Have you ever played or heard of the game Telephone? You know, the game where you start at one end of the line and tell someone a secret in their ear passing the secret from person to person until you get to the end and see if the original message made it all the way down. I recently got hooked on a podcast called, "Serial." Apparently I was the last one on that train, but got so enthralled in the story. In 1999, a high school boy is accused and sentenced to life for murdering his ex-girlfriend. The podcast is a series of reports on the broadcaster's findings after all these years. She goes through evidence and interviews many of the key players from that time. She asks the witnesses to remember a key point in time fifteen years ago. It's like a really good game of telephone. One person says they were with someone else in that twenty minute time stamp while another completely rebukes their story and remembers a totally different scenario. Could you remember what you were doing around 2:30pm exactly fifteen years ago? I can't remember what I had for breakfast let alone something that happened at an exact time fifteen years ago.
Listening to Serial got me to thinking about how easily we jumble stories. Countless stories are passed from generation to generation. It's how our cultures survive and legacies live on. Some stories get tweaked along the way covering up scandal or erasing embarrassing moments. We are currently going through a study at church entitled "Explore God" (you can look at exploregod.com for more info). This past weekend our pastor preached about the proof of God's existence. This sermon led to an incredible conversation between Scott and I. He was an agnostic when I met him; one of those types that needed the evidence to prove God's existence. I asked him to tell me how he'd explain God to his earlier self and then wondered how I would explain God if I was asked.
I got to thinking about the Bible. I think we can all agree that the Bible is a compilations of people's stories; people's accounts of their faith and experiences with God throughout history. Many rebuke the Word claiming it to be people's opinions or a compilation of crazy made up situations to make people feel better like there is something greater out there. Here's where the game of Telephone comes into play for me. If the Bible is just a compilation of people's stories from one generation to the next and the hand of God is not present in the Word and what gets out there, than why haven't the stories changed? You would think there would be some discrepancy in individual stories as time wore on. Like, why didn't people try to cover up King David's sin with Bathsheba? That was a huge scandal. He had her husband murdered so the affair wouldn't get found out for goodness sakes. If the Bible is just an interesting read, why not cover up one of the greatest mistakes? We do it today; hide our scandals that is.
I can list so many instances in which it would be far greater for the Christian faith to leave this or that out, yet it all remains: the good fluffy stuff right alongside the dark and ugly. The Bible is fully translated into 531 languages while 2,883 languages have at least a portion of the Script. One would think that someone somewhere would mess up and leave something out or, perhaps, make a story sound a little better tweaking it a little here or there. But no. The Bible has never changed even after all these years. It's the same today as if we were walking alongside Moses in the desert. The Word remains.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
My argument to the agnostic, unbeliever, questioner, doubter, atheist, believer of a different faith is that the Bible never changes because the Bible is the Word and the Word is God. The words on the pages of Scripture are necessary to be told and heard by all generations because they are God-breathed; life-giving. You cannot leave one detail out because then you are leaving out a piece of God. The Word never changes because God doesn't change. God exists because the Word has held true all these years later. Angie Smith write, "...the Bible is a complete library, inspired by God, telling the story of His revealing Himself to us over 2,500 years."
So, when you question, doubt, or are looking for evidence, look to the Scriptures. They are never changing.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Listening to Serial got me to thinking about how easily we jumble stories. Countless stories are passed from generation to generation. It's how our cultures survive and legacies live on. Some stories get tweaked along the way covering up scandal or erasing embarrassing moments. We are currently going through a study at church entitled "Explore God" (you can look at exploregod.com for more info). This past weekend our pastor preached about the proof of God's existence. This sermon led to an incredible conversation between Scott and I. He was an agnostic when I met him; one of those types that needed the evidence to prove God's existence. I asked him to tell me how he'd explain God to his earlier self and then wondered how I would explain God if I was asked.
I got to thinking about the Bible. I think we can all agree that the Bible is a compilations of people's stories; people's accounts of their faith and experiences with God throughout history. Many rebuke the Word claiming it to be people's opinions or a compilation of crazy made up situations to make people feel better like there is something greater out there. Here's where the game of Telephone comes into play for me. If the Bible is just a compilation of people's stories from one generation to the next and the hand of God is not present in the Word and what gets out there, than why haven't the stories changed? You would think there would be some discrepancy in individual stories as time wore on. Like, why didn't people try to cover up King David's sin with Bathsheba? That was a huge scandal. He had her husband murdered so the affair wouldn't get found out for goodness sakes. If the Bible is just an interesting read, why not cover up one of the greatest mistakes? We do it today; hide our scandals that is.
I can list so many instances in which it would be far greater for the Christian faith to leave this or that out, yet it all remains: the good fluffy stuff right alongside the dark and ugly. The Bible is fully translated into 531 languages while 2,883 languages have at least a portion of the Script. One would think that someone somewhere would mess up and leave something out or, perhaps, make a story sound a little better tweaking it a little here or there. But no. The Bible has never changed even after all these years. It's the same today as if we were walking alongside Moses in the desert. The Word remains.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
My argument to the agnostic, unbeliever, questioner, doubter, atheist, believer of a different faith is that the Bible never changes because the Bible is the Word and the Word is God. The words on the pages of Scripture are necessary to be told and heard by all generations because they are God-breathed; life-giving. You cannot leave one detail out because then you are leaving out a piece of God. The Word never changes because God doesn't change. God exists because the Word has held true all these years later. Angie Smith write, "...the Bible is a complete library, inspired by God, telling the story of His revealing Himself to us over 2,500 years."
So, when you question, doubt, or are looking for evidence, look to the Scriptures. They are never changing.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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