come with the live-transforming power of God?

• R: Doesn’t everything come with it?

5. Was it Received, Collected, Read, and Used? Was it accepted by the people of God?
   Peter acknowledged Paul's work as scripture parallel to Old Testament Scripture (2Pe 3.16)

• R: Is the “Received” section vital? Cannot be generated? Is it the use part of it too? Is the use needed for the validation that a “book” was part of God’s Revelation?

7. The personal divine experience of each writer embeds it with authority. And the community does add confirmation to it.
8. Apostolicity. Are the documents old enough that could have been written by an Apostle? Or is it a First Century Document?

• R: Shouldn’t we have a way to tell if they were written or not and not just assume they were if they are old enough?

9. Transformed lives from sin.

• R: Sin will be hard to define without the answer.

10. The book had to be “Community Approved”.

• R: If the community was the center, source, or foundation of the Bible and the Bible the foundation of our “morals” it will inherit some attributes of the source specifically the prone to heresy (or error)

1. R: God is the one guiding this process, proof of this is the inerrancy of the cannon (it hasn’t changed since it was created).

1. R: 

11. The book has to be life-changing with witnesses of it.

• R: Why did it have to be a book?
• R: There are many books that are life-changing with witnesses of those changes, it seems that a model must be proposed.

12. The Bible has proven itself in our lives.

• R: Not because something has proven to be true means that it is divine revelation. There are a lot of things (books included) that have proven to be true and yet they are not divine.

13. The Bible says that if something else speaks contrary to that, God will not allow it. Isaias & Deuteronomy say if “they” speak not according to this book's law they are false. So if we can be sure that these books are divinely revealed we can be sure of this rule.

• R: The verse says Dt 18.22 “...thou shalt not be afraid of him.”. So this argues that

• If the Bible prophecy can’t prove itself to be true we shouldn’t be afraid of it, and not that God won’t allow it; which takes the argument out of the scope of our analysis. and
• The premise somehow infers that the whole Bible is “a” book (or a whole) and we will need to look for a rule to subdivide the Bible and judge each one of its parts and these divisions will not necessarily stop on “books of the bible”.

1. Prophecy, Archeology, and Reason are proof that the Bible is at least part of God’s Revelation  - Our God-Breathed Book -- The Bible The verbally Inspired, Enthernal, Inerrant Word of God - Dr John R. Rice.

• R: This seems to be a very broad argument. If this is arguing that any archeological finding in combination with any of the Bible’s prophecy and any logical rule proves that the Bible is God’s revelation. Probably more specification might be needed. 

2. The book had to be written by an apostle.

• R: Hebrews was not written by an apostle and it made it to the canon.

3. The book had to be applied by the churches.

• R: How is this different from Community Approved?

4. Must have been in accordance with the Christian Faith. Same teachings that the churches already had.

• R: 

5. Jewish for the Old Testament.

• R: Jewish is not a rule.

6. Apostolicity. Are the documents old enough that they can be written by an Apostle? Or is it a First Century Document?

• R: This seems to be extracting authority from somewhere else. Probably one of the books we are arguing about (Hebrews 1). If not, why would the fact that an apostle wrote a book or letter make it a divine revelation?

7. Catholicity. Did the early churches (for whom these were written) receive them widely? (Recognized them)
8. Orthodoxy. Do they contradict another letter(book of the canon)?

• R: The sole fact that something does not contradict the Bible does not mean that the Bible is divine revelation. This argument is clearly posed to be used in conjunction with others in the criteria section.

9. The Book had to be written in the first century

• R: 

10. The Bible claims to be God’s revelation. - Our God-Breathed Book -- The Bible, The verbally Inspired, Eternal, Inerrant Word of God - Dr John R. Rice. 2Tim 3.16 ”All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, ...”;

• R: The fact that the scripture is proof that the scripture itself has any kind of authority is a fallacy known as “beg the question” and in this case seems not to provide valid proof of that authority.
• R: It will be necessary to define the word “scripture”; otherwise, the argument will become circular as well.

11. Jn 7.17 “If any man will do his will, he shall know...” Doing His will, we’ll know.

3. Other Arguments

1. The Bible should prove itself in our lives.
2. Canon fodder. We should ask the question: what are the criteria we use for us to know who your father or mother is?

• R: I sincerely can’t think of an answer to the stated question without the physical similarities. Additionally, this sounds like it is children-oriented, and the analysis shouldn’t be.

3. Several Sources
   In a nutshell, Jesus Christ is the center of authority for the Bible. It is His life, teachings, and actions that provide the foundation and legitimacy for the Scriptures. Through His words and deeds, Jesus affirmed the divine inspiration and authority of both the Old and New Testaments. By referencing and validating the Old Testament in His teachings and commissioning His disciples to spread His message, Jesus established the basis upon which we recognize the Bible as God's revelation. Therefore, the authority of the Bible is inherently tied to the person of Jesus Christ, making Him the central figure in understanding and affirming the Scriptures as divinely inspired.
   

• Authority of the Old Testament.
  The authority of the Old Testament can be derived from the actions and teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels. In two key instances, Jesus explicitly validates the Old Testament scriptures, thereby affirming their authority:

1. The Temptation in the Desert:
   When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, He responded to each temptation by quoting Old Testament scriptures, specifically from Deuteronomy (Matthew 4:1-11). These references demonstrate that Jesus regarded these scriptures as the authoritative Word of God, powerful enough to counter Satan’s temptations. By citing these texts, Jesus not only resisted Satan but also affirmed the divine authority and reliability of the Old Testament.

