Methods of Bible Study Part 3–Purpose and Structure

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Jerry

III. Study by Structure and Purpose of Book

A. What natural major divisions does the book divide into?

For example, a careful reading and study of the book of Romans will show it has three major parts or divisions.

Even well-known Bible scholars and popular Bible teachers have missed the structure of the book of Romans, and have come up with some obviously very mistaken ideas about what the book of Romans means. Failure to understand the structure of the book of Romans, for example, has led many interpreters to misunderstand and misapply material in Romans chapter 9.

B. Why was the book written?

1. What problems was it written to solve?

2. What is the author’s purpose in terms of the solutions proposed to the problems presented?

C. Answer these questions on the basis of your own findings–don’t look up answers in commentaries or study Bibles!

Years ago I shared with my students in public school a quotation that said something like “He who learns by finding out learns sevenfold what he who learns by being told.” That principle holds true for Bible study, too.

Some books of the Bible, especially in the New Testament, directly state why they were written. The Gospel of John is a prime example. Some books do not directly state the purpose of the book, but by using your inference skills, the purpose of the book can be determined through your own careful study.

The Bible is God’s love letter to us. The best way to get to know God better is to read His written word faithfully for ourselves.

Did you ever get a love letter from someone you loved? If you have ever received such a letter, most likely you read it with great care. You likely read it through more than once. You watched every word, weighed its significance. You tried to get every bit of meaning that the letter was intended to convey. You might even have tried to “read between the lines” to derive more meaning. You noticed what was said, and what was not said.

That kind of close, sensitive reading is how we ought to be reading and enjoying the Bible.

The Bible is our spiritual food. Just as we require physical food every day to remain healthy, so we require the spiritual food God has placed in His love letter to us, the Bible. We ought to spend time in God’s Word every day. I would recommend committing at least 20 minutes daily to Bible reading on even the busiest days. Many days we should be able to spend more time than that.

If we fed ourselves physically only to the same degree that we fed ourselves spiritually by reading and studying God’s Word, the Bible, what shape would our physical health be? That may likely be the shape of your spiritual health.

These posts about Methods of Bible Study are presented to help you get more out of your Bible study.

I have many more good ideas to share. I’m transcribing them from the notes I placed in my Oxford Loose Leaf Bible years ago when I was teaching the Bible to the students who attended the Bible Discussion Club at Cass Technical High School. I am filling in more information than I wrote in those notes based on my further study since those notes were written. I trust you will find these notes and outlines uniquely useful.

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Methods of Bible Study Part 2–By Paragraph

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Jerry

II. Study by Paragraph

A. Adopt a system of paragraphing, either your own, or that of a modern translation. You will benefit far more from the study if you do your own paragraphing.

B. The best Bible to use for this study is one which has only the text, not annotated and paragraphed and outlined at the start (as a Scofield Reference Bible is, for example). In other words, use a plain text Bible.

C. Read the Bible chapter and divide it into paragraphs. The paragraphs will be thought-units or subjects expressed in one to several sentences in the text. This kind of close reading of the text to discern its structure helps in understanding the text.

D. Title each paragraph in three words or less. Occasionally a title might require as many as five words, but almost never more. Your titles should be distinctive, appropriate, brief, and original.

E. Chart your results. Only by committing your study to paper will you really fully engage in the process and preserve your results. A simple chart can be drawn on loose leaf paper, or in a lined notebook set aside for Bible study. Above the chart write the book name followed by the words “Analysis by Paragraph,” since this is the step in Bible study being recorded. Draw two horizontal lines one space below, one on the next line down, and the other on the next line below that. Then draw a vertical line at the left extending down the page as far as needed to accommodate the number of lines needed to record your results. About a half inch to the right of that left vertical line draw another vertical line to form a left column to be headed “Chapter Number.” The next column may be a narrow column to record the paragraph number. The third column needs to be a bit wider to record the verses that define the paragraph, headed “verses.” There will remain a much wider fourth column at the right labeled “Title” to record the titles you devise for the paragraphs.

I am unable to reproduce such a chart here using the keyboard, so I will display a partial example I have done in outline form.

