Institute for Christian Teaching
Lael Othniel Caesar
Facultad de Teología
Universidad de Montemorelos
Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, México
Preparado para
el 17° Seminario sobre
Integración de Fe y EnseZanza/Aprendizaje
Realizado en la Universidad Adventista de
Colombia
6-18 de noviembre, 1994
233-94 Institute for
Christian Teaching
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904 USA
I. INTRODUCTION
As a final assignment, students in my Ancient History class write an essay about their initial expectations and their actual experiences in the class. It appears that they benefit most of all from a philosophical exposition, which includes, among other things, the following considerations:
a. The
meaning of worldview
b. The relationship between certain key
historical perspectives within the field of Biblical studies
c. The
relationship between reigning intellectual notions and the biblical philosophy
d. The significance of various controversial
question (e.g. the wars of Ancient Israel) for the clarification of a biblical
philosophy of history
e. The role of apparently irrelevant elements
(biblical genealogies) in the demonstration of the Bible's historical precision
It may be important to
comment that many scholars do not accept as trustworthy some of the historical
data provided in the Bible. Specific evolutionary reasoning provides strong
arguments against the historicity of the first eleven chapters of the Bible.
The arguments, like those that attempt to demonstrate the mistakeness of the
rest of the Biblical text, depend upon particular presuppositions. The
following paper therefore proposes an epistemological focus that demonstrates
the validity of the historical record of the Bible, with particular reference
to the five aforementioned points. Further, it is submitted that any ambiguity
on the part of Christian teachers concerning the historicity of the Biblical
testimony will produce, at the very least, confusion, beyond this, disaster,
among the students who are victims of our equivocation. Undoubtedly, there is
need for a clear definition of the Bible's role in the area of historical
information.
Ambiguity or Paradox?
Permit me here to
distinguish between ambiguity toward the historicity of the Biblical record,
and toward the Bible itself. The Bible itself constitutes history's most
paradoxical composition. It is a paradox, which lies at the heart of the crisis
in Biblical interpretation. Once it is resolved, the question of the validity
of the Bible's historical record becomes less problematic. This paper therefore
develops in three further stages: It comments first on the nature of the Bible
itself, and then on its reportorial credibility. Finally, its summary and
conclusions are offered for general academic discussion.
II. EPISTEMOLOGY AND
BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP
Two Contrasting Points of View
The Biblical View
"Then Moses hid his
face, for he was afraid to look at God." Ex. 3:6.* The term
"hid" is used in the OT both literally and metaphorically. In 2 Kings
11:2 it is used literally to report that they "hid" Joash from the
bloodthirsty hand of his grandmother Athaliah. On the other hand, the
psalmist's plea (Ps 17:8) calls up the metaphor of hiding under the shadow of
divine wings, invoking the image of the hen which hides its chicks under its
wings for their protection. (see Mt 23:37, Lc 13:34).
Biblical
usage of this verb apparently encompasses real situations, real threats, and
real means of protection. In addition, assuming the absence of any poetic
license, it is obvious that Moses covered his face out of fear of the
consequences of "looking at God." In conclusion, Ex 3:6 records but
one of multiple Biblical incidents, which disclose a God, who communicates with
man. As Amos 3:7 testifies: God will do nothing without telling his prophets.
But there is more than one point of view on the interaction between God and
men.
Another Point of View
"Such a God as
Scripture speaks of simply does not exist…. In the second place, if such a God
did exist he could not manifest Himself in the world that we know…. In the
third place, even if such a God did reveal Himself…no man could receive such a
revelation without falsifying it. In the fourth place, if in spite of these
three points a revelation had been received in the past it could not be
transmitted to men of the present time without their again falsifying it. In
the fifth place, if in spite of everything such a revelation as the Bible
speaks of came to man today he in turn could not receive it without falsifying
it.[1]
Comparing the Points of View
The foregoing paragraphs
allow for more than one way of viewing the world and interpreting experience.
Because of the extent to which such views have been known to diverge, Francis
Schaeffer wrote, in the 1960's, that "epistemology is the central problem
of our generation."[2]
In today's world, a wide breach
lies open between relativistic contemporaneity and a believing remnant that
still subscribes to the authority of absolute truth. It is the very breach
identified by Schaeffer, three decades ago, as the real generation gap--the
epistemological gap. Moreover, it deserves more than philosophical discussion
or reflection on philosophical variety. For our attitudes to knowledge and
information--those stimuli, which reach the human brain through the senses--are
what determine the possibilities for creating values systems that will improve
human civilization. The question to be discussed is epistemological.
Essential to such a discussion
are an individual's presuppositions. The veridicalism of Mark M. Hanna does not
gainsay this fact because his universal givens are not universally taken.[3]Some
mental state antecedent to the rationalization of what Schaeffer calls the
particulars, determines how the mind organizes these particulars.[4]
This mental state, this
belief determining function, requires clearer definition than Schaeffer
provides in his book How Should We Then
Live? Schaeffer defines presuppositions as "the basic way an individual
looks at lie, his basic world view, the grid through which he sees the world.[5]Beyond
this ultimate mental faculty, as James W. Sire has put it, there is nothing
left to do but shout, though what he probably meant was not "shout"
but "scream![6]Elsewhere
Schaeffer defines a presupposition as "a belief or theory which is assumed
before the next step in logic is developed. Such a prior postulate often
consciously or unconsciously affects the way a person subsequently
reasons."[7]
These definitions speak the
truth without distinguishing the purposefully logical from the simpleminded,
the unreflective, or the irrational. Thomas V. Morris suggests that
presuppositions are distinguishable as chosen positions rather than as
sometimes deliberate and sometimes accidental. Says Morris, "a
presupposition is an idea or concept which is assumed or posited in the manner
of the premises of a deductive argument, itself unproven, but the first move
toward other proofs which rest upon it."[8]Note,
in passing, those presuppositions remain unproven.