The Last Supper:
During the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples sang hymns, which are widely believed to have included the Psalms (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). The Psalms, a significant part of the Old Testament, were thus endorsed by Jesus through their use in this solemn and pivotal moment. This act underscores that Jesus viewed these writings as sacred and authoritative.

Through these actions, Jesus Christ effectively endorses the specific portions of the Old Testament He referenced, and by logical extension the entire TaNajK (Old Testament), affirming its status as divinely inspired and authoritative scripture.

• Authority of the New Testament.

The authority of the New Testament is rooted in the commission given by Jesus to His disciples and the apostolic teachings that followed. This authority is underpinned by several key considerations:

2. Commission of the Disciples:

Jesus instructed His disciples to teach all that He had commanded them (Matthew 28:19-20). This mandate suggests that the teachings and writings of the apostles, as direct transmitters of Jesus’ instructions, carry His authority Hebrews 1:1-2: “He has spoken to us by His Son”. This verse highlights the transition from the Old Testament prophets to the teachings of Jesus and His apostles as the primary source of divine revelation.

Furthermore, 2 Timothy 3:16 states that all Scripture is God-breathed. This can be understood to encompass the New Testament writings, as they were produced by those directly commissioned by Jesus. The context of this verse indicates that the author, Paul, is referring to his own writings and those of his fellow apostles. The passage suggests that these writings, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are part of the divine revelation and authoritative for the church.

3. Scripture Harmony:

Paul is a unique case among the New Testament authors. Although he was not among the original twelve apostles, his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and subsequent teachings were recognized and affirmed by the early church. Paul’s epistles were accepted as scripture by the apostles, including Peter, who equated Paul’s letters with other apostles’ scriptures.

To understand why Paul’s writings were accepted, we can consider the concept of tacit endorsement. In various contexts, including judicial and logical frameworks, silence or lack of refutation can imply consent or agreement. The apostles, by not refuting Paul’s teachings and letters, implicitly endorsed them. This principle is evident in how Peter refers to Paul’s writings. Peter not only refrains from refuting Paul but also acknowledges the wisdom given to Paul by God, placing his letters on the same level as other scriptures.

This should imply that the apostles were vigilant in addressing any disagreements or incorrect teachings/writings among themselves. An example of this that will serve as a validation is found in the case of circumcision, where Paul confronted Peter publicly because Peter's actions were not in line with the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:11-14). This incident demonstrates that if any apostle had an issue with the teachings or writings of another, they would promptly speak up and address it. The fact that Paul's teachings were not refuted by the other apostles, but rather accepted and even endorsed, reinforces the argument of tacit endorsement and validates the authority of his writings as divinely inspired scripture.

One can see not only a tacit endorsement but an explicit one when Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:15-16, recognizing Paul’s letters as part of the scriptural canon. Peter’s acknowledgment serves as a clear validation of Paul’s authority and the divine inspiration of his writings. The early church’s acceptance of Paul’s epistles, despite his unique background and direct revelation from Christ, highlights the consistency and unity of the apostolic message.

Understanding these tacit and explicit endorsements helps clarify why the early church viewed Paul’s writings as authoritative. The lack of objection from the other apostles and their recognition of Paul’s inspired teachings indicate a collective acknowledgment of his role and contributions to the New Testament canon. This principle not only applied to Paul’s epistles but also extended to other manuscripts the church was collecting over time. During the first two centuries, the early church carefully preserved and validated these writings, ensuring they conformed to the same pattern of acceptance and endorsement. This process demonstrates the collaborative and discerning nature of the early church in establishing the authoritative scriptures and contributed to the development of the New Testament canon as we know it today.

• R: Jesus! Jesus is the answer

4. It's universal harmony.

The Bible uniquely provides coherent and meaningful answers to the deepest questions of human existence, questions concerning purpose, morality, suffering, justice, love, forgiveness, human nature, and the destiny of mankind. Its teachings form a unified worldview that speaks not only to one culture or era, but to humanity universally.

The Bible also demonstrates a remarkable harmony between the philosophical and the practical. It addresses fundamental questions concerning truth, meaning, morality, and human existence while simultaneously providing coherent guidance for daily life, relationships, justice, leadership, suffering, and personal transformation. The enduring relevance of its principles across civilizations and generations reflects their profound correspondence with human nature, human experience, and the fundamental realities of life itself.

This harmony is not merely literary consistency, but a comprehensive unity that integrates theology, ethics, history, and human experience into a single coherent framework. This universality, internal coherence, and profound harmony with both human nature and human experience provide evidence pointing to a divine source behind its message.

3. Important Notes

1. The Bible claims to be that revelation

1. IPe 1.21 “... spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”;
2. Although the verse says they spake (spoke), implying maybe a difference with the “written word” | Bible
3. IISam 23.2 “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”;
4. Same as the first
5. Mar 12.36 “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.”;
6. Act 28.25
7. I Co 2.9-14

2. The Bible has too many prophecies and harmonies

1. We could not have known:

• There are so many stars you can't count them.
• Every star differs from another star in glory
• There are dinosaurs in the Bible (God told Job) Go out and look at [behemoth?] “he drinks a whole river in his mouth”
• The life of the flesh is in the blood
• Isa 40.22 (Earth is round) also says the universe is 3D space

4. Resources

1. Dismissed Sources

1. Evidence that demands a verdict Volume II - Josh McDowell (Mar)

• Comments: It addresses archeology and proves that what is written in the Bible really happened instead of proving its divinity.

2. Which Bible?-Many... Edited by David Otis Fuller, D.D.
3. True or False? -Many... Edited by David Otis Fuller, D.D.

2. https://youtu.be/26l5OI58SQw?si=x8qj_b2_XwEhhG_u