II Peter, Analysis by Paragraph

Chapter 1.

1. verses 1-4. Power for purity.
2. verses 5-9. Qualities yielding fruitfulness.
3. verses 10-11. Confirm your calling.
4. verses 12-15. Remember these things.
5. verses 16-18. Visual credentials: eye witnesses
6. verses 19-21. Written credentials: God’s Word

Chapter 2.

7. verses 1-3. False prophets–field, future
8. verses 4-9. God’s past judgments, warning
9. verses 10-16. Prophets for price.
10. verses 17-19.

In actual practice I have not gone through very many Bible books using this process. I recall working through the first 8 or so chapters of the book of Acts with a neighbor friend who was ahead of me in high school. We attended the same Methodist Youth Fellowship at nearby Thoburn Methodist Church at the time. It was an exciting day of mutual Bible study I will never forget.

In the Vacation Bible School class on How to Study the Bible taught by Miss Ellen Groh (a student at the Detroit Bible College) at Highland Park Baptist Church, where I was taught how to do this kind of Bible study, we went through the book of 2 Timothy using this process.

Working independently, no two persons will arrive at exactly the same results. That sameness is not the goal. The goal is to get into a book of the Bible deeply enough to make it a part of your thinking and experience. Engaging in a study like this will help you remember more vividly what you have studied!

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Methods of Bible Study Part 1, by Book

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

In this series on Bible Study Methods I intend to describe what are generally known as Inductive Bible Study Methods. The principle is to proceed from the whole to its parts.

I. STUDY BY BOOK

A. Read the Bible book through at one sitting in the King James Version of 1611 or other more literal version of your choice.

1. Choose a short book to begin with, such as the book of 1 John near the end of the New Testament. Other short books such as Titus, Philippians, Colossians and other New Testament epistles would also be suitable.

2. Repeated daily readings of the book in its entirety will lead to mastery of the book if continued for a month.

3. If that much reading cannot be worked into your schedule every day, reading one chapter a day will also work, but it may take longer to reach mastery. I consider basic mastery to have been reached when you can think through the book chapter by chapter, recalling just about everything stated in the chapter from memory.

B. Read the book through (in one sitting) in a modern speech translation.

1. If more than one translation in modern English is available, it will be found helpful to read the Bible book you have chosen for study through at one sitting in each of them.

2. There are several types of translations available, each suited to a different purpose.

a) Literal translations.

These are designed to be word-for-word translations of the original Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible. (1) Young’s Literal Translation; (2) J. N. Darby’s New Translation; (3) Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible; and (4) the Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation (not suitable for doctrinal studies, but one unique feature makes it worth consulting at times, for plural pronouns are placed in all capitals which are otherwise ambiguous in English).

b) Expanded translations.

Designed to convey the full meaning in English of the original language. (1) The Amplified Bible. (2) Kenneth Wuest, An Expanded Translation.

c) Modern speech translations.

(1) The English Standard Version. (2) The New Living Translation. (3) J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English. (4) Good News for Modern Man. (5) The New International Version.

d) Specialty modern speech translations.

(1) Controlled English vocabulary:

(a) The Bible in Basic English. Suitable for adults speaking English as a second language.

(b) Williams, The New Testament in Plain English. Suitable for children in elementary grades and even older students with reading difficulties.

(2) Translations which display special features of the original text:

(a) J. B. Williams. The New Testament in the Language of the People. This translation accurately displays the tenses of the Greek verb in modern English.

(b) Rotherham, Emphasized Bible. Displays emphatic constructions and degrees of emphasis present in the original text. The introduction to the translation is an education in itself.

(c) Thomas Newberry. The Newberry Bible. Displays the Greek article, tenses, and much more by means of symbols in the text of the King James Version.

(3) Translations from other than Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament.

(a) George Lamsa. The Lamsa Translation. Translated from the Syriac. This is generally the best-reading English translation of the Bible, and follows the Received Text accurately.

(b) Ronald Knox. The Knox Translation. This is an excellent Roman Catholic translation devoid of the usual doctrinal notes, translated from the Latin. Excellent for devotional reading, particularly of Paul’s epistles.