However that may be,
presuppositions are not simply "initial assumptions,"[9]but
are concepts and propositions.[10]As
Hanna himself observes, "presuppositionism emphasizes postulation and
coherence,"[11]functions of
a rational mind. In addition, presuppositions are not to be confused with
prejudices. Both may be ubiquitous. However, they are distinguishable.
Defining Prejudices, Predispositions
And Presuppositions
Prejudices
Prejudices are
pre-judgments, a notion held before the evidence is provided. They may be
defined as unconscious biases unintellectualized, pre-rational beliefs,
assumptions, or allowance. They are not the result of analysis or active
choice. They abound. Even among academic communities: This because of the
highly compartmentalized nature of modern learning and current higher
education. As Houston Smith argues, modern science has made available
exceptional 'power-to-control.' This power leads to a craving and striving
after the knowledge.[12]
"This utilitarian epistemology has constricted our view of the way things
are."[13]Thus men and
women are full of knowledge and full of ignorance. The increase in knowledge
affords a corresponding increase in ignorance and simultaneously in prejudice,
uninformed judgment on the rest of the world outside the pale of one's own
research. And all in pursuit of truth. None of this is the active choice of the
man who finds himself learning less rapidly than knowledge becomes available.
Prejudice, among lettered and unlettered, is often no more than a dysfunction
of multifaceted, multicultural society. There is too much about too much to
learn.[14]In
the end it would be senseless to deny one's own prejudices since this would
merely expose one's prejudice against prejudice, which prevents admission of
personal prejudice.[15]
Predispositions
Morris also distinguishes
between predispositions and presuppositions.[16]Predispositions,
unlike prejudices and presuppositions, may be physical as well as social, emotional,
or intellectual. Physically, I may be born with a predisposition toward
bronchitis--a bodily state that makes me more subjects than others to that
disease. Predispositions are in the realm of heredity as prejudices are in the
realm of environment.
Presuppositions Redefined
We still must find a
definition of presuppositions, which is suitable for epistemological purposes.
For a set of presuppositions should be properly distinguishable from the more and
folkways of environing society, and from the strengths and liabilities of
genetic code. This does not deny that parents and neighbors influence
presuppositions. However, presuppositions find their own definition as the columns, which support the chosen
platform from which the individual launches his independent interpretation of
data. They are the foundation of his
"philosophy of fact," the support for the worldview which governs his
values and, for him, determines possibility. Presuppositions are the components of the framework of
convictions, which establishes and expresses a way of thinking at the point
that framework represents the acceptance of individual responsibility.[17]The
framework or set of elements is called "world view."
The elements form after
woman has asked herself the cosmic question, "What is life about?"
and has come to conclude, "I know." The three-day-old child does not
believe in God. She is not for this an atheist. The immature mind, before the
age of personal accountability, may apprehend stimuli and have experiences, may
entertain thoughts and cherish ideas. Such a mind may not be fairly said to
have a world view, a set of presuppositions which renders it liable for wrong
answers given because of responsible election to think and interpret that way;
particularly with regard to the questions of consequence: "Who am I?"
"Am I?" "Why am I, if there is a reason?" "How shall I
become, if I am not, and may, or ought to?"
Presuppositions are dynamic.
They affirm and develop a particular worldview. It is here that we may call
upon Schaeffer's definition of 'presupposition' as the "grid" through
which we see the world, a term he uses as synonymous with "world
view."[18]Thus the
worldview is comprised of a set of presuppositions, which Schaeffer undoubtedly
refers to as his "grid." Not everything is visible through a grid. It
is not usually designed to improve vision. The sense of the image functions in
its similarity to a filter. Everything does not pass through a filter. The
dregs are caught while the valued "stuff" passes through--underlining
precisely how presuppositions affirm and develop a given worldview. In
turn, they are affirmed and developed as the mind continues to acquire and
organize data. They represent the basic power of choice possessed by every
responsible human being. Every intelligence, in the exercise of this power,
develops it own character, and determines its own destiny.[19]
The fact that the natural
world is humanity's common possession points up the truth that individual
destiny depends upon individual choice of mind-set.[20]It
is the same freedom to interpret the data of common fund which yields such
divergent views on experience and God as the first paragraphs of this article
indicate.
Presuppositions and Biblical
Scholarship
Famous NT scholar Rudolf
Bultmann has spoken definitively on the question of presuppositions. He
maintains, "the one presupposition that cannot be dismissed is the
historical method of interrogating the text."[21]But
what does the historical method consist of?
In the first place, we must
note the difference between Bultmann's use of the tern
"presupposition" and this study's definition. The historical method
is not so much a presuppositions, and characterized by its own principles of
interpretation. Among its presuppositions, that which draws our major focus
must be its insistence that "history is a unity in the sense of cause and
effect."[22]For most of
this century this method, better known as the historical-critical method, has
included at least three principles:
1) Correlation, in which events are seen to be so inter-related that a
change in one phenomenon necessitates a change in its causes and effects;
2) Analogy, in which all events are seen in principle to be similar;
and
3) Criticism, the art of interrogating and evaluating.[23]
The worldview, which this
system undergirds, is clearly naturalistic. Note that not all-naturalistic
thinkers exclude the possibility of the supernatural. It is simply not allowed
to interfere, relegated to the status of the irrelevant. We differ here in some
small measure from Sire's definition which portrays naturalism as a belief in
the eternity of the cosmos-as the prime reality.[24]We
adjust here to accommodate theistic evolution in which the deity began the
evolutionary process but does not interrupt or tamper with its functioning.
The
historical-critical method has experienced and survived its fair share of
assaults.[25]Generally
critics seek to refine it instead of abandon its principles and
presuppositions. A fourth presupposition, added to the previous three by Peter
Stuhlmacher, that of contingency, or
"consent and hearing", allows that the language of transcendence may
have a place in the proper understanding of the message of the text.[26]
The method's insistence that
history is closed to irregular variety, to unique, unrepeatable event,
constitutes a negation of the possibility that history might involved the
miraculous, supernatural intervention, or the humanly inexplicable.
