Twenty easily confused pairs of Bible characters

The Bible is not short – in fact it consists of 66 books, 1,189 chapters and 31,103 verses.

That’s a lot of words.

In fact there are apparently 593,493 words in the Old Testament and 181,253 in the New Testament giving 774,746 words altogether.

Given that 70% of the Bible is narrative - and other sections list family names and genealogies in great detail - there are a phenomenal number of different named individuals, from Er to Maher-shalal-hash-baz!

Perhaps it is not surprising that many pairs of people with similar or identical names are easily confused.

Here, for your entertainment, and possibly also your education, are twenty such couples.

First are those with similar but not identical names.

1. Ahijah and Abijah.One was the prophet who tore his coat into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam, to signify that he would lead the ten northern tribes of Israel. The other was a King of Judah who did not follow the Lord whole-heartedly but wonan unlikely victory against huge odds when his men asked for God’s help.

2. Micah and Micaiah.Both were Old Testament prophets. The first predicted Jesus’ birth in Bethlehemin the book named after him. The second courageously spoke the truth to King Ahab, when no one else would, in spite of being imprisoned as a result.   

3. Abimelech and Ahimelech.  The first was the son of Gideon who murdered his seventy brothers and later died a violent death when hit on the head by a millstone dropped by a woman during a siege. The second was a priest whose loyalty to David cost him his life at the hands of Saul. He had a grandson of the same name. 

4. Amos and Amon.Amoswas an Old Testament prophet who was called as a shepherd and predicted a major earthquake. Amonwas a king of Judah who revelled in idolatry and was assassinated by his officials after being on the throne for only two years.

5. Enoch and Enosh.Both come from the early chapters of God. Enoch was a holy man who was taken up into heaven by God without dying. He was also Noah’s great grandfather and gets a mention in the New Testament book of Jude. Enosh was Enoch’s great grandfather and also the grandson of Adam.

6. Adoni-Zedek and Adoni-Bezek. The first was the Amorite king of Jerusalem who was defeated by Joshua on the day the latter commanded the sun to stand still. The second was a Canaanite king in the time of the judges who had a penchant for cutting off his enemies’ great toes.

7. Jude and Judah.The first was a brother of Jesus and wrote the New Testament letter of the same name. The second was one of the twelve sons of Israel and an ancestor of Jesus Christ, ‘the Lion of Judah’.

It’s particularly confusing when people with similar names live close together in history and interact with each other

8. Joram and Jehoram.Both were Old Testament Kings; Joram of Israel (he was the son of Ahab and Jezebel) and Jehoram of Judah. They were related by marriage as Jehoram married Joram’s sister. Neither did much good and Jehoram passed away, it is said, ‘to no one’s regret’.

9. Uz and Buz.Abraham’s nephews. Their mother may have had difficulty telling them apart but seemed to have a liking for unusual names. Her other sons were called Kemuel, Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.

10. Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam was the son of Solomon who was king at the time the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled. Jeroboam led the rebellion.

11. Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was one of the most famous of the Old Testament prophets. Elisha was his apprentice and later surpassed him, possessing a ‘double measure’ of his spirit.

But when two people have exactly the same name even biblical editors can get them mixed up.

12. Daniel and Daniel. The best known was the famous prophet who was rescued by God from a den of lions. His book of prophecy tells about the rise and fall of the empires of Babylonian, Median, Persian and Greek Empires, much of it before it actually happened. The lesser known was the son of David’s second wife Abigail.

13. Saul and Saul.One in each Testament: the former was the first king of Israel, who rejected God and was rejected by him. The second persecuted the early church but was converted on the Damascus Road and became one of Christ’s Apostles, changing his name to Paul. He later established churches all over the known world and wrote 13 books in the New Testament.

14. Joseph and Joseph. Again, one in each Testament: the first was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (later renamed Israel), who was sold as a slave by his brothers. He later ended up running the Egyptian Empire and saved its people, and his own family, from starvation during a famine. The latter was the husband of Mary and father of Jesus.

15. Mary and Mary.One was wife of Joseph and mother of Jesus. The second (Mary Magdalene) was a follower of Jesus and the first witness to his resurrection.

16. Tamar and Tamar. Both were the victims of sexual abuse. The first was Judah’s daughter in law who had two sons by him through posing as a prostitute after he had mistreated her. She is listed in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1. The second was the sister of Absalom and daughter of David, who was raped by her half brother Amnon. The event led directly to Absalom’s murder of Amnon and subsequent rebellion against David.

