ULTIMATE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
What the Bible, God’s Word claims alone can be proved and it will be the final explanation of His entire creation. ...
If we are convinced of the ultimate authority of the Bible, for all nations and for each individual on earth, turning to it and God’s will would be the only wisest way to live life to the full. Recently, a most profound trend has been seen in Israel, which I believe, will undoubtedly bring a new phase, a step towards the fulfilment of the end times to Israel ...
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. ISAIAH 2:1-5.
To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue. … Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. … In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. …Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD. The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction. Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent, but folly brings punishment to fools. The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction. Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. …
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. PROVERBS 16.
Jay Seegert, director of the Creation Education Center writes:
When Christians and skeptics engage in discussions regarding worldviews, both sides offer their opinions, and there is generally very little agreement. …What’s a worldview? It’s basically a set of beliefs and assumptions (presupposed to be true) that we use to make sense of the world around us. Because we use our own worldview to interpret “facts,” we will naturally tend to interpret things in such a way as to be consistent with what we already believe to be true. …the key in any discussion between a skeptic and a Christian is not so much the “facts” but the validity of the worldview being used to interpret those facts. …For Christians, the ultimate authority is Scripture. Logically, if God exists and He authored what we find in the Bible, then whatever the Bible says is true; whether we like it or not and whether we understand it or not. …Whenever an issue arises, whether it’s a question of the same-sex marriage, abortion, transgenderism, etc., our first response should be to ask ourselves, “What does God’s Word have to say about this?” If someone else states they believe two men should be able to get married, you can ask them, “How did you come to that conclusion? What source of authority are you applying to in order to justify your opinion?” In many cases they will respond by saying something like, “Well, I think they have a right to do so.” In this case, they are simply conveying what they think is fair based on their own reasoning …the skeptic’s “ultimate authority” becomes their own reasoning. The next two questions should be: “how do you know you can trust your reasoning? And “why should others adhere to your reasoning and not just use their own thoughts or some other standard?” As Christians, we should not simply be sharing “our opinion” and expecting everyone else to bow to our moral superiority, but rather, pointing others to something that can be defended as being a true “Ultimate Authority.” We should further let the skeptic know that if they take issue with what we are saying , they really don’t have an issue with us directly but with the Word of God.
Having briefly mentioned the existence of plural evidence that powerfully shows the correctness of the claim of the Bible, and also the fact that God not only created the entire universe but He has plans for man, Jay Seegert presents his way of discussion on how to know that the Bible is truly the inspired, inerrant Word of God:
Everyone starts somewhere with their beliefs. …We call this our starting point or our presuppositions. These are things that can’t really be proven. If they could be proven, they would not be your starting point …whatever you used to “prove” them would be.
According to his argument, when we believe A because of B, and when we make A as our starting point with the assumption that B is true, we have to first prove B in order to defend belief in A, which goes round and round. This means that we cannot really prove even our starting point A. So, Seegert concludes:
Since starting points (or presuppositions) can’t be proven, we …simply “take them out for a test drive” to see how well they work when trying to explain the real world around us. …unless a person starts with the Christian worldview (that God exists and the Bible is His inspired Word), not only can you not make sense of the most fundamental things in the world around us, but you technically can’t actually prove anything! This might sound strange, but only the Christian worldview gives us a true basis for things like why logic exists, why there is so much consistency in the physical universe that science is even possible, why “information” exists, or why there is something such as absolute morality. (Jay Seegert, Creation Education Center, CECwisc.com)
Seegert points out that only the Christian worldview gives a true basis for all things. If put in my own words, what the Bible, God’s Word claims alone can be proved and it will be the final explanation of His entire creation.
The following article is fascinating, which emphasizes the fact that our technologically advanced civilization on earth (a specific planet) is almost certainly “unique and special” in the universe, reflecting God’s specific design to support life, and our earth is never an end product of a cosmic accident as Darwinians claim.
RESEARCH SUGGESTS EARTH CREATED SPECIALLY TO SUSTAIN LIFE
New discoveries about the universe are popping up in rapid-fire succession, prompting renewed hope among scientists searching expectantly for some sign that earthlings are not alone. Within the last three weeks, two discoveries have piqued the interest of would-be alien hunters. First, scientists announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet in our own cosmic backyard, merely 4.2 light years away. The planet, Proxima b, orbits ProximaCentauri, the star closest to our solar system. A few days later, news broke that scientists in Russia had detected a star, about the size of our sun, emitting an unusual signal from 95 light years away.
The two discoveries sparked an initial flurry of excitement for those who long to find ET. Proxima b orbits close enough to its star to have enough potential heat to sustain liquid water, and the planet probably is rocky like our own. Could it support life? And could the Russians' mysterious signal be aliens sending us a message?
