Women

This is the fourth week in a 5 week series on one of the most important questions asked throughout history. That question is this: “Is the Bible Really True?” That is to say, “Is the Bible we read today the same as what was written by those people “way back when.” This question is a fair question and requires a reliable response. Although we are dealing with limited space in these articles I will provide some of the resources in my research.

We begin with the Bibles testimony of the women being the first at the tomb on Sunday morning. Why did God use women to be the first witnesses? It doesn’t make sense. Women could not testify in court; talk to men in public; and had no credibility in that culture.[1] Yet Jesus actually called female disciples in Luke 8:1-3. Jesus was a liberator of women. In John 4:25-26 Jesus invited the Samaritan Women at the well to be his disciple. Note that in the Synagogue women and men sat apart from each other. The early church did not separate men and women in worship. They were equal as written in Galatians 3:28. Why would God use women to be the first witnesses of the resurrection? God always uses those the world tries to put down to do God’s work in the world.

Why did God not choose to have Joseph of Arimethea or Nicodemus, both members of the Jewish ruling body of the Sanhedrin? That would make more sense. But God uses the ways of God to bring the Good News and not the ways of the world. This example is the same reason Jesus was not born in a palace with servants. God’s ways are not familiar to most of us. It is important to note we are made in God’s image and quit trying to make God in our image.

Archaeology

Are the stories in the Bible just myth, made-up stories or did the characters, places, events really happen? I Pet. 3:15-16 admonishes us to be prepared to give an account of our faith to anyone who asks. We should be able to explain why we believe what we believe.[2] Archaeology is a relatively new science and began in the 19th Century.

Let’s begin with Sir William Ramsey. He was an atheist, son of atheists; a wealthy Ph.D. from Oxford. He gave his whole life over to archaeology and was determined to disprove the Bible, since atheists believe the Bible is unreliable. He set out to disprove the history found in the book of Acts. Acts is the history of the early church, where they went, what they preached, and where they traveled. He knew if he could disprove the history in Acts the Bible would fall like a deck of cards.

After twenty-five years of research he concluded in his book that he was incredibly impressed by the accuracy of Luke’s writings and declared that Luke was exact, down to the most minute details. Finally, in one of his books he shocked the whole critical world by declaring himself to be a Christian.

Next, the Hittite nation is mentioned twenty-three times in the Old Testament:

Genesis 23:10 25;9 27:46 49:29-32 II Samuel 11:3-6 etc.

Interestingly enough is that for centuries people made fun of the Bible because no history book in the world mentioned the nation of the Hittites. Because the only book in the world they were mentioned was the Bible. One could not find the Hittites mentioned in history books.

Then in 1906 Dr. Hugo Winckler, archeologist from the Univ. of Berlin discovered in a Sidon, Lebanon archaeological dig stone tablets verifying the Hittite empire flourished in the Syrian area from 1600 B.C. to 1200 B.C. They were invaded by Assyria and later the Thracians. The kingdom broke up and evolved into several smaller kingdoms with local chieftains which lasted until 700 B.C. Again, what people thought was nonsense in the Bible became fact, thanks to the fact that stones speak. There were two groups of Hittites, one in Turkey and one south in Syria, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, etc. They were a powerful nation from 1700 B.C. to about 1200 B.C.

These are just a couple of examples of how archaeology has affirmed the reliability and validity of the truth of Holy Scripture. There are hundreds of other examples. The evidence is overwhelming for the Bible’s truth about hundreds of dates and events. May God continue to bless you your journey on this planet with Jesus as your companion.

Sources: Johnson, Philip E. Reason in the Balance. Intervarsity Press; Kennedy, D. James. Why I Believe. Word Publishing. 1980; McDowell, Josh. Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Here’s Life Publishers. 1979; Wilson, Bill and Josh McDowell. He Walked Among Us. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1993; Bruce, F.F. Are the New Testament Documents Reliable. Eerdmans Publishing. 1968