17. Joshua and Joshua. The former was the successor of Moses who led the people of Israel out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The second was a high priest referred to the book of Zechariah who was cleansed from his sin by God. Joshua is a Hebrew word meaning ‘saviour’; the Greek equivalent is Jesus.

18. James and James.The first was the brother of John, one of Jesus twelve disciples, who was put to death by Herod. The second was the brother of Jesus, chair of the Jerusalem Council and writer of the New Testament letter which bears his name.

19. Judas and Judas.Both were disciples of Jesus. Judas Iscariot betrayed him but Judas the son of James (also known as Thaddaeus) was faithful.

20. Zechariah and Zechariah. Both were Old Testament prophets. The first, Zechariah son of Berekiah, was the author of the book of the same name. The second was the son of Jehoiada the priest. He confronted king Joash over his idolatry but paid for it with his life. A New Testament editor appears to confuse the two in Matthew 23:35. Zechariah is one of the commonest names in the Bible and is also shared by a lesser known king of Israel and the father of John the Baptist.

No doubt you can think of other confusing biblical couplets and similarities, but of all the Bible characters one life stands out as absolutely unique: the one solitary life of Jesus Christ (literally ‘Saviour Messiah’).

Jesus  marks himself out by his words, claims and actions to be God in the flesh: Son of God, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, Lord, Judge and Saviour.

As the Apostle Peter said to the rulers and elders in Jerusalem, he is the only way to God:

‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)

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Dr Seuss and the genius of writing simply

Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for children's picture books written and illustrated under the pen name Dr Seuss.

Geisel published 46 children's books, characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and poetic rhythm.

His books have topped many bestseller lists, sold over 600 million copies, and been translated into more than 20 languages. 

Some of his most celebrated works, including The Lorax, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been made into successful films.

 In 2000, Publishers Weekly compiled a list of the best-selling children's books of all time; of the top 100 hardcover books, 16 were written by Geisel, including Green Eggs and Ham, at number 4, The Cat in the Hat, at number 9, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, at number 13.

Giesel was a perfectionist in his work and would sometimes spend up to a year on a book. He wrote most of his books in anapestic tetrameter, a poetic meter employed by many poets of the English literary canon. This is often suggested as one of the reasons that his writing was so well received.

But his genius was also in being able to express himself in very simple words. Unlike his later works which employed hundreds of imaginative made up words, his earlier books used simple common words of mainly one syllable.

His friend William Spaulding apparently proposed that he write and illustrate a book that six and seven year olds ‘can't put down!’  He supplied Geisel with a list of 348 words that every six year old should know, and insisted that the book's vocabulary be limited to 225 words. 

Giesel used 223 of them and added 13 more. The Cat and the Hatis 1,629 words in length and uses a vocabulary of only 236 distinct words, of which 54 occur once and 33 twice.

Green Eggs and Ham is even simpler. It contains 50 different words of which 49 are only one syllable in length; the only exception being ‘anywhere’.

Writing simply and clearly is an extraordinary gift and skill that many don’t have but it is an essential ingredient for reaching a large audience.

I was intrigued to read on the Bible Society website to see Chief Executive James Catford extolling the merits of retelling Bible passages using only the1,000 most commonly used English words.

He quotes Leonardo da Vinci as saying that 'simplicity is the ultimate sophistication'. Catford argues that recasting Bible passages in this way compels us to really consider the text, helps ‘lower the barrier to entry’ and can give a fresh personal view. He includes a rewrite of Psalm 46 to illustrate his point.

In linguistics, the Gunning fog index measures the readability of English writing. The index estimates the years of formal education needed to understand the text on a first reading so a fog index of 12 requires the reading level of a US high school senior (around 18 years old).

The fog index is commonly used to confirm that text can be read easily by the intended audience. Texts for a wide audience generally need a fog index less than 12. Texts requiring near-universal understanding generally need an index less than 8.

Tabloid newspapers are generally 8-12, broadsheets 14-16 and medical journals 18. Interestingly Jesus Sermon on the Mount is 6 and the Ten Commandments 5!  

There’s certainly a lesson there. 

In case you are wondering this blog post has a Gunning Fog index of 9.8, which means you need to be 16 to understand it on a first reading. I can see I still have some way to go!