Stuhlmacher's allusions to the relevance of the language of transcendence seek
only to understand the text's message. This differs critically from the
recovery of the historical data relating to a given event.
Ernest Troeltsch
(1865-1923), father of the historical-critical method, would explain that in
modern culture autonomy and rationality hold sway, not ecclesiastical authority
with its "norms direct from the deity, and purely exterior . . . Instead
of divine infallibility and ecclesiastical intolerance we have, of necessity,
human relativism and tolerance."[27]Even
the acceptance of religious concepts by Protestants is based, in the first
instance, "upon exclusively personal conviction."[28]Thus
the Bible, vestige of an ancient world, may no longer enjoy privileged status.
It must be dealt with like any other document in the history of human ideas
since its existence is analogous to that of any other ancient book.
The Bible, for its part,
claims that its existence is due to exceptional, unique, out of the ordinary
activity, that in its entirely it is inspired by God (2Tim 3:16). From its
first words, its narration presumes both the reality and involvement of the
supernatural, as well as its authority in world affairs. There would be no
world without God (Gen 1:1; Jn 1:3). So that acceptance of the Bible on its own
terms remains impossible for those who reject any possibility of supernatural
intervention in world affairs, and insist besides upon the similarity of all
historical event, such as, for example, the production of ancient books, of
which the Bible is but one more. Similarly, acceptance of the
historical-critical method, its presuppositions of correlation, analogy, and
criticism, its definition of history, and therefore, its own account of same,
present considerable difficulty for anyone who attempts to credit the biblical
library on its own terms.
Indeed, regardless of the
dispersion of claims to supernatural origins, the basic presupposition of the
alternative to the historical-critical method is simply that the Bible is
unique. Its uniqueness resides in the fact that while a product of human effort
and activity, developed, utilized, preserved and transmitted from age to age,
from locality to globality by human hand and means, it remains the Word of God,
communicated by him, compiled and developed, transmitted and preserved by him,
supernaturally, and laid upon the heart of every human being with eternal
consequences, whether positive or negative, according to each one's response
and application. Thus the paradox of sacred Scripture.
We observe that the critical
difference between such belief and the historical-critical method is the
all-encompassing transcendence of the Bible. It is neither the admiration of
its literature, nor its shared belief in a supreme being. It is respect for the
Bible, an ancient compilation of works by some forty different mostly Jewish
men, as the voice of God to the universe.
The intrigue of the paradox,
and the clarity and solidity of this interpretative position are exposed in the
following comments, four of a host of principles which might be drawn from a
study of the book The Great Controversy, on biblical inspiration.
1) The Bible is a human work: ". . . those to whom the truth was
. . . revealed have themselves embodied
the thought in human language." And another complementary principle:
2) The comparison of biblical authors and works is legitimate: John is
called "the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel." Other
writers provide less sublime expositions in this area. "Written in
different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and occupation, and in
mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible present a wide contrast
in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of the subjects unfolded."
"One writer is more strongly impressed with one phrase of the subject; he
grasps those points that harmonize with this experience or with his power of
perception and appreciation." Nevertheless,
3) God is the author of the Bible: "The Bible points to God as
its author . . . The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the
minds and hearts of His servants." This same mysterious union of divine
and human represented by the bible is seen in Christ--the miracle of the
God-man. So that
4) The Bible's uniqueness is similar to that of Christ. "The
Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a
union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of
Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the
Bible, as it was of Christ, that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us" (Jn 1:14).[29]
The Bible is unique. The
position may be paradoxical. However, this conviction must be the irreducible
ground of all interpretative activity by exponents of the method, which
functions in contrast to the historical-critical. It has been called the
"grammatical-historical method,"[30]with
Gerhard Hasel once recommending the term "theological-historical
mehtod."[31]Its
underlying world view takes into consideration "the totality of
experience, even elements like the probability of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, or at least honest testimony regarding it, as part of its coherent
whole."[32]
This intellectual system
believes in the supernatural instead of the purely rational because
"rational certainty is an impossibility."[33]
Since "We perceive things . . ., not as they are, but as we are,"[34]the
naturalistic perspective requires reality to conform to its expectations that
all things be humanity, rationally explicable. Two scholars who, in the same
year and from opposing camps, have commented upon the presumption of such an
attitude are Brevard Childs and Jack Provonsha. The latter declares it "an
almost perverse arrogance,"[35]and
Childs calls "naïve" and "arrogant" the distinction between
pre-critical and critical biblical scholarship.[36]
On the other hand, the theistic worldview subscribes to a healthy openness as
the only appropriate posture.[37]
It affirms that, "prime reality is an infinite-personal God. He alone
exists forever. All that is not this God is the creation of this God."[38]
It no longer surprises, given this mentality, that practitioners of the
theological-historical method feel free to accept the paradox of the Bible.
The position of such
scholars is that God has testified in history, a testimony incarnate in Jesus
of first century AD Nazareth, and reported in the thirty-nine books of OT
canon, and the twenty-seven of the NT. This canon this very God has defined
from among the revelations of himself, which he led men to record. This high
view of Scripture admits no demonstrable contradiction either between the life
of Christ and the testimony of Scripture, or between the records of Old and New
Testaments. Moreover, no contradiction can be conclusively demonstrated between
the human authors of the Bible, whether among the varied writings of the
various authors, or within any given literary unit of any given author. The
method affirms the thoroughgoing consistency of the whole of Scripture with
itself and with the witness of the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, for it
considers all this to be the production of the eternal and infinite
intelligence of the holy three in one God.
As the SDA Church Manual declares, "The Holy Scriptures, Old and New
Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through
holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In
this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The
Holy Scriptures is the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard
of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines,
and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. (2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Tim
3:16,17; Ps 119:105; Prov 30:5,6; Isa 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess 2:13; Heb
4:12).[39]
Reconciling Estranged
Brothers
The incompatibility of the
historical-critical and theological-historical methods flows directly from
their presuppositions. The Bible, apart from a demythologization, which would
entirely alter its testimony, is often not accepted as a scientific document.
