The Strand Study Bible

LUKE LUKE Another article, found in the Star Tribune (Minneapolis – October 2, 2009), informs us that scientists say a fossil skeleton found in Africa (named Ardi) is opening a new window on how our ancestors took shape. “If the scientists who found Ardi are correct,” says the article, “she represents a transitional figure, almost a hybrid – a tree creature who could carry food in her arms as she explored the woodland floor on two legs.” 23 If the scientists are correct... According to the Bible (Gen 2:7-15), they are not. *Religious scholars are now telling us that the Bible is incomplete, that there is more to God’s Word than just the Bible. Two discoveries concerning the Gnostic Gospels within recent years have the world questioning the validity of the Scriptures: (1) The Nag Hammadi discovery in 1945 The Nag Hammadi collection of Gnostic texts included thirty-seven complete and five fragmentary works, and included such books as, the Apocryphon of John (written c. the 2nd century), the Sophia of Jesus Christ (written c. the 4th century), the Gospel of Thomas (written c. AD 80 and compiled c. the 4th century), the Gospel of Judas (written between the 3rd and 4th century), plus others . (2) The publication of the Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, called the “Berlin Gnostic Codex”, in 1955 The Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 collection, acquired by Dr. Carl Reinhardt, a German scholar, in Cairo in 1896, included such books as the Apocryphon of John (written c. the 2nd century), the Sophia of Jesus Christ (written c. the 4th century), and the Gospel of Mary . The problem, of course, with these Gnostic texts is that they failed to meet the standard for canonization ( Lk 11:51 ). *Atheists are now telling us that God’s Word is inaccurate, contradictory, and harmful to the human race. They blame the Bible for wars, hatred, and the moral quagmire that the world finds itself in today, stating that murders, mutilators, child molesters, rapists, sexists, and racists have used the Bible to justify their abhorrent conduct, thus the Bible is evil. And because atheists hate the “idea” of a personal God to whom they are morally responsible, they are determined to slander and misrepresent God’s Word, even citing numerous passages within the Scriptures to prove their points. For example, - Atheists insist that the Bible contains hundreds of discrepancies. They cite numerous passages that appear to contradict each other concerning various subjects within the Bible. Concerning the “world” they cite two verses: (1) I John 2:15, which states, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him ” and (2) John 3:16, which state, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Atheists insist that God’s Word contradicts itself. How can God tell us not to love the world when He Himself loves it? Concerning the subject of “stealing” they cite two more verses in apparent contradiction: (1) Exodus 20:15, which states, “Thou shalt not steal” and (2) Exodus 3:22, which states “And ye shall spoil the Egyptians.” Atheists assert that God is telling the Israelites in Exodus 3:22 to steal from the Egyptians, thus their supposed contradiction. However, the Israelites did not steal a thing from the Egyptians. The Egyptians gave them things freely to get rid of them out of their land (Exo 12:35-36), thus they “spoiled” the Egyptians. - Atheists say that because the word “abortion” does not appear in the Bible that God is not against it. They even cite numerous religious groups that agree with them: American Baptist Churches-USA, American Ethical Union, American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee, American Jewish Congress, Catholics For a Free Choice, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal Church, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Lutheran Women’s Caucus, Moravian Church in America-Northern Province, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reform Judaism, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Woman’s Caucus Church of the brethren, YWCA, and Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. 24 Nevertheless, just because a certain word is not found in the Bible does not mean that that doctrine is absent from its pages. Neither the word “Trinity” or “sovereignty” is found in the Bible, yet both doctrines are clearly taught ( Deut 6:4 and Eph 1:11 ). - Atheists even quote the passage in Exodus 21:22-25 to try and prove their viewpoint concerning abortion, stating that the Bible orders the death penalty for the murder of a human being (the mother), but not for the expulsion of a fetus. However, they take this passage totally out of context. From the word order of the sentence the statement “if any mischief follow” deals with the plight of the baby, not the plight of the mother. - Atheists accept no higher truth than reason , and believe (as in faith) that the human ability to continue to solve life’s problems with reason and kindness will prevail. However, tell that to the two million people who were killed in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 under Pol Pot’s atheistic regime, or to the ten million people (six million of them being Jews) who were systematically eliminated in Germany under Hitler’s atheistic regime (Hitler’s leading advisors–Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich and Bormann– were atheists who hated religion and sought to eradicate its influence in Germany), or to the twenty million people who were executed in Russia under Stalin’s atheistic regime, or to the seventy million people who were slaughtered in China under Mao’s atheistic regime. While atheists regularly fault religion (and especially Christianity) for its role in promoting war (the Crusades) and violence (the Spanish Inquisition and witch burnings), which together killed approximately 200,000 people, humanistic atheistic regimes (using their “reasoning” abilities) have in less than a single century murdered more than 100,000,000 people. The indisputable fact is that all the religions of the world put together have in six thousand years of human history not managed to kill anywhere near the number of people killed in the name of atheism in the past one hundred years. Atheism, not religion, is responsible for the worst mass murders of history. Dinesh D’Souza in What’s So Great About Christianity notes: 1682

Whatever the cause for why atheist regimes do what they do, the indisputable fact is that all the religions of the world put together have in three thousand years not managed to kill anywhere near the number of people killed in the name of atheism in the past few decades. It’s time to abandon the mindlessly repeated mantra that religious belief has been the main source of human conflict and violence. Atheism, not religion, is responsible for the worst mass murders of history. 25