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Ten things we can learn from the slaughter of the Amorites in the Old Testament

The Amorites were an ancient people, who according to the Bible were directly descended from Noah’s grandson Canaan (Genesis 10:16). At the time of Israel’s exodus from Egypt (c 1446 BC) they occupied much of present day Palestine and Jordan on both sides of the Jordan River (see map).

The Israelites under Moses wiped out the Amorites east of the Jordan (including the two kings Og of Bashan and Sihon of Heshbon) and occupied their land (Numbers 21:21-35).

After crossing the Jordan the Israelites, now under Joshua’s leadership, destroyed the western Amorite civilisation.  The kings of the five city states of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon were executed by Joshua and their people erased from the pages of history (Joshua 10:1-27).

On both occasions the Amorites attacked first.

What lessons can we learn from the slaughter of the Amorites? Here are ten:

1. The nations belong to God

The Amorites, like all people on earth, belong to God (Psalm 24:1) and he can do whatever he chooses with his own possessions. If he decides to wipe a nation out, in this case by using the nation of Israel as his instrument, then that is his prerogative. God is sovereign over the nations and gives them to anyone he wishes (Daniel 4:17, 5:21). He does the same today.

2. Human beings are mortal

Virtually no one lives beyond 120 years, the limit for human longevity which God set after the flood (Genesis 6:3). Every human being eventually dies, usually from disease or trauma. This is a consequence of the curse of the Fall – when humankind rejected God’s rightful rule (Genesis 3). The Amorites suffered the fate that awaits all human beings but died through battle rather than from disease.

3. God is sovereign over the nations

God marks out for all nations their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands (Acts 17:26). He decreed that the Amorites would last until around 1400 BC. You’ll notice that most of the other nations in the immediate vicinity at the time no longer exist either. Where are Moab, Edom, Ammon, Philistia and Phoenicia today? For that matter where are the empires of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Media, Greece and Rome? Today’s nations (and Empires) should take warning.

4. God is incredibly patient

Have you ever wondered why God kept his own people under slavery in Egypt for over 400 years? It was because the ‘sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its full measure’ (Genesis 15:16). God delayed his judgement on the Amorites for over 400 years out of mercy whilst his own chosen people suffered and he suffered with them. The Amorites had every opportunity to change their ways but chose not to, so judgement eventually came. We should not take God’s patience for granted. It should rather lead us to change our ways (Romans 2:4).

5. God regards sin as serious and will bring judgement

The Amorites indulged in sexual immorality, child sacrifice and idolatry. These are serious sins and such a people could not be allowed to survive. The Amorites were called to account for their sins as eventually will every nation - and every person - on the face of the earth. Nations which indulge in sexual immorality (ie. sex outside marriage), kill their children (eg. through abortion) and practise idolatry (ie. greed – see Colossians 3:5) today should learn from the fate of the Amorites. 

6. God delivers on his promises

God told Moses that he would drive the Amorites out of Canaan ahead of Israel. He did, along with the nations of the Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, Girgashites and Perizzites. He also told Moses he would give Israel the Amorites’ land. He did but he drove the Amorites out not because Israel was good but because the Amorites' time for judgement had come (Deuteronomy 9:4-6). But these were not God’s only promises. In Genesis 15 God tells Moses that those who eventually share his faith in the one true God will be like the stars in number. Furthermore these people will include not only believing Jews, but people from every nation on earth (Romans 4:16,17; Revelation 7). God will deliver on these promises too.

7. God will protect his people

There are no Amorites on the streets of New York or Palestine today but there are many Jews both in New York and in Israel. God ensures the survival of his chosen people. Sometimes the only way of doing that is by destroying their enemies. When Israel came to the boundaries of the Amorite territory they simply asked for safe passage (Numbers 21:22). But the Amorites sought to destroy them. Israel responded in self-defence. Those who seek to destroy the Jewish nation today need to appreciate that it was God who put them back in Palestine and that he already has ensured their survival against the greatest world empires for the last 4,000 years. Those who seek to destroy Christians today should note the warning of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10.

8. God disciplines his people

God promised the Israelites (who became the Jews) Amorite land both east and west of the Jordan River. But they possessed it only for a limited period of time. As a result of their disobedience to God their own territory was reduced in size by foreign armies and they were later exiled to Babylon. After their return they were scattered all over the world following the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans. This is exactly what God warned them would happen if they disobeyed him (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). God disciplines those who he loves (Hebrews 12:4-11). He still does so today.