Explanations of this fact rooted in the eighteenth century Enlightenment may
give a mistaken impression. For it may then appear that, the philosophical
problems over the scientific validity of the Bible arose at that time. But the
biblical record anticipates by millenniums its own Enlightenment inspired
rejection. Whether Athenian on his Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34), or Ephesian
clamoring for his Diana (Acts 19:23-41), so long as men repudiate the Bible's
uniqueness as God's infallible revelation there will be philosophical difficulties
of this nature.
The Ephesians and Athenians
represent ancient reactions, which illustrate the sure consequences of the
rejection of the Bible's unique authority. On the other hand, the critical
modern scientist has sometimes found justification for his rejection of the
Bible's uniqueness among the very ranks of those who make such a claim for it.
When these invoke extraterrestrial evidence to cover inadequate research, then
it appears fair to throw out both their inferior work and the fantastic claims
of its authors.[40]
The logic works as follows:
Lael
Caesar tell lies
Lael
Caesar says the Bible is a supernatural book.
That
the Bible is a supernatural book is false.
The patent error of such
logic leaps to view. However, we shall return to discuss it later.
In any case, we may
demonstrate that the current breach between acceptance and rejection of the
Bible as trustworthy record is linked to certain critical moments in history.
It is precisely at this point that we invite the reader's judgment on the contribution
of this essay to the body of knowledge on the intersection of epistemological
questions and biblical study. Various authors here cited recognize the
existence of an epistemological breach between Bible believers and
non-believers. The writings of Raul Kerbs and John V. G. Matthews show
awareness of it but no attempt to close it. Schaeffer, on the other hand, seeks
some way to seal it up for the benefit of the sceptic.
He bases his effort on the
philosophical tension with which the agnostic or atheistic intellectual
constantly lives. It is a tension between his theory and practice. Whereas his
presuppositions tell modern man that life is a senseless accident, the
application of reason to life's activities is inconsistent. The task of the
believer in dialogue with such individuals is to expose them to the disjunction
between their theory and practice. This forces conscientious skeptics to modify
their intellectual position.[41]
This
essay's approach to secular mentality is founded on imprecisions, which its own
writings reveal about how biblical historians, scholars of the
historical-critical method, came to believe what they believe today. Their
convictions are linked, as mentioned before, to certain critical moments in
Western world history.
One such moment occurred
when Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) argued persuasively for human intellectual
autonomy.[42]Today, after
Skinner's behaviorism, this point of view enjoys much lower popular regard, but
ironically, human independence and individualism today identify as a mega-trend
of the future.[43]
Interestingly, this independence represents more than anything else the
strength of human will, that very element which, according to Aquinas, was
corrupted by the fall of Gen 3, while the mind remained uncorrupted.
Two centuries after Aquinas,
Lorenzo Valla (1406-57) established the usefulness of documentary criticism as
scientific tool. This he accomplished through his convincing denunciation of a
major papal fraud. The papacy having employed the Donation of Constantine to claim
secular power, Valla, in 1439, provided a mountain of philosophical,
grammatical, logical, geographical, chronological, historical, and legal
evidence to prove the document's fraudulence. John H. Hayes, of the handful of
today's most respected biblical historians, cites Valla's accomplishment as one
of three Renaissance events of special significance for biblical studies.[44]
Valla's identification of
Christian history's principal ecclesiastical power with fraud, laid the
foundations, which Julius Wellhausen so successfully used in the nineteenth
century, to construct his own house against fraud, known since then as the
documentary theory. Using the very kinds of arguments, he demonstrated, for the
satisfaction of many, that the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch,
were comprised of four distinct sources known as the Yahwist, Elohist,
Deuteronomist, and Priestly, which arose in Judah and Israel in that very order
approximately between the eleventh and fifth centuries BC.
The hostility of some biblical
historians is clearly linked, and in large part, to their rejection of
aberrations of the Christian church during the middle Ages. Unfortunately, the
will of these scholars to distinguish between a powerful but mistaken church,
and the separate reality of the biblical documents, remains too often hidden,
even tramped by other scholarly commitment. Hayes, commenting on Reformation
iconoclasm vis-à-vis tradition, notes that a commitment to the restoration of
ecclesiastical purity "created . . . hostility toward the traditions of
the church which included the church's attitude toward Scripture."[45]
Among these thinkers, exposure of the flaws of a church, which claimed,
divinely revealed norms, and divinely granted infallibility, constituted exposure
of the fraud of divine authority.[46]
The mindset of many modern
biblical historians is therefore characterized more by flaw in critical
analysis than by superior perspicacity. The very error exposed in the syllogism
upon Lael Caesar's falsifying, an error which, once exposed to light, is
demonstrably unacceptable. Not that this was the only misleading avenue some
thinkers followed. The disgraceful inconsistency of such great as Martin Luther
surely assisted their cause. Luther, the David who vanquished the giants of his
day with a slingful of smooth stones, such as "By Faith Alone," and
"Sola Scriptura," at the same denigrated certain portions of the very
Scriptures which he was hurling against the enemy. Lurther did not believe that
the books of James, Jude, Hebrews, and Revelation, deserved equal treatment
with the rest of the NT. According to him, they did not exalt Christ as the
others did.
It might be said that the
inconsistencies of its own ancient champions, along with that of incompetent
modern supporters, have caused problems for the Bible. Ecclesiastical abuses by
Christian authority have provoked rejection of both the book and its validity.
The mistake of not distinguishing between the Bible and the church whose abuses
it has always condemned also continues to be problematic. But for those willing
to recognize this historical fault, the possibility of a fuller philosophical
perspective is still available, as well as a more precise orientation toward
history--an orientation which accepts unprejudicially the historically
responsible presupposition that the Bible is unique.
