Scripture – Daniel Tomberlin

March 6, 2022March 7, 2022

The Sacred Scriptures are self-authenticating

The movie The Book of Eli is the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity is reduced to anarchy and cannibalism.

Eli (played by Denzel Washington) is a man on a journey, guided by a voice, with the mission of protecting a mysterious book. The antagonist is Carnegie (played by Gary Oldman) who is looking for a single copy of the mysterious book. For Eli, the book symbolizes hope; for Carnegie, the book is a tool of power. Both men hold the Bible dear to their hearts. I found the movie to be a powerful commentary on the nature of humanity and Sacred Scripture.

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April 12, 2014July 7, 2014

The New Bible Challenge

As a child and teen reared in church I was not taught to read the Bible critically. The first article of our church’s Declaration of Faith states that we believe “In the verbal inspiration of the Bible.” This being the first article in our statement of faith is not incidental. It suggests that the Bible has priority; that all other statements of faith proceed from our confidence in the veracity of the inspired Scripture. Therefore, the words of Scripture are to be accepted by faith. As a teen I began reading the Bible in earnest. When I read “difficult” passages – Joshua’s genocide of Canaan, or Samuel’s execution of the Amalekite king – it never occurred to me to read these texts critically. In other word’s I was never taught to ask questions.

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