9. There is something far more serious than a violent death

Jesus said, ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matthew 10:28) There is fate far worse than death: being excluded from God’s presence forever in Hell. When people asked Jesus about others who had died violent deaths he warned them, 'unless you repent, you too will perish' (Luke 13:1-5). We need to remember that after death comes judgement and that all human beings who have ever lived, including the Amorites and ourselves, will face it (Hebrews 9:27).  We need to make sure we do not end up on the wrong side of that judgement.

10. We all need to turn to God

The Amorites were evil people but all of us have equally sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We all thereby deserve God’s judgement but God offers eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). God’s desire is that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9) but we know that many will not (Matthew 7:13,14). God has provided the way through Jesus Christ for anyone who seeks it to receive God’s forgiveness and to spend all eternity with him (John 3:16-18, 5:24; Romans 10:9,10). If you want to understand more about how Christ’s death and resurrection makes this possible see here. If you wish to read a short explanation of the Christian gospel message see here. 

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The role of Christian doctors - Elijah or Obadiah?

The Old Testament prophet Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 is one of the best-known stories of the Old Testament. One man has the courage to stand up to Israel's apostate king Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel and wins a great victory on Mt Carmel. God himself intervenes in the contest both to vindicate Elijah and to demonstrate his own majesty and power. It is a reminder that even during the darkest times of human history God remains in control.

The story of Elijah's withdrawal into the desert when later overcome by fear and exhaustion is one beloved by all who have ever found themselves 'honourably wounded' in the Lord's service. God's provision of food, drink, rest and a fresh refilling with his Spirit is a prescription we all need to draw on frequently if we are to retain our sanity and spiritual health in a world increasingly hostile to Christian living and Christian values.

But the story that I would like to draw your attention to is that which immediately precedes the battle on Mt Carmel – the meeting that takes place between Elijah and Obadiah. Obadiah is a lesser known Bible character – but he was in charge of King Ahab's palace and clearly, like Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah and Mordecai in other Bible stories, had risen to a position of great influence and responsibility in government. We are also told that he was a 'devout believer in the Lord' and that while Jezebel was killing off the Lord's prophets, Obadiah had 'taken a hundred of the Lord's prophets and hidden them in two caves… and supplied them with food and water'. Like a former day Schindler, he was prepared to take risks to do the right thing.

Ahab, egged on by his wife, intended to kill Elijah, who had three years earlier prophesied to him that God was sending a drought as judgement on Israel's idolatry and apostasy. The meeting between Elijah and Obadiah took place as the latter was combing the land at Ahab's command to find grass to feed Ahab's starving animals.

Elijah tells Obadiah to go to Ahab and announce his arrival but Obadiah is reticent to do so afraid that if Ahab cannot then find Elijah, his own life will be in danger. He is reassured when Elijah agrees to meet Ahab himself later that day. As they say the rest is history.

It can be uncomfortable to be an Elijah in today's world. But some of us are called to do just that – to stand up for justice and truth publicly in a hostile environment, delivering messages that the powers that be might not want to hear, being prepared to confront injustice and corruption, speaking out in order to be a 'voice for the voiceless' through letters, articles, submissions, personal visits and on the media.

The responsibility of Elijahs is to speak the truth without compromise; but the danger of playing such a prophetic role is that one can come across as bigoted, simplistic and strident - throwing judgements like grenades from a distance whilst shrinking from the face-to-face encounters with those in authority that really bring results. Elijah did not shrink from seeing the job through and risking all to do it – and he was also prepared to face the risk of meeting Ahab and not leave Obadiah to face him alone.

It can be equally unsettling to be an Obadiah – occupying a position of responsibility in our society's corridors of power. Obadiahs have responsibilities too – to use the position of power and influence God has given them to protect the vulnerable and innocent and to be willing to face up to unjust authority when it is called for. The danger of playing this 'incarnational' servant role is that one can be tempted to become compromised, timid and anxious about one's reputation. Obadiah was afraid about what Ahab might do – but despite his fear he was willing to pass on Elijah's message to the king, even though it put his own life at risk.

God needs Christian doctors in these days who are willing to be prophets like Elijah, people who are prepared to speak unpalatable truth, who are willing to put their heads above the parapet to expose corruption and injustice, and challenge flawed policy, regardless of the personal cost. And God also needs Obadiahs who will accept responsibility within our society's flawed institutions – in NHS Trusts, Royal Colleges, Hospitals, BMA, GMC and government – in order to be salt and light; to safeguard the services for the most vulnerable and to care with compassion for the most needy. And most importantly God needs the Elijahs and Obadiahs to work together, respecting, enabling and encouraging one another, for the extension of his kingdom and for his glory.