In my opinion, the
reconciliation here proposed overcomes a multitude of difficulties resolving
thus a series of problems, among them the following.
1) The exclusion of the supernatural
from intellectual activity out of needs to reasonably delimit the range of
possibilities. This suggests, at the very least, a certain mental laziness or
recalcitrance, which fears lest the search for truth become too long or
difficult, was we to expand the range of investigation. It may even bear the
label of intentional blindness for refusing to admit the admissible simply
because it might at first have seemed the unexpected. The scholar, as W. David
Beck has said of the university, "must be open to all truth."[47]
2) Insistence upon majority
acceptance of a given theory: In the first place, this insistence is
impractical, despite its presence in the rhetoric of the Academy. Beyond this,
such insistence does not refer to a majority of the planet inhabitants, but to
a group, frequently arbitrarily defined on the basis of some degree acquired. Intellectual conception does not
require graduation. Nor does the latter guarantee superior progeny. Nor is
acceptance clearly linked to truth once it must be linked to the Academy. Nor
can truth easily remain the goal once the satisfaction of the Academy is
simultaneously sought. Who can say how
much light has been lost to the world by disregard for uncelebrated sources?
3) The perception of
ecclesiastical transcendence: Critics who reject the Bible on account of the
error of the church continue to serve the dogma that the church is mother of
the Bible. They still need liberation from the church, which they denounce as
tyrannical and abusive. The teaching of biblical uniqueness presumes for the
Bible supernatural origins and definition. It does not subscribe to the dogma
that human council or a series of human decisions determined what would be the
final content of the book. Attempts to criticize biblical uniqueness need, for
the very least, to be separated and distinguishable from attempts to expose
ecclesiastical abuse.
And, contrary to the fear of
some, the acceptance of biblical uniqueness obliges no one to distort reality.
The Bible as we know it is not without problems. But these difficulties may be
admitted without compromising reason or attacking the sacred book. They may be
problems of translation, transcription, transmission, or personal
interpretation. The carefulness of scribes, or the physical condition of
available manuscripts, or the precision of a given translation, the distance
between the authors and their peoples and the translators of today, or our own
intellectual limitations, any or all of these may be justifiably invoked as an
explanation of the difficulties without undermining the Bible's claim to
uniqueness. It is more responsible to criticize these areas than to say that
the Bible was wrong.
Besides, a recognition of
the Bible's uniqueness does not require us to read it as a twentieth century
text. Belief in its accuracy should not
obligate the book to conform to some modern pattern of expression, choice of
themes, organization of data, or source documentation. Stating that the Bible is
not a scientific text or historical treatise might well reflect the
presupposition that all texts of history or science, through all the ages and
variations of human culture have required a format which the scholarship of the
Western world of the twentieth century is authorized to define. Such documental
responsibility, such patent absurdity attracts no one, and, in the best of
providence or good fortune, is not required of anyone. Far better to let
the Bible speak so that its own
testimony may confirm or confound its affirmations and declarations.
III. HISTORICAL AUTHORITY
The Bible as Ancient History Text
Accepting the Bible as true
in its account of history involves of course the acceptance of the Bible's
philosophy of what and how is history. The data is presented in accordance with
authorial philosophy. And the Bible makes clear distinction between the
intentions that inform its writing and those of the rejectors of its authority.
The biblical intention is to declare the greatness and wonder of the omnipotent
God, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain, loving
Sustainer of the universe, "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in loving-kindness and truth" (Ex 34:6). It calls man to accept
his exalted origins (Gen 1:26,27), admit his sinfulness (Rom 3:23), accept the
free gift of eternal salvation from the curse of sin, (Rom 6:23; Mt 1:21; Jn
3:16), and glory in God for all that he is (Jer 9:23,24; Rev 14:6,7).
The contrasting philosophy,
with its exaltation of human autonomy, receives fierce denunciation in the
Bible's pages, which expose the awful consequences of pursuing such an option
(Rom 1:18-32; Rev 21:8). The grand impediment to acceptance of the Bible's
philosophy may well be the challenge of its affirmation that man is by nature
more corrupt than he himself knows (Jer 17:9), and that except he surrenders to
divinely provided salvation which originates outside of and beyond himself, his
proud independence will take him to disaster. Thus the observation that many a
practitioner of the naturalistic philosophy does not accept God, because doing
this discredits their theories and separates them from their earthly idols.[48]
Teaching the Biblical Philosophy
The significance of the
preceding paragraphs lies in their implication that the use of the Bible as
history textbook, and its philosophy as guide, provide instruction quite
distinct from that, which is imparted by naturalistic philosophy. Providence
takes the place of luck, vices are not overlooked as the idiosyncracies of the
great, and all glory goes to God. Instead of portraits of ambitious men, kind
and generous in public, and implacably vicious in private, students contemplate
"the noble actions of noble men, examples of private virtue and public
honor, lessons of godliness and purity."[49]
Biblical Philosophy and War: A Modern Example
In her account of the
American Civil War Ellen White provides dramatic illustration of what is meant
by the Biblical philosophy of history: To God be the glory? She details how the
God of justice intervened to prolong the war between North and South so that it
might become the fulcrum for release of the slaves. On one occasion (the battle
of Manassa, Virginia), the Northern army was rushing forward in anticipation of
a great victory when "just then an angel to the Northern men as if their
troops were retreating, when it was not so in reality, and a precipitate
retreat commenced. This seemed wonderful to me."[50]
Applied to the Ancient Past
Divine intervention for the
sake of the slaves well exemplifies the grand biblical fact that underlies all
discussion based upon the Bible's uniqueness. The Bible insists that the first
thing knowable about God, without which it is obvious that one does not know
him, is that God is love (1 John 4:8). A literal reading of the Greek of 1 John
4:19 informs us that "we love because he loved us first." Our entire
capacity to love comes from the outpouring of divine love upon us. It is this
recognition that must inform all study of the question of ancient Israel's
wars, authorized by God, particularly during the period of the theocracy before
their open rejection of his sovereignty (1 Sam 8:7,8; 10:17-19, etc.). The
love, which punished America with war, is the same that punished the pagans
with war, for their refusal of the offer of pardon and peace.