(c) The Septuagint Bible. An English translation from the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible in modern English.

e) Paraphrased translations.

(1) Kenneth Taylor, The Living Bible
(2) Arthur S. Way, Epistles of St. Paul

f) Public translations (in contrast to private translations done by single individuals).

(1) English Revised Version, 1885.
(2) American Standard Version, 1901. Available with extensive cross references.
(3) The Revised Standard Version
(4) The New English Bible
(5) The English Standard Version. I have found this version excellent for reading and study.

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Michigan’s Bad Reputation Part 5

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

Here is my first letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on the DNR feral pig issue, a letter that went unanswered and unacknowledged. I did get a “boiler plate” response immediately to my second letter, but no actual action.

SUBJECT: Please REVERSE DNR REGULATION OF PIG FARMS IMMEDIATELY
DATE: April 1, 2012

Dear Governor Snyder:

Your Department of Natural Resources has overstepped its legal authority and is entirely out of bounds.

Please RESCIND the order they have issued respecting so-called “feral pigs” being illegal to own as of today, April 1, 2012.

The DNR’s order and declaration is both nonsensical and ludicrous. The people at the DNR do not understand the English language. Don’t even try to criticize or object to my statement: I have a triple academic major in English and have served as an editor for professional scholarly works for many years.

By definition, a feral animal of whatever species cannot be on a farm where it is being raised as a business venture. That makes it domesticated.

Furthermore, since when has any governmental department the authority to extend a law meant for the protection of our Great Lakes from invasive species brought into the Great Lakes by ocean-going vessels to twist the law to apply to raising land animals on a private farm?

I just listened to and carefully watched Mr. Mark Baker’s testimony on this problem to the Michigan Senate Agriculture Committee that directly affects him and 2009 other private farmers in Michigan.

You ought to watch it too at this link: http://www.bakersgreenacres.com/

Mark testified that the ISO and Declaratory Ruling are an overreach on the DNR’s part.

I am well aware that the DNR sent a letter disclaiming that their Declaratory Ruling would apply to him. I heard the letter. It is poorly written, and not specific enough to stand in a court of law to indicate that the DNR will not pursue this issue further.

The DNR Declaratory Ruling cannot just be changed. It MUST be REPEALED.

The DNR refuses to be responsive to the citizens of Michigan. It is not accountable to the citizens of Michigan.

Neither the DNR nor any other government agency, state or federal, has any right or business violating the 4th Amendment (as will be the case clearly if the DNR carries out its threats) or any other portion of the Bill of Rights.

You, Governor Snyder, are the only one who can remedy this great injustice.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW AND DO SO.

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Smith

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Michigan’s Bad Reputation Part 4

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

[My second letter to Governor Rick Snyder]

“Insane Michigan Government Announces Plan to Destroy Ranch Livestock Based on Hair Color and Arrest Hundreds of Ranchers as Felons”

Dear Governor Snyder:

I recently wrote you an email regarding the unconscionable regulation set by your Department of Natural Resources against private farms raising “feral pigs.” I explained that this is a misuse of the term “feral,” and commented that you dare not argue against my knowledge of the English language, for I have a triple-academic major in English and linguistics, and have long served as an editor for professional writers. I also mentioned that “invasive species” properly refers to aquatic life brought into the Great Lakes by ocean-going vessels.

I have not received either a reply or even acknowledgement that you received my email.

Please RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL PROMPTLY to let me know that you have permanently reversed the DNR’s ruling on this matter.

If you do not act to reverse this ruling immediately, I will take what further action I can to make this national news.

I define “immediately” as THIS WEEK. I am writing this on April 3, 2012.

I do not believe you wish to let Michigan’s reputation continue to be sullied because of your inaction.

As governor of the State of Michigan, you have encouraged business to come here. You have encouraged tourism. You have spent dollars to attract people here.

As governor of the State of Michigan, you are the only person with authority to order the DNR to reverse its action.

Why would you continue to let one of your departments be the ruin of our good name?

