The implications then of the opening words of the Bible, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth’, are immense, greater than anything we can conceive. The first words of John’s Gospel re-echo the words in the beginning‘. The beginning of what? The author of Genesis doubtless meant the beginning of the world, or better the beginning of God’s creative activity. It is a theme unimaginable to Greek philosophers or contemporary secular science.
Greek understandings of the beginning
Thoughtful Greeks, in the five or six centuries before Christ, had great interest in the question, in what sense did the world have a beginning? Read more
During the first part of the nineteenth century, scientists began the serious study of fossils. This showed a clear succession of life on earth, with some forms (such as the dinosaurs) becoming extinct and new ones arising. At the same time geologists, looking at the natural processes at work on rocks, began to suggest that the world was older than the traditional 6,000 years.
Charles Lyell, who was staunchly opposed to evolution, calculated in 1859 that life had been on earth not less than 300 million years’. Speculations that extinct species had perished in Noah’s flood or that they were remains of previous creations destroyed by God seemed increasingly improbable. But those who denied that God had created each species uniquely did not at this stage find general acceptance. This was because no one could envisage how biological change (evolution) could take place. Read more
Three great faiths had their origin in the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are rigidly monotheistic, in that they declare that God is one, that there can be no other object of worship, and that there can be no other basis for the unity of all mankind.
The Jews declare every day, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.’ Read more
Most of the areas of conflict lie in the narrative parts of the Bible — Genesis to Esther in the Old Testament, and the Gospels and Acts in the New. How should we read these? Although interpreted history is the central means of biblical revelation it is not the sole means. There are parts of the Bible where history is not an issue — poetry, wisdom, letters and so on. There are also portions of narrative itself which are not, or are not likely to be, intended as history. Read more
Another commonly-drawn consequence of belief in inspiration is the claim that the Bible is ‘inerrant’ or ‘infallible’. If we believe that God overruled and inspired the record of those events upon which faith depends, then it is right to suppose that such an account should be reliable. Clearly an inspired Bible is a reliable Bible. But does this reliability necessarily extend to every single detail? Read more
The Bible is one big book made up of many smaller books. As such, it shows both unity (’one’) and diversity (’many’). The unity of the Bible flows from its source in God. If God is ultimately responsible for it all, you would expect it to hold together. But the Bible’s unity can be seen on other levels too. One story—of creation, fall and redemption— runs throughout. Read more
The Bible is often called the ‘word of God‘. It is the way, above all others, that he uses to communicate with us — to get his thoughts and purposes into our minds. But how did books written by many different writers come to be God’s ‘word’? And can we be sure that we are properly understanding what God has revealed? Read more
Was a common first name for a Jewish man. Nine others of this name are known at the time. It was the Greek version of three common Hebrew names,
Joshua, Jehoshua and Jeshua. This was the name by which Jesus was known in his lifetime, and it occurs nearly 600 “ales in the Gospels. Its meaning was: ‘The Lord (Yahweh) is my help’ or ‘Yahweh rescues’. Later New Testament writers use the name rarely; only the writer to the Hebrews uses it much. It stresses Jesus‘ humanity, as the carpenter of Nazareth. Read more