Before undertaking
campaigns, the invading Israelites were advised: "When you approach a city
to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. And . . . if it agrees
to make peace with you . . . all the people who are found in it shall become
your forced labor and shall serve you. However, if it does not make peace . . .
then you shall besiege it" (Deut 20:10-12). Thus, death was not
necessarily the predetermined destiny of Palestine's pre-Israelite inhabitants.
God, who is love, finds no pleasure in the death of even his enemies. He offers
peace and makes himself responsibility for the consequences of rebellion. He
takes the death that we deserve as sinners so that we might live with him the
more abundant life.
Biblical Precision: An
Example
The Bible's trustworthiness
is no less certain in the field of data than it is in general principles and
spiritual analysis. The example of supernatural intervention which functioned
to reprove the greed and corruption both of North and South may be repeated
dozens of times in the biblical record. The Exodus, the history of Gideon, the
destruction of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in Hezekiah's day, are three of many
examples. And supernatural intervention not only served for protection of God's
ancient people, but also in the preservation of the ancient record, so that its
reliability might bear witness today. Both individual events and biblical
record are objects of divine care.
The best way of
demonstrating the historical precision of the Bible may well be through a study
of one of the many genealogies, which form part of the book. This is so because
genealogies have been the object of much mockery, taken as classic proof of the
fictitious nature of the Bible in the area of history. We choose a case from
the Pentateuch: Ex 6:14-27. This list of names offers systematic but not equal
information on Jacob's first three sons. Verse 14 is dedicated to Rueben, and
v. 15 to Simeon, but vv. 16-27 focus on the lineage of the various sons of Levi.
Apart from this disequilibrium between Levi and the rest, we may note other
irregularities:
1) Despite the
well known fact that Hebrew genealogies have little regard for woman's
existence Ex 6, exceptionally mentions four within fourteen verses, the first
of these a nameless Canaanite, mother of Saul, Simeon's last son. Why the
reference?
2) Rueben and
Simeon's grandchildren remain unnamed. Why name Levi?
3) Why mention
the people Amram, Aaron, and Eleazar get married to, but not other spouse?
4) Of Izhar's
three sons (Korah, Nepheg, Zichri, v. 21), only Korah's sons are mentioned (v.
24). Why?
5) And why is
there further commentary on only one, the third of the four men identified as
Aaron's sons (v. 25)?
The
responses to these five questions reveal that far from being a matter of
scissors and paste, as some scholars have claimed, the Pentateuch is an
inseparably interwoven unit, displaying a consciousness of cultural practice
across long spans of the time. It encompasses
more than this, Israel's subsequent history supplies ample reflection of
Pentateuchal consistency.
Answer 1) In Gen 24:1-4
Abraham instructs his servant to go seek a wife for his son Isaac. "I will
make you swear by the Lord," Abraham warns, ". . . that you shall not take a wife for my son
from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live . . ." Later, in
Gen 26:34,35, Esau's marriage to Canaanite wives embitters the soul of his
parents Isaac and Rebecca. His action facilitates Rebecca's ruse to save Jacob
from his brother's rage when Esau swears murderous revenge for Jacob's
trickery, which deprives him of the birthright. Rebecca simply asks Isaac to
ensure that Jacob does not marry a Canaanite. Whereupon Isaac blesses and
charges him to travel to Paddan-aram to seek his spouse (Gen 27:46-28:2). The
first of these incidents, which takes place during the second half of the
nineteenth century BC, antedates the times of the Exodus by four hundred years.
The brief reference in Ex 6:15, written in the second half of the fifteenth century
BC, with its apparently uncomplimentary tone, seems to reflect the consistency
of practice among Abraham's descendants through the centuries with regard to
Canaanite intermarriage. It also suggests the faithfulness with which divine
instructions on this point were communicated from generation to generation.
Answer 2) Levi's privileged
sons: In Num 3:22-26 and 4:22-28, the author outlines the duties of the
descendants of Gershon, Levi's first son, in the Israelite cult. So also with
the sons of Kohath (Num 3:27-32; 4:4-15), and Merari (3:33-37; 4:29-33). These
three sons of Levi came to occupy a position of such significance in national
history as ancestors of cultic orders, that their mention in the genealogy of
Ex 6 is hardly surprising. They are, besides, first cousins of Moses. The
genealogy is, after all, the genealogy of Moses and Aaron (vv. 26,27). For
their public significance, therefore, as also for their familial closeness to
the author of book, these men receive more special treatment than other
cousins. Genealogies may even provide clues to the text's authorship.
Answer 3) We have already
hinted at a reason for the mention of Amram's, Aaron's, and Eleazar's wives.
They are the mother, sister-in-law, and niece-in-law of Moses, the book's
author. However, there is more. Jochebed, his mother, attracts attention for
being her husband's aunt, a type of union noteworthy for being later forbidden
(Lev 18:13). As for Aaron's wife, we are given her name--Elizabeth, her
father's name--Amminadab, and her brother's name--Nahshon (v. 23). Why all the
fuss? Why? Because genealogies, as with Gershon and his brothers, highlight
social category. The Aaron--Elizabeth connection constituted one of the most
dramatic concentrations of power in Israelite society of its time. For Aaron,
named high priest, joined himself in marriage with the prince of the most
powerful of Israel's tribes. Num 1:1-4,7; 2:1-3,9, show us that Nahshon, son of
Amminadab, prince of Judah, tribe of the political birthright, directed the
mightiest division of Israel's army. When the nation sallied forth in military
rank from the foot of Mt. Sinai after a year's encampment, it was Nahshon, son
of Amminadab, brother of Elizabeth, and brother-in-law of Aaron, who headed the
march of millions (Num 10:14). For no less a reason do all these find mention.
