Needless to say, my feelings were not always so noble. I was a complete skeptic who accused Christians who tried to preach the gospel to me of carrying 'a book of a thousand and one errors.' As you can imagine, I have had plenty of opportunities since then to eat my words, and no bitter taste. Recanting has never been so pleasant. Sweet revenge is that of the Lord! I have since discovered that the literary authenticity of the Bible is no longer in doubt, as ancient manuscripts bear witness; and that its spiritual authenticity has been confirmed from generation to generation, and continues to be confirmed by the transformed lives we see every day.
The early church fathers (Athanasius and others) fought epic battles for to preserve the integrity of the Scriptures communicated to them in terms of form and content, and to prevent heretical writings and interpretations from being introduced. Yet today many who call themselves Christians seek exciting readings that have been excluded from the Scriptures following vile obscurantist plots and which would bring 'another' light on Jesus, even though they are far from mastering those at hand and understanding how they got there. And what about the virulent detractors of the faith, moreover very ignorant of the Bible to the point of sometimes confusing gospels and epistles; in front of them unfortunately many Christians grin to the bone. Worse still is when Christians themselves knowingly neglect the Word of God. Now, some have paid a high price for it to reach us.
We all owe a great deal to its scribes who painstakingly copied manuscript after manuscript, and in other generations when 'the ecclesiastical authorities' had a stranglehold on the Scriptures and denied access to the common man, to those courageous individuals, such as William Tyndale, who dared to translate the Holy Scriptures into the common languages. Tyndale is said to have said to the Bishop of Worcester (some say he was referring to the Pope), 'If God preserve me alive, before long I shall make the boy who drives the plough know more about the Scriptures than you do.' He was the first to translate the Scriptures directly from Greek and Hebrew into English, the first printed translation. For his trouble, he was arrested, imprisoned, strangled, and burned.
Today our quarrels are very minor, but can we take a few moments just to marvel at this gift which today is not only available in print in a large number of languages, but also on CD, MP3, Kindle, and the internet is awash with it. Tyndale's prophecy has been fulfilled, any plowman today can know the Word of God better than any clergyman, if he would only study it. What a joy. But as we rejoice, it is fitting to remember the words of Jesus, to whom much is given, much will be required. We have been given much. Should we not expect our piety and righteousness to far surpass those of previous generations who did not have, as we do today, this almost universal access to the Holy Scriptures? Something to think about.
Selah!
On the same subject: It's your life
It is clear that we have the opportunity to appreciate and learn about God and yet we seek to know Him outside of the book that was given to us, despite all the opposition that has tried to obstruct the One who loved us.
Thank you Jesus
How could I have ignored for years the BIBLE, the best-selling, translated, and distributed book in the world, and undoubtedly the book for which many people have been and still are tortured, imprisoned, mistreated, and die so that others can have it in their hands!