Whether you see yourself as an Obadiah or Elijah, or someone called to play another role entirely, God will equip, inform and inspire you on that journey.

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The peril of the circular argument – for both Christians and unbelievers

A common accusation levelled against Christians by unbelievers is that we present a circular argument in the way we discuss the authority of the Bible.

On the one hand we say that Jesus is the Son of God and produce proof texts from the Bible to make our point.

When they reply that they don’t accept the authority of the Bible we then produce sayings of Christ to prove that the Bible is Word of God – from the Bible itself!

The argument is circular. It’s analogous to Muslims saying that we must accept the authority of the Qur’an because it came from Muhammad who is a prophet, and that we know he is a prophet because the Qur’an says he is. But if you can’t accept the premise then you can’t get into the circle.

One reason Christians get into this predicament is that it was the Apostle Paul's usual practice to persuade Jews by reasoning with them from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the promised Messiah and Son of God.

The Jews however believed these Scriptures to be inspired and authoritative. Paul had a very different approach addressing Gentiles (Acts 14 & 17). His theology remained biblical without presuming that Bible texts should be the final court of appeal.

A second reason Christians tie themselves in knots is because they don’t think clearly about the real object of Christian belief. We are asking people primarily to put their trust in a person, Jesus Christ, not a book.

As a Christian I believe the Bible to be the Word of God. But I don’t expect unbelievers to accept that.

As Christians we regard the Old Testament Scriptures to be the revealed word of God ultimately because Jesus himself had that view of Scripture (see argument here) and trusting the Old Testament Scriptures is a proper consequence of first of all submitting ourselves to Jesus and becoming his disciples.

Similarly we believe in the authority of the New Testament Scriptures because we believe that Jesus commissioned the apostles to write them and guided them in the process (see argument here).

But it is not necessary for unbelievers to believe that the New Testament documents (including the four Gospels) are God-breathed Scripture in order to assess the force of our argument about Jesus.

The argument flows instead from the fact that they contain eye-witness testimony about Jesus and our appeal to them, in the first instance, is not as authoritative Scripture, but as credible historical documents.

Unbelievers cannot reasonably deny that these documents were written in the first century and we can produce compelling evidence that these writings have survived the centuries essentially as they were written.

They describe the amazing figure of Jesus of Nazareth, who gave the world a body of teaching which is there for everyone's evaluation. He is described as an exemplary character who practised what he preached. He is said to have performed amazing deeds, and his sayings are shot through with the most extraordinary claims he made about himself. The events of his life are said by eye-witnesses, who later became his followers, to have climaxed not only in his death but in his resurrection.

The whole saga, because of the importance of his teaching, the example of his character, his astonishing claims and the impact he had made on the world's stage, demands evaluation from every thoughtful responsible person. They may conclude that the whole story is invention, but history is not on their side.

So Christians need to avoid using the circular argument and instead argue from the historical accounts about Jesus that he was in fact who he claimed to be.

And unbelievers need to take on board that they do not have to first accept that the New Testament documents are Scripture in order to make an assessment of whether or not Jesus was the Son of God.

The Gospel accounts do not actually claim to be God-breathed Scripture, just to be credible historical accounts of what Jesus said and did. So let’s allow unbelievers to start from this point and see what conclusions they draw.

‘Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.’ (Luke 1:1-5)

‘Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (John 20:30-31)

See also:

1.Why the whole Bible carries Jesus’ authority

2.Has the Bible been corrupted?

3.Is Jesus Christ the only way to God?

4.Is the Bible reliable?

5.Jesus Christ – One solitary life

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Why the whole Bible speaks with the authority of Jesus Christ himself

Many people today are willing to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, even as the Son of God, but are unable to accept the authority of the Bible, the world’s most read book.

But in fact it is Jesus himself who, by his teaching, underlines the authority of the Bible.

Following Christ involves following his commands. The ‘law of Christ’ referred to in such Scriptures as John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 9:21 and Galatians 6:2 involves bearing one another's burdens, loving each other as he has loved us.