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Smith

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Michigan’s Bad Reputation Part 3

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

4-20-12 My Reason for signing the Economic Justice Petition

This law or rather DNR (Michigan Department of Natural Resources) Regulation is giving Michigan a bad reputation nationally and internationally.

[On one Internet site, the headline regarding this issue reads: “Insane Michigan Government Announces Plan to Destroy Ranch Livestock Based on Hair Color and Arrest Hundreds of Ranchers as Felons” (http://www.naturalnews.com/035372_Michigan_pigs_farm_freedom.html)]

The DNR has authority over wildlife, not farm animals. The DNR has encroached on the responsibility of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately the MDA has raised no objection.

The supporters of this absurd order are all from the corporate agriculture industry, Michigan Pork Producers, Michigan Milk Producers, and the like. They are against the rights of private farms and individuals.

By definition “feral” means to have returned to the wild. Pigs on farms raised for food are not feral.

The alleged destruction wrought by feral pigs on the loose is nonsense. Across the entire state there were about 183 sightings last year, and perhaps 42 shot in the wild. Wild pigs are open season and hunters can shoot them year around. Perhaps by a stretch, Big Foot is more dangerous and has had an equally significant though smaller number of sightings (about 187 since the 1870s) reported in Michigan.

[By comparison, so I’ve heard in a video presentation by Mr. Mark Baker of www.Bakersgreenacres.com website, there were 2 million deer bagged by hunters in Michigan last season]

Pigs raised on private farms are surely not on the loose in the wild. Farmers don’t want their livestock wandering off. That would mean financial loss for the private farmer. They have good fences. Mark Baker comments in his testimony that his animals will not wander away even if the fence were to be left open because they know where their next meal will come from.

It is a terrifying thing when our own government has itself gone feral in flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment and Bill of Rights as a whole. Farmers should not have to be in fear for their own lives, the lives of their family and children, and the lives of their livestock, and loss of their livelihood, just because corporate agriculture doesn’t like competition.

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Michigan’s Bad Reputation Part 2

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

This morning I received information that permitted me to sign a petition against the Michigan DNR’s “Invasive Species Order.” I signed the petition and left a comment as to why.

Here is some of the information regarding the petition:

Petition Letter
Stop the imminent slaughter of heritage pigs on small farms in Michigan

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

—————-
Stop the imminent slaughter of heritage pigs on small farms in Michigan

Small family farms represent the backbone of a local, sustainable food system. While huge industrial farms dominate the market, small farms have been able to thrive by providing high-quality food raised in environmentally healthy ways. This includes livestock humanely raised on pasture.

In Michigan, as of April 1, 2012, thousands of small livestock farms that raise pigs face an imminent threat. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is attempting to drastically expand its jurisdiction from public lands to farms, where an Invasive Species Order issued by MDNR in 2010 (intended to prevent invasive species from taking root in the wild) will be used to ban heritage breeds of pigs – and allow MDNR to destroy them at will.

Specifically, the order allows MDNR to seize and slaughter heritage pigs, without compensating the farmers whose livestock is destroyed. Pigs can be identified as invasive – and thus eligible for slaughter – regardless of how long they have been part of animal husbandry in Michigan. They will be rounded up according to the color of their fur (black or striped), their undercoat color (lighter than the topcoat), whether their tails are straight or curly, and other arbitrary characteristics. Needless to say, the modern, hybridized breeds of pigs raised in huge factory farms (represented by the Michigan Pork Producers Association) are not at risk – only old-fashioned breeds.

This is an outrage. Small farmers work hard, and those farmers who choose to raise heritage breeds are helping preserve genetic diversity and providing ethically raised, high-quality foods for the customers who value it. These are the farmers who will suffer if this brazen power grab is allowed to go forward.

