Talking it Over by Dr. Clyde M . Narramore
Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is a psychologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in the United States
home, the city of Ur of Chaldea, has been discovered. These are hut a few of the silent testimonies from the monuments to the eternal truth of the Word of God. 5. History has borne out the prophecies foretold in the Bible. What could be more striking and more convincing than the way prophecy has been and is being ful filled concerning the Jew? 6. The attacks of Satan upon the Word of God prove its divine origin. These attacks have been ut terly obliterated long ago. But God has miraculously p r e s e r v e d the Bible against the open attacks of fire, water, and sword; and against the more subtle attacks of skeptic, critic, and “ scientist” falsely so called. Why was Paul executed by the wicked Nero? Because he preached and wrote and lived the message of the Word of God. Why was John Wycliffe tried before prelate and priests? Why were his bones dug up, burned, and the ashes thrown to the Biver Swift? Because he gave the English people their first com plete Bible in their own tongue. Why was William Tyndale kept in prison for 18 months without book or pen, onl y to be strangled? Simply because he gave to the world the first printed Bible. Why were Martin Luther and other re formers p e r s e c u t e d ? Why : was John Huss burned at the stake? Because they preached and taught and translated the Bible into the language of the common people. 7. The universal appeal of the Bible proves its d i v i n e o r i g i n . Translated into more than 900 lan guages and dialects, it meets the need of the human heart, of what ever color or race, of whatever de gree of education, of whatever social level. This has never been true of any other book. It is the world’s best seller, and has been for many a year. 8. The power of the living Word
EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of the great volume of mail Dr. Narramore has received pertaining to the Bible, this month s col umn is dedicated to this important dis cussion. Q. What proof have we that the Bible is the Word of God? A. Whole volumes have been writ ten on this subject. Space here will permit only a brief statement of some of the reasons why we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, authentic, authoritative, infallible, and divine. First let us outline some of the external evi dences of these truths: 1. The ancient manuscripts in the great libraries of the world go hack to a very early date. Some of the manuscripts of the New Testa ment were written as early as the fourth century A.D. And we still have copies of the Greek transla tion of the Old Testament which Christ Used when He was .on earth. His word concerning it is sufficient! It was translated not later than 250 B.C., and is called the Septua- gint Version. 2. The versions, or translations, of the Bible into the many lan guages of earth are manifold. Some of these are older than the authen tic manuscripts. It is a well known fact that the men who made some of these translations could easily have known the apostles, all of which means that they had apos tolic authority for their versions. 3. About 50 of the early church fathers quoted the New Testament so freely in their writings that all of the New Testament could be put together, with the exception of a few passages. These writings of the church fathers are still available to scholars today. 4. Archaeology has proved many facts of Bible history. Monuments and tablets have been discovered which prove beyond all doubt that they told the story of creation, the fall, the flood, and other events of Bible history. Abraham’s early
DR. NARRAMORE of God to regenerate the heart and change the life is unmistakable evidence of its divine inspiration. These are but a few of the external evidences of the inspiration of the Bible. Then there are also unmistakable internal evidences that “ holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” : 1. Our Lord Jesus testified to the divine origin of the Old Testament. His word is final! 2. The apostles also quoted from it freely, believed it, preached it. Moreover, they testified to the in spiration of the New Testament. (See 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19-21.) 3. The fulfilled prophecies — and they are legion |||§j prove be yond all doubt that the Old Testa ment foretold the message of the New and that the New quotes and fulfills the Old. 4. Add to all this the marvelous unity of the Book, written over a period of thousands of years, by different human instruments of varying degrees of education, in different languages, in different styles of writing. Such circum stances would ordinarily make for anything but unity; yet we have this one Book, with one message, telling the story of the one and only Saviour of men. Prophecy and history, law and psalm, proverb, parable, and sermon, wh e t h e r poetry or prose — all tell the story of salvation from sin by faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Need we further proof of the divine inspiration of such a Book?
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JANUARY, 1959
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