But whereas these verses summarise beautifully the substance of the teaching Jesus gave first-hand, we cannot therefore conclude that the rest of Scripture is unnecessary. Jesus expands this core of moral teaching throughout the Gospels and particularly in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7). But he also endorses the whole of the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Jesus and the Old Testament

Jesus put his stamp of authority on the Old Testament. He treated its historical narratives as straightforward records of fact. Interestingly the stories that are the least acceptable to the 'modern mind' are the very ones he seemed most fond of choosing for his illustrations (eg. Abel (Mt 23:35), Noah (Lk 17:26-27), Jonah (Mt 12:39-41)). He repeatedly quoted it as the final court of appeal in debates, not only with his earthly opponents but with the Devil himself (Mt 4:1-11) He believed its prophecies were fulfilled in him (Lk 24:44) and used them as proof of his claims to be the Messiah (Jn 4:25-26; Mt 16:20) and he obeyed its ethical teaching (Mt 5:17-21; Mt 23:23; Jn 8:46).

Jesus commanded his disciples to obey the teachers of the law in so far as they were faithful to the Law of Moses (Mt 23:2-3), and said that anyone who broke one of the least of the Law's commandments and taught others to do the same would be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Not 'the least stroke of a pen' is to disappear from the Law until 'heaven and earth disappear'. In fact his disciples are expected to go beyond mere observance of the letter of the Law to fulfilment of the very principle of love upon which it is based (Mt 5:17-20). So for example, in the eyes of Christ, hate and lust are to be regarded as seriously as murder and adultery (Mt 5:21-22, 27-28). Jesus had a very high view of the Old Testament.

Jesus and the New Testament

Jesus also commissioned the writing of the New Testament. We can be confident that what the Apostles recorded was what Christ said (Lk 1:3; Jn 20:30-31; 2 Pet 1:16), not only because they were eyewitnesses of all that he said and did but more importantly because he personally commissioned them and gave them the authority to teach in his name (Mt 28:19-20; Gal 1:11-12; Mt 16:18-19; 18:18). The fact that what is recorded in the New Testament is the testimony of eye-witnesses means that we can be confident that there were not errors of a 'Chinese-whisper' type that have crept into the text.

We have not only the apostles' testimony themselves that what they wrote were the words of Christ but also Christ's own testimony that he would enable them by means of his Holy Spirit (Jn 14:25-26) to 'teach them all things', 'remind them of everything he said', 'take what was his and make it known to them' and 'guide them into all truth' (Jn 16:12-15).

It is true that we are now ‘saved by grace through faith’ (Eph 2:8,9) and 'not under (Old Testament) law but under grace' (Rom 6:14) but this does not mean that we are thereby free of moral responsibility. Under the New Covenant, God's laws are written on our hearts (Je 31:33; Ezk 36:25-27) and we are now enabled and exhorted to live 'according to the Spirit' (Gal 5:22-24). In other words , while our goodness or righteousness is 'by faith' (Rom 1:17) the evidence of the genuineness of our faith is that we perform good works (Jas 2:26) by being conformed to Jesus Christ and following in his footsteps (1 Jn 2:6).

The Sufficiency of the Bible

The Bible is God's Word to us, coming to us with the very authority of Jesus Christ and given in order that we may 'be thoroughly equipped for every good work'. It is sufficient (2 Tim 3:16,17). The Bible accordingly contains very stern warnings about adding to or subtracting from what God has already revealed (Dt 4:2; 12:32; Pr 30:6; Rev 22:18-19).

A logical corollary of this is that we should share Jesus' own high regard for the Scriptures. We will want regularly to hear, read, study and meditate on what God has revealed in the Old and New Testaments so that our thoughts and actions will be increasingly in line with those of Jesus himself.

Adapted from my previous piece 'The Authority of the Bible' in CMF's 'Turning the Tide' Series

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Is the Bible reliable? A brief overview of the most common objections.

The Bible is actually a collection of 66 different books written by over 30 different authors in three continents in three languages over a period of 1,500 years which has been carefully complied from reliable copies of the original manuscripts (hand-written documents).

Christians believe that the Bible is both divinely inspired and an accurate record of God’s dealings with man. But many people today question its accuracy. This questioning usually boils down to one of four main questions as follows:

1.Did the events described really happen in the way the eyewitnesses claimed they did?
(Are there errors of fact?)

If the eyewitnesses did not relate the events as they originally occurred, then there are only two possibilities. Either they were mistaken or they deliberately lied.