Please tell Governor Snyder that he must halt the execution of the Invasive Species Order, and that it must be revised to limit MDNR’s jurisdiction to public lands. Let him know that he needs to support, not penalize, small family farms, and that that slaughter of heritage breeds must not go forward!
—————-

Sincerely,

Jerome Smith (Emmett, MI)

Email sent to Keith Creagh (Director, Michigan Department of Agriculture), Rodney Stokes (Director, Michigan Department of Natural Resources), Dan Wyant (Director, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality), and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (Governor, State of Michigan) on Apr 20, 2012

[Your name]

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Michigan’s Bad Reputation Part 1

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jerry

I wrote a warning letter twice to Michigan Governor Snyder in plenty of time for him to act to reverse the absurd order issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requiring all so-called and egregiously mislabeled “feral pigs” raised on Michigan private farms for food be destroyed by April 1, 2012.

He did not act on my advice.

I hate to say it, but I will: some politians, bureaucrats, and administrators are extremely unwise and fail to heed constructive suggestions.

You may be about to ask: “But what does that have to do with Real Bible Study?”

Answer: Everything.

And if you did not know, you are about to find out if you keep reading.

The problem, Biblically, might well be called the “Nabal Syndrome.”

What? You didn’t learn that in Sunday School? Or church? You mean your pastor has not preached on that Bible theme?

By the way, should you consult a dictionary of Bible names, or my notes in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible at 1 Samuel 25:3, you will learn that “Nabal” means “folly; foolish.” In plain English, it could be said that Nabal means fool.

This is confirmed by what Nabal’s wife said about him at 1 Samuel 25:25,

1Sa 25:25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

Just what is the “Nabal Syndrome”?

Here is the pertinent verse:

1Sa 25:17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

Topic Number 1853 ties into this verse: “Be open to advice, suggestions, criticism” in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge Topic Number Index on page 1603.

Here is the chapter summary or heading for 1 Samuel 25,

Samuel dies, and is lamented and buried by all Israel; and David goes to Paran, 1. The character of Nabal, and of his wife Abigail, 2, 3. David sends to Nabal most respectfully requesting some provisions; but provoked by his answer, sets out to destroy him, 4-13. A servant warns Abigail, 14-17. She meets David with a present, and wisely pacifies him, 18-31. David blesses God for her interposition, and courteously dismisses her, 32-35. Nabal, hearing of the danger to which he had been exposed, is terrified, and dies, 36-38. David marries Abigail and also Ahinoam, 39-41. Michal is given to Phalit, 44.

Here are the cross references for 1 Samuel 25:17, including the cross references for this important topic:

17. evil. 1 S 20:7, 9, 33. 2 Ch 25:16. Est 7:7. a son of Belial. ver. 25. 1 S 2:12. Dt *13:13. +15:9. Jg +19:22. 2 S 23:6, 7. 1 K 21:10, 13. 2 Ch 13:7. that a man cannot speak to him. T#1853. ver. %**33. 1 S 20:32, 33. Jsh *22:21n. Jg 11:28. 2 S %*19:8n. 1 K 12:8, 13. 2 K %**5:13, 14. 2 Ch 10:8, 13. +*25:16. Jb %31:13. Ps *25:9, 12. Pr %*1:5. 8:33. *9:8, 9. **12:15. *+13:1, 10. 15:22. %17:10. %*18:13. +*19:20. 21:29. Ec 4:13. Je *36:25. Zp +*3:2. Mt +*7:6. 18:17. T 3:10, 11.

Here are the cross reference texts for the key words that a man cannot speak to him:

1Sa 25:33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

1Sa 20:32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?
1Sa 20:33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.

Jos 22:21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

This last passage may seem obscure. If you read to the end of the chapter it will be plainly relevant. The following note included in the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge may clarify the point:

The conduct and answer of these Reubenites and the associates are worthy of admiration and imitation. Though conscious of their innocence, they permitted Phinehas to finish his speech, though composed of little else than accusations, without any interruption; and taking in good part the suspicions, reproofs, and even harshness of their brethren, with the utmost meekness and solemnity they explain their intention, give all the satisfaction in their power, and with great propriety and reverence, appeal to that God against whom they were supposed to have rebelled.

Thus in this text the story had a most happy and instructive outcome.

