Is The Bible A Word From God?
By Glenn Thomas Carson, Ph.D.

Can we feel confident that the Bible is a message from God?  If history can be considered something of a science, then we can “scientifically” prove that the Bible is a true word from God—aimed directly at humanity.  Again and again throughout the centuries, the documents of the Bible have spoken to individuals, forever changing their lives.  And, in some cases, changing the course of history itself.

One incident in the fourth century CE makes the point: A teacher named Augustine of Hippo was disturbed by the lack of direction in his life.  He had, at his mother’s urging, begun to read the New Testament.  One day in a garden, he had just put down the Scripture, distraught that he could not understand what he read.  Suddenly, he heard a voice saying “Take up and read, take up and read!”  He immediately resumed reading, his eye falling on Romans 13:13-14.  In a flash of divine inspiration, Augustine understood the truth of the Bible.  “The light of peace poured into my heart,” he said.  The Bible, as a word from God, had completely changed his life.  Augustine went on to set the standard of Christian theology for the next one thousand years and his influence is still felt today.

Augustine is one example of how history proves the Bible to be a special word from God.  Scripture communicates the ideas of God that help us to understand ourselves and our world.

Perhaps the heart of this question is: can we trust the Bible?  Does it present us with evidence of its value?  At its very beginning, the Bible assures us that humans share in the divine—that we are created with an imprint of God.  In other words, we carry within us the same power (and the same truth) that established the universe.  If we are able to accept that we are connected to God, and that as a result we are able to discern the true from the untrue, then we can readily attest to truth wherever we find it—including the Bible.

So, then, when we read in the Bible that God is the source of love; that all human beings have equal value; that the earth is to be cherished; and that our lives have purpose and meaning, we understand these as true.  We are able to separate truth from mere fact and to distinguish between universal truth and ancient legend.  In effect, we recognize truth when we see it.  As divine persons we decide what is true.

The Bible contains the truths that undergird the western world.  We trust that it is a word from God.  It is a true guide for how to treat one another and it improves our worldview.  Therein is its value and worth, and, the proof that it is a message intended for us, but with a divine origin.

The Reverend Dr. Glenn Thomas Carson is President of Disciples of Christ Historical Society, a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)