Individuals may suffer from errors of perception but not whole groups. Unlike the 'revelations' of contemporary cult leaders many of the events described in the Bible were witnessed by more than one person. On examining the accounts we find a remarkable degree of consistency. Consider for example the parallel histories in Kings, Chronicles and the Prophets, the biography of Jesus in the four Gospels or the 500 who were said to have seen Christ after the resurrection. (1 Cor 15:6)

On the other hand would the authors deliberately lie? According to historical tradition, eleven of the twelve disciples of Jesus met a violent death on account of their belief in his resurrection. Would they really have put themselves through such suffering for a faith they knew was false? (1 Cor 15:15-19; 2 Cor 11:23-29)

2.Did the story change before it was written down?
(Are there errors of verbal transmission?)

Many people in our 21st century world of internet, email and word-processing believe that verbally transmitted information could never remain uncontaminated. But an examination of the way stories are passed on in contemporary non-literate societies quickly puts paid to this kind of cultural arrogance. Oral traditions are composed in easily memorable format and are constantly repeated and checked. Some early Muslim converts have memorised over 6,000 verses of the Qu'ran accurately! The capacity of the human memory is astounding as any mother who has read to her children knows.

Despite this, there was no chain of verbal transmission before much of the Bible was committed to writing. The words and deeds of Jesus were clearly recorded by eyewitnesses (2 Pet 1:16; 1 Jn 1:3, 19:35) or at least by those who carefully interviewed them (Lk 1:1-3). The meticulous detail in some of the observations proves their authenticity (Jn 19:34-5; 20:6-7).

3.Is what we have now what was originally written down?
(Are there errors of written transmission?)

Scribes who copied Scripture were meticulous in their attention to detail. One has only to look at old manuscripts like the Book of Kells in the Dublin Trinity College library, or some of the scrolls in the British Museum to see the truth of this. Even if we doubted this fact there are enough early copies of both Old and New Testament documents to show that they have not been changed over the course of time. Entire copies of the New Testament in Greek dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries (Codex Vaticanus, Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus) can be viewed today. Some of the earliest fragments (eg John Ryland) date from the lifetime of those who knew the apostles personally. Until last century the earliest Old Testament in Hebrew which we possessed was the Massoretic Text (cAD900). However, the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran in the 1940s, (which contain parts of every Old Testament book save one) are 1,000 years older and virtually identical.

When comparisons are made with other documents of antiquity the Bible documents stand alone in terms of authenticating evidence. We know about Julius Caesar (whose existence no-one doubts) from less than a dozen copies of the original documents, the earliest of which post-date his death by 1,000 years. By contrast there are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts alone of New Testament records of the life of Christ and his apostles surviving from the first few hundred years after he walked the streets of Palestine (For more detail on this see here and here)

Apart from the New Testament documents, early Jewish and Roman literature also makes mention of Christ: his teaching, miracles, crucifixion under Tiberius and even the three hours darkness at the time of his death. (see Tacitus, Lucian, Josephus, Suetonius, Pliny and Thallus).

Archeological discoveries have repeatedly confirmed that those who wrote the Bible were consummate historians of the first order. (eg Ezra 6:13-16; Lk 3:1-2)

4.Are there contradictions?

Those who make reference to the 'thousands' of contradictions in the Bible are usually unable to name one. Most genuine contradictions can be attributed to minor errors in hand copying of individual letters or numbers (eg 2 Ch 36:9 cf 2 Ki 24:8) or to verses being taken out of context (eg Mt 7:8 cf Pr 1:28). Others arise when the same story is told from the perspective of different observers (eg Lk 24:1-2 cf Jn 20:1) This is what we would expect. If serial witnesses in court give identical testimonies, one might suspect that the evidence has been fabricated.

Some contradictions may seem at first difficult to account for, but can be explained satisfactorily (eg Judas's mode of death Mt 27:5 cf Acts1:18 and Jesus's genealogy Mt 1:6-16 cf Lk 3:23-31.) Apparent contradictions confirm rather than cast doubt on the Bible's authenticity. They would be carefully edited out in a fake. The fact remains that there is not a single error in the Bible which casts doubt on any significant historical biblical event or doctrine. Whilst accepting that there will always be mysteries, there are reasonable explanations for virtually all the so-called contradictions (See 101 cleared up contradictions)

Throughout the last two thousand years the Bible has withstood vociferous criticism with flying colours.