Jdg 11:27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

2Sa 19:8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

Again, the note given in The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and included in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides the needed clarification to understand 2 Samuel 19:8, as follows:

How prudently and mildly David took the reproof and counsel given him! He shook off his grief, anointed his head, and washed his face, that he might not appear unto men to mourn, and then made his appearance at the gate of the city, which was the public place of resort for the hearing of causes and giving judgment, as well as a place to ratify special bargains. Thither the people flocked to congratulate him on his and their safety, and that all was well. When we are convinced of a fault, we must amend, though we are told of it by our inferiors in a way which is peculiarly painful to our natural feelings. This ancient custom still obtains in the East; for when Dr. Pococke returned from viewing the town of ancient Byblus, he says, “The sheik and the elders were sitting in the gate of the city, after the ancient manner, and I sat awhile with them.”

Here is the most relevant portion of that quoted note: When we are convinced of a fault, we must amend, though we are told of it by our inferiors in a way which is peculiarly painful to our natural feelings.

Here is a marvelous example of that advice being followed by another Bible character, Naaman the Leper:

2Ki 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2Ki 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
2Ki 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
2Ki 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Earlier in the story we learn Naaman heeded the constructive suggestion of a young servant girl who informed him that if he went to Israel there was a prophet there who could heal his leprosy. Naaman followed her advice.

When he got to Israel, Naaman was miffed at the instruction given by Elisha.

But his servants wisely offered the constructive suggestion that he follow the instructions the Prophet had given.

That shows that Naaman had sterling character, a character that it would be wise for everyone to follow.

Not all criticism that is offered is valid. But when the offerer of a constructive suggestion is known to be informed about the subject, and has good character, then suggestions from that source ought to be heeded.

You would find a study of the remaining cross references for this theme as given above would be most worthwhile of your careful study. I highly recommend that you get your Bible and carefully turn to each passage listed, considering the context of each as needed for clarification, and learn the lesson well.

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Causes of Unbelief

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Jerry

I have a book on my shelves by Dr. Wilbur M. Smith titled Therefore Stand. The subtitle is: “A Plea for a Vigorous Apologetic in This Critical Hour of the Christian Faith.”

Chapter 3 is titled “Some Reasons for the Unbelief of Men and Their Antagonism to God.”

Dr. Wilbur Smith published this book in 1945. Most readers today might find his writing long-winded. I will therefore give only some of the chapter subheadings here, and perhaps a sentence from the text for a very few of them.

But, in my own words, I find that the most significant reason for unbelief is that those who disbelieve the Bible know almost nothing about the Bible and what it says. Unbelievers disbelieve a caricature of the Bible and Christianity, not the Bible itself.

Unbelievers have received what little knowledge of the Bible they think they have from sources that have “poisoned the well.”

The cure for unbelief is a level-headed and careful study of the Bible itself. Read the Bible independently for yourself. I suggest you start with the New Testament book called the Gospel of John. If you have never read it repeatedly for yourself, it would help you to do so.

Among the causes of unbelief Dr. Wilbur Smith discusses are:

(1) Man fallen away from God has a bias against God.

(2) The darkness of the mind of natural man.

(3) The pride of man.

(4) The determination to live without God.

(5) Early manifestations of hatred to God.

(6) Educational influences that by their character must create an attitude of skepticism.

(7) The increasing supremacy of the material means the subordination of the spiritual.

(8) The exaltation of science.

There is a positiveness, definiteness, and promise about mathematical equations, physical laws, and chemical formulae, which make men feel that here their feet are on solid rock, that their minds are grappling with realities. But science is no synonym for spirituality, and the life of men is made up of more things than can be measured with test tubes and balances. Yet, man is so absorbed in the pursuit of nature’s secrets that he is increasingly ignorant of his inner spiritual life, and this is one of the tragedies of our day. Men engaged in science are themselves partly to blame for this. They devote days and nights, months, sometimes years, to the discovery of some one scientific fact, but they will not give twenty minutes a day to pondering the Word of God, nor five minutes a day to the exercise of their soul in prayer to God.

(9) “Ye shall be as Gods.”

(10) The relation of sin to unbelief.

(11) “The connection between infidelity and sensuality.”

