Examine.
I was taught in grade school that some of Christopher Columbus’ crew were incredibly superstitious when it came to the shape of the earth (flat earth versus sphere). From what we were taught at the time (and I will let you do the history search for yourself) some of the leading scientists of Columbus’ day were adhering to a flat earth theory. Such theories led the average lay person to believe the earth was flat and, ergo, if you sail too far you are going to fall off the earth…at least that was one of the theories.
We look at this concept today with our space flight and mapping techniques and Google earth, etc. and we don’t believe in a flat earth. To us, it is now common sense. But not in their day. They would have been bucking the established thought from the experts. And that is a tough audience to stand up to. It’s still a challenge we all have today—we don’t want to oppose experts, professors, leaders, parents, and dare I say, pastors. Are we simply swallowing the pill the experts hand to us or are we examining their claims for truth and error?
Since, in the end, we need to know the truth, I will simply say this: If Columbus’ men had been avid Bible readers or listeners, the Word of God would have clarified the scientific blunders of 1492. The Word of God is our clarifying lens, our normative rule.
[God Almighty] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in. // Isaiah 40:22
Seven hundred years before Jesus was born and 2200 years before Columbus, God spoke through Isaiah the prophet to plainly tell all earth dwellers that the earth is a sphere (circle); if only these sailors would have read and known this fact. How much more hopeful and peaceful their journey could have been if they had known this truth from God’s own lips.
You have that same opportunity: you can know great insights. You can also know truth.
The Bible is a normative book by which we can cross-examine all truth claims. We must learn to question all fact and truth claims against the Word of God. Don’t simply swallow some dose of information because a man or a woman with a PhD has claimed it to be true. And don’t let your mind be twisted by emotional rants that call you “stupid” or “sophomoric” if you buy into the word from an ancient book [the Bible] that is from 4000 to 2000 years old (oldest book - Job, 2000 BCE; last book - Revelation 70 AD).
The Bible is our source of eternal life and it is also called “truth.” Its truth is objective. Its truth is eternal. Its truth shows human depravity and God’s intense love for every man, woman, and child ever born. Its truth is not subject to popular vote or trends in culture. The Bible’s truth transcends culture and politics and ideologies. The truth of God stands above all other truth claims—but you must use it to test out and search for truth yourself.
For example, the statement I made in the beginning of this article about Christopher Columbus’ sailors believing in a flat earth, today most scholars believe that “idea” was made up by an American author who was visiting Spain in the 1800’s.
The myth of Columbus’ supposed flat earth theory is tempting: It casts the explorer’s intrepid journey in an even more daring light. Problem is, it’s completely untrue. The legend doesn’t even date from Columbus’ own lifetime. Rather, it was invented in 1828, when Washington Irving published The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Source: History.org
So even this childhood historical truth, taught by a teacher I know, love, and respect, apparently was not really or totally true. Examine all truth claims, especially the ones that affect our life as believers in Jesus Christ.
This Sunday we will be talking about asking questions so that we can get down to the truth. The Bereans asked questions of the Bible when the very famous apostle Paul came into town with truth claims. The Berean believers could have eagerly swallowed all that Paul said and just simply assumed that this apostle of Jesus Christ would always speak 100% truth. But God makes a very special note that the Bereans accepted the words from Paul with eagerness AND examined the Scriptures for themselves to see if what Paul was saying matched up with God’s immutable and unchangeable truth.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. // Acts 17:11
The same must happen today. It does not matter if the speaker is Pastor Al or President Trump or Doctor Anthony Fauci or Bill Gates or Hillary Clinton. What matters is what God says. Go check out the truth of God for yourself.
Blessings to you in Christ,
Pastor Al
P.s. If you get a chance, look up these truths about the Word of God:
Psalm 119 (You can also receive short bits of this psalm daily, from July 6-27, in our next Bible Reading Challenge! Sign up here.)