In my experience those who are most vocal in questioning it reject it, not because of the above reasons (these are just smokescreens!) but for one of five reasons:

1.Hearsay. They have never looked at it but have heard that others reject it.
2.Presuppositions. They believe that miracles cannot happen and because the Bible describes miracles it must therefore be false.
3.Science. They think the Bible makes claims which have been disproved scientifically.
4.Morality. They reject the Bible’s moral teaching especially about sexuality.
5.Personal. They are unwilling to accept the personal implications of the Bible’s teaching.

Adapted from an article I wrote for CMF’s Confident Christianity series

Some Online References for further reading

1. Complete List of 127 New Testament Greek Papyri
2. The historical reliability of the New Testament
3. Complete List of 322 Greek New Testament Uncials (Sections of NT written in majuscule letters on parchment or vellum)
4. Manuscript evidence for superior New Testament reliability
5. 101 cleared-up contradictions in the Bible
6. The Bible's manuscript evidence
7. New Testament miniscules (Sections of NT written in a small, cursive Greek script)
8. Complete List of 2,882 New Testament Greek miniscules
9. List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts
10. List of major textual variants in the New Testament
11. Ten misconceptions about the New Testament Canon 
12. Ten facts about the New Testament Canon every Christian should know 

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Biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality – a quick overview for Guardian readers

I was amused to read an editorial in the Guardian today titled ‘Gay marriage: torn asunder from reality’. It made the extraordinary claim that ‘it is surprisingly hard to find in the Bible a consistent endorsement of heterosexual marriage as we now understand it’.

I will return to a full fisk of the editorial piece later (now available here) but for the benefit of Guardian readers here is a quick overview of biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality.

Marriage is a divine invention. It was God who first said that it was ‘not good for man to be alone’ and who created the unique complementarity of the marriage relationship for companionship, pleasure, procreation and the raising of children – ‘one man, one woman, united for life’ (Genesis 2:24).

Marriage is also in this way illustrative of Christ’s own self-giving abandonment to his bride the church (Ephesians 5:31, 32) and points to a greater richness of human relationships beyond the grave of which the very best on earth are but a pale shadow (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10).

The Bible is full of references to sex and marriage -from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation (Gn 1:28, Rev 22:17).

The one man and one woman for life pattern is an Old Testament creation ordinance, upheld by Jesus and Paul in the New Testament (Gn 2:24; Mt 19:3-12; Eph 5:22-33).

Sex in the context of marriage (Gn 2:24, Mt 19:3-12)
...is viewed as the good gift of a good creator (Pr 5:15-20, Song 4:11-16)
...and a sign of Christ’s coming marriage with the church (Eph 5:32, Rev 19:7)

Anything outside this context is seen as a disaster (2 Sa 11, 2 Sa 13, Gn 34)
... offensive to God (Lv 18:6-30, 20:7-21; 1 Cor 6:12-20)
... and accordingly judged (Lv 18:29; Dt 22:20-22, Rev 21:8)

All wrong patterns are spelt out specifically in detail (Lv 18:1-30; Lv 20:1-27; Ex 22:16-19; Dt 22:13-30) and include all homosexual acts (Lv 18:22, 20:13; Gn 19:1-29; Jdg 19:1-30; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-11; 1 Tim 1:8-11)

God’s people are called to be ‘set apart’ in sexual behaviour (1 Thes 4:3-8; Mt 5:27-32)

Scripture is accordingly replete with love stories which affirm marriage: Isaac and Rebecca (Gen 24), Jacob and Rachel (Gen 29:16-30), Boaz and Ruth (Ru 3)… and similar narratives about how sex and marriage can be distorted – some examples:

Shechem and Dinah (Gen 34) - rape
Judah and Tamar (Gen 38) - prostitution
Amnon and Tamar (2 Sa 13) - incest
David and Bathsheba (2 Sa 11) – adultery
Zimri and Cozbi (Nu 25) – fornication
Sodom and Gibeah (Gn 19; Jdg 19) – homosexuality

Polygamy, whilst tolerated and permitted in Old and New Testament times (but with strict rules of faithfulness), was never endorsed or commanded and I am struggling to think of a single instance where it did not have serious consequences for the families involved in terms of jealousy, favouritism, rivalry, apostasy and family breakdown.

Lifelong, heterosexual monogamy is the consistent pattern.

Guardian readers are of course entitled to their opinions about what they think of biblical teaching but they should be aware of what the Bible actually says and similarly aware that Guardian editors are about as adept with scripture as 'a fool is with a proverb' or 'a paralysed man is with his legs' (Proverbs 26:7).

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