…the whole history of free thought supports me in the statement, namely, that socialism, free-thinking, communism, skepticism, have generally been accompanied by what is definitely known today as infidelity or immorality.

(12) Ignorance of the Word of God and of true Christianity a major cause of unbelief.

One of the three greatest causes for men not accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour is that they do not know who Christ is, what He said, what He has done; they know nothing of His glory and love, His grace, and power, and Godhead. If they do not know, they cannot believe.

(13) Unbeief begets unbelief.

(14) The will not to believe.

(15) Demonic influences.

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Year of the Bible Resolution Upsets Atheists

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jerry

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/atheists-sue-pa.-over-bible-resolution

I suggest that it might help our dear atheist friends if they would spend their time reading the Bible for themselves instead of swallowing the lies they have been told about the Bible.

I think it is a good thing that Pennsylvania passed a resolution declaring this year of 2012 to be “The Year of the Bible.”

Before you get all wound up and have a fit because you think this is a violation of the separation of church and state, I have a question for you to think about.

What church is the Bible?

Year of the Bible

2/8/2012

A simple resolution passed the House unanimously on Jan. 24. It recognizes the significant impact the Bible has had on our country. It in no way inhibits anyone from believing in any faith or no faith. Most citizens don’t remember that a joint session of Congress passed a similar resolution signed by President Ronald Reagan on Feb. 3, 1983, declaring that year as the Year of the Bible in America.

Of course, after our resolution, a few complained and aired the same false arguments that God was never a part of our founding and we should not include God in government, but that is easily refuted.

In fact, I just want to offer a few quotes from the founding fathers and past presidents on the importance of the Bible in America.

George Washington himself spoke frequently of the Bible, and in his very first act, emblematic of the office he was about to take, he chose to lay his hand on the Bible to take that oath. That tradition has been carried on by every president after him, swearing their oath of office on the Bible, frequently choosing, as Washington did, a specific verse within that they believe has special meaning.

Benjamin Franklin, a noted founding father, but also the 23rd speaker of the PA General Assembly and former governor of the Commonwealth reminded us: “A Bible in every home is the principle support of virtue, morality and civil liberty.”

John Adams noted in his diary on Feb. 22, 1756, “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. . . What a Utopia – what a Paradise would this region be!”

John Jay, president of the Continental Congress and first Chief Justice of the United States, said, “The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”

Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, participant in the Continental Congress and vice president of the Philadelphia Bible Society wrote, “The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. The only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government is the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible.”

Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, insisted, “The Bible is the rock on which this Republic rests.” One of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, stated, “I believe the Bible is the best book God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.”

Finally, one of our most beloved presidents, Ronald Reagan, reminded us that, “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” He also stated, “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”

Our founders and great leaders throughout our history have turned to the Bible for wisdom, inspiration and solace. The notion that God or the Bible was ever separate from government in this regard is a denial of history. “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
Those aren’t my words; they are the words of Thomas Jefferson, chiseled in granite at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. More than a hundred such references are proudly displayed around our capital there and our beautiful Capitol in Harrisburg. Opponents grind their teeth when they walk past the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the very icon of our heritage and independence, which sports a quotation from Leviticus 25:10 on it.

Visit the Lincoln Memorial and inspect the wall where the Gettysburg address is inscribed reminding us “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” By the way, Lincoln’s second inaugural address referred to God 12 times and quoted the Bible three times, defying and obliterating any notion that he felt God and government should be separate.

And remember the Bible was a textbook in our public schools for 150 years.

I could supply hundreds of more examples. The bottom line remains, when you look at the facts, there is no denying the influence of this great book on our nation and its most respected leaders.

It is time well spent for all our leaders to acknowledge and reflect upon this book in times of trouble in our country, or is it as Ben Franklin once asked, “All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Do we imagine we no longer need Him?”

I think the unanimous vote in the PA House last week suggests that although it may not be politically correct to admit, our leaders certainly do recognize the value of God’s word in government. We will all be better off for it.

State Representative Rick Saccone
39th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Ty McCauslin
tmccausl@pahousegop.com
717.772.9979

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