Scientists who believe in the theory of Darwinian evolution reason that if life evolved on Earth by mere random chance, then it must have evolved elsewhere, too. Evolutionists are desperate to show Earth is just one of thousands of planets that could potentially support life, Ken Ham, president and founder of Answer in Genesis, wrote on the organization's blog: "In their view, we can't be unique or special because we're just a cosmic accident." But most experts who believe the universe was created also believe Earth is indeed unique, a privileged planet especially designed to support life. And those who hope otherwise are often disappointed by initially exciting scientific discoveries.
Several scientists already think it highly unlikely Proxima b could support life. They note only a slim chance the planet has an atmosphere that can hold heat and water, and its star periodically erupts with potentially deadly flares of radiation that bombard Proxima b with X-ray blasts more than 400 times stronger than those with which our sun pelts the Earth. Astronomers also believe the planet may be tidally locked to its star, meaning it's always sunny on one side of the planet and always dark on the other.
Other scientists see nothing exceptional about the signals picked up by the Russian astronomers. Researchers detected the signal in only one of 39 passes using a radio telescope. Many things, like satellite communication, military operations, and natural phenomena, could account for the signal, which did not repeat or pulse in any way that would suggest it carried coded information. And now, even some secular scientists are hopping aboard the Earth-is-a-privileged-planet train. Ethan Siegel, an astrophysicist at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., concluded in an op-ed for Forbes magazine that humanity may well be alone in the universe.
Evolutionary theory requires three big steps to occur before a technologically advanced, human-like civilization can develop, he explained. First, a few hundred specific proteins must be present at the same time and in the same location and must combine together to form a living cell. Second, that cell must somehow survive long enough to evolve into complex, multi-celled organisms, which must then evolve into intelligent creatures. "And even if life does occur, how fortunate do you need to be to have it survive and thrive for billions of years?" Siegel asked.
Lastly, the intelligent life must become a technological civilization with the ability to announce its presence to the universe, or at least to be able to listen for other forms of intelligence.
All things considered, even "from a materialistic, evolutionary perspective, our technologically advanced civilization is almost certainly unique in the universe," biophysics researcher Kirk Durston wrote for the blog Evolution News. The improbabilities of life in the universe leave only two choices, Durston noted: Either earthlings won a lottery against mind-staggering odds, or "there is a Creator of the cosmos who has a purpose in mind for humanity." (Julie Borg, "Research Suggests Earth Created Specially to Sustain Life," WORLD News Service, September 12, 2016)
If we are convinced of the ultimate authority of the Bible, for all nations and for each individual on earth, turning to it and God’s will would be the only wisest way to live life to the full.
Recently, a most profound trend has been seen in Israel, which I believe, will undoubtedly bring a new phase, a step towards the fulfilment of the end times to Israel, as promised in the Bible for God’s chosen people, one of which is the passage quoted from the book of Isaiah in the beginning.
The following article reports that Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu emphatically told children to study the Bible in his opening message of the new school term on Thursday, 1 Sep.’16:
‘Much to the delight of parents, the new school year has begun in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had two related messages for students: study the Bible and seek peaceful coexistence. Earlier this week, Netanyahu told his cabinet that he wants to “carry out an education revolution based on two things: excellence and Zionism.” Central to achieve that is the study of the Bible, the prime minister insisted. “First of all, the study of the Bible,” Netanyahu told his ministers. “This is the basis for why we are here, why we have returned here, why we stay here.” While that message may have been primarily geared toward Jewish students, Netanyahu on Thursday helped kick off the new school year by visiting a school in the northern Arab city of Tamra. Addressing the school’s 200 Arab youngsters, Netanyahu called for increases in coexistence and integration of Israel’s Arab minority. “I want you all to learn about the history of the Jewish people as well as of the Arab communities and learn the truth. We are meant to live together,” he told the students’.
(http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/29972/Default.aspx)
In Israel, the education minister also stressed the importance of the Bible and Jewish faith in the school curriculum on Wed. 14 Sep. ’16. Israel would be blessed by those leaders who believe in the importance and authority of the Bible.
‘Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett this week stressed that the Bible and Jewish faith are the most important topics children learn in school. Bennett, himself a religious Jew, previously led a campaign to force religious Jewish schools to teach core subjects like math and science if they wanted to receive government funding. That demand was dropped several months ago as a result of pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. Speaking at an education event on Monday, Bennett clarified that his desire to see religious children learn core subjects was in no way meant to diminish the importance of biblical studies. “Learning about Judaism and excellence in the subject is more important in my eyes than mathematics and the sciences,” he said. “Even though [Israel] is a high-tech superpower, an exporter of knowledge and innovation to the world, we must [also] be a spiritual superpower and export spiritual knowledge to the world.” Bennett reminded Israelis that their primary mandate was “to be a light to the nations. ‘For out of Zion shall go forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.’” Defending his remarks a day later, Bennett was adamant that “it is not enough to be solely the nation of the startup. We must also be the people of the Bible.” At the start of the current school year two weeks ago, Netanyahu similarly called on young students across Israel to study the Bible.
(http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/30064/Default.aspx)