Answer 4) This case provides
a most persuasive illustration of the carefulness of biblical history. Of the
sons of Izhar (v. 21), only Korah receives later attention. Undoubtedly, this man
Korah made a significant impression upon Moses. He was a man of outstanding gifts. This is the witness of the rebellion helped to stir up against
Moses and Aaron, a rebellion headed by 250 princes of the congregation, men of
renown (Num 16:1,2). Over these 250 were four intellectual authors of the
crime, with Korah named first among them. He was a man of impact. God's rage
against him did not stop the congregation from crying out against Moses, after
his destruction, "You . . . have caused the death of the Lord's
people!" (Num 16:41).
Nevertheless, what of his
sons? Korah's sons apparently inherited much of his intellectual powers and his
strength of will. These powers they chose to dedicate to the service of God
rather than of human pride. So that when the earth open its bowels to swallow
Dathan, Abiram, their wives, children, little ones, Korah their father, and all
his men and the belongings of all of these (Num 16:27,32,33), Korah's sons
stayed clear of the disgraceful scandal. The record is specific. It mentions
the sons of Dathan and Abiram, but not of Korah. Elsewhere it clears all
possibility of doubt on the matter as it affirms "but the sons of Korah
did not die" (Num 26:11).
Subsequent history reveals
that 500 years later, the descendants of these sons of Korah established a line
of musicians in the temple of the Lord (1 Chro 6:31,32,37); they became
composers of renown whose contributions are identified and immortalized in the
hymnody of the second part of the their book of the Psalms, as attested by the
headings of these poems (Ps. 84, 85,87,88,89). Striking it is that from Moses'
day, these sons of Korah should have been distinguishable from the rest.
Answer 5) Our fifth response
is perhaps the simplest. The genealogy only comments further on Aaron's third
son because the first two squandered their right to the priesthood, making
Eleazar inheritor of a position which would have been Nadab's, and Abihu's in
his absence (Lev 10:1,2; Num 20:23-28; 26:1; 27:1,2, etc.). We did not formulate a question about Eleazar's son
Phineas. Nut it worth our while to reflect on his presence in the list and
relate it to an act of holy indignation against open immorality of which Moses
was eyewitness. For his zeal God establish with him a permanent covenant of peace
and a perpetual priesthood, "because he was jealous for his God, and made
atonement for the sons of Israel" (Num 25:12, 13).
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
At the beginning of this
essay we set ourselves several tasks, among them 1) to describe an epistemological
focus which would demonstrate the validity of the biblical historical record;
2) to explain the meaning of "world view"; and 3) to clarify the
relationship between naturalistic thought and the Word of God.
In summary, we have seen
that the antipathy between the naturalistic thinker and the believer in
biblical uniqueness is founded on the former's unwillingness to employ the
supernatural as an explanation of historical events. WE have also offered
certain reasons why this is so. WE suggest that it is so because it promises an
intellectual independence for which the human being longs; because earthly
sovereigns of spiritual kingdoms have set a bad example by abuse of power;
because of the intellectually flawed support we sometimes offer the Bible; because
of inconsistency in the positions of some champions of biblical authority; but
more than all else, because the dogma of the church's transcendence indicates
that once the church is found to be wrong, the Bible, its servant, is
automatically condemned.
Instead of accepting as
irreconcilable the believing and the critical mind, we have sought to
demonstrate how inappropriate circumscription of the field of the search for
truth, a form of intellectual cowardice or stagnation, might be avoided. We
exposed the error in the syllogism, which rejects everything that comes from a
mistaken source. More than this, we have insisted that the church as source of
the Bible is an unacceptable premise. In addition, we have provided examples of
the ethical benefits of a biblical philosophy of history by applying it to the
question of war. Finally, we commented on the detailed precision of one
Israelite genealogy, to support claims to the trustworthiness of the book that
selection represents.
The scope which the biblical
text permits those who delve into it in their search for truth, the ethical
superiority of the philosophy it propounds, and its ability to withstand the
most painstaking tests of the accuracy of its data, these and more inspire my
personal confidence. If I were asked the question, "Should be Bible Be
Used as a Textbook of History?" my reply, emphatic, salvific, and assured,
would resound: "There is none better!"
NOTES
* Except otherwise
indicated, Bible texts quoted are from the NASB.
[1] Cornelius van Til, The
Defense of the Faith (Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1955), p.
160. See also Mark M. Hanna's seven-point outline in Crucial Questions in
Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1981), p. 21.
[2] Francis A. Schaeffer, He
is There and He Is not Silent (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1972), p. 37.
[3] Hanna, Ibid., p. 103,
considers God as a universal given, and the Christian corpus as a special
given, along with universal epistemological and ontological givens. Nicholas
Wolterstorff, Reason Within the Bounds of Religion, 2nd ed.,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984), p. 66, has pointed out that personal decision, (emphasis his) rather than
obviousness, is what defines even one's principle beliefs.
[4] Francis A. Schaeffer, Escape
from Reason (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1968), p. 17,. employs the term
"particulars" to identify the elements of nature as distinct from
"universals" or elements of grace, the two dimensions of
Neoplatonism.
[5] Idem., How Should We
Then Live? (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1976), p. 19.
[6] James W. Sire, Discipleship
of the Mind (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1990), pp. 36, 37.
[7] Francis A. Schaeffer, The
God Who Is There (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1968), p. 179.
[8]
Thomas V. Morris, Frank Schaeffer's Apologetics: A Critique (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1976), pp. 17-18.
[9] Hanna, ibid., p. ix.
[10] Jacques Macquet, "An
African World View," in Culture Shock: A Reader in Modern Cultural
Anthropology, Phillip K. Bock, ed.; (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970), p.
340.
[11] Hanna, ibid., p. 93.
[12] Huston Smith, Beyond the
Post-Modern Mind (New York: Crossroad, 1983), p. 83.
[13] Ibid.
[14] See Bock, ibid., p. ix.
[15] Hans-George Gadamer has
said that such a denial would be no more than a new prejudice. See Verdad y
método. fundmentos de una hermenéutica filosófica (Salamanca: Sígueme,
1977), pp. 339, 343, quoted in Raúl Kerbs, "Obseervaciones epistemológicas
e históricas preliminares sobre la relación fe-rasón desde una perspectiva
cristiana adventista," in Enfoques 6 (January, 1994), pp. 38-48.
[16] Morris, ibid., p. 83.
[17] This definition owes
something to Robert L. Reymond, The Justification of Knowledge: An
Introductory Study in Christian Apologetic Methodology (Philadelphia:
Presbyterian & Reformed, 1976), p. 71; Reymond notes that the disagreement
between believer and unbeliever over "biblical facts" is not a
discussion about facts. In fact, the unbeliever is thus identifiable for
refusing to believe in the Bible as a reliable source of facts.
[18] Schaeffer, How Should We
Then Live?, p. 19. Wolterstorff, ibid., p. 70, calls presuppositions "control beliefs" (emphasis his).
[19] See Ellen G. White, Education
(Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1952), pp. 17, 23.
[21] Rudolf Bultmann, Existence
and Faith: Shorter Writings of Rudolf Bultmann (New York: Meridian Books,
1960), pp. 290-291.
[22] Ibid., p. 291.
[23] For fuller discussion and
definition of these principles, see Gerhard F. Hasel, Biblical
Interpretation Today (Washington, D.C.: Biblical Research Institute, 1985),
pp. 73-78.
[24] Sire, ibid., ch. 3:
"The Final Reality: The Beginning that Has no Beginning," pp. 35-51,
43, 39.
[25] See Gerhard Maier, The
End of the Historical-Critical Method, trans. Edwin W. Leverenz & Rudolph
F. Norden (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing, 1977), O. C. Edwards, jr.,
"Historical-Critical Method's Failure of Nerve and a Prescription for a
Tonic: A Review of Some Recent Literature, Anglican Theological Review
59 (1977) 115-34; James Robinson, "The 63-77; Brevard S. Childs, The
Book of Exodus: A Critical Theological Commentary (Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1974).
[26] Hasel, ibid., p. 80.
[27] Ernst Troeltsch El
protestantismo y el mundo moderno, summaries by Fondo de Cultura Economica,
#51 (Mexico, 1967), pp. 16, 17.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ellen G. White, The
Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1971),
"Introduction," passim. Biblical conservatives, practitioners of this
method, hold notably differing views on the significance of White's testimony.
That question stands outside the compass of this essay.
[30] Hasel, ibid., pp. 4, 5.
[31] Gerhard Hasel, "Method
in the Interpretation of the Bible" (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews
University Press, 1983), ch. 3.
[32] Jack W. Provonsha, God
Is With Us (Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald, 1974), p. 25.
[33] Ibid., p. 22.
[34] Ibid., p. 26.
[35] Ibid., p. 25.
[36] Childs, ibid., p. x.
[37] See again Provonsha, ibid.
[38] Sire, ibid., p. 39.
[39] Seventh-day Adventist
Church Manual, (General Conference of SDA, rev. 1990), p. 23.
[40] See John V. G. Matthews,
"An Historicist-Prophetic Framework for the Study of Church History in
Tertiary Education," in Christ in the Classroom 10, (Washington,
D.C.: Dept. of Education, General Conference of SDA, 1993), pp. 311-30; 314.
[41] Schaeffer, The God Who
Is There, pp. 126-30.
[42] For analysis of the
sinister consequences of this argument, see Schaeffer, Escape from Reason,
pp. 11, 12.
[43] John Naisbitt, &
Patricia Aburdeen, Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990's (New
York: William Morrow, 1990), ch. 11.
[44] John H. Hayes, Introduction
to OT Study (Nasheville: Abingdon, 1979), pp. 100-101. The others are 1)
"a true sense of anachronism" as a means of understanding ancient
texts, by situating them within their appropriate time and space; and 2) an
emphasis on grammatical analysis of the Bible (pp. 100-103).
[45] Ibid., p. 103.
[46] See again, Troeltsch, ibid.
[47] W. David Beck,
"Introduction:" Designing a Christian University," in Opening
the American Mind, ed. W. David Beck, foreword by Norman L. Geisler (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991), pp. 9-23, 16, 23.
[48] See E. M. Cadwallader, Filosofia
básica de la educación adventista, trans., ed., Centro de Investigación White
(Argentina: Universidad Adventista del Plata, 1993), p. 13, the fifth of ten
philosophical principles Cadwallader has extracted from White's writings. It
may be worthwhile to mention the other nine: 1) There are false and true
philosophies; 2) philosophers produce ignorance, fear, and desperation by
seeking to satisfy the soul without providence; 4) true philosophy is that of
Christ and the Bible; 5) the true must not be replaced by the false philosophy;
6) schools are needed which teach the true philosophy; 7) we ought not to
establish colleges dedicated to propagation of the false philosophy; 8) the
false philosophy is making skeptics of thousands of youth; 9) the false
philosophy fascinates and deceives thousands of youth who see in it the prospect
of independence.
[49] White, La Education
cristiana (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1975), p. 230. The entire
chapter "El Valor del estudio de la Biblia," pp. 222-28, should be
studied in this context. Available in English as "The Value of Bible
Study," Fundamentals of Christian Education (Nashville, TN:
Southern Publishing Assn., 1923), pp. 123-128.
[50] Ellen G. White, Testimonies
for the Church, 9 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald, 1984), pp.
31- 40, also discusses God's intervention in this war. Reynolds concludes that
other incomprehensible events of the time become less disconcerting as it is
realized that this was no mere human confrontation between Northern and
Southern soldiers.