The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-11-02

mgnt tnlnK LnaL the Cnr1St1an
religion has a Bible just to keep
up with the procession; for
every religion in the world that
has as many as a million men,
bers, has a Bible Of some kind,
and Christianity would be very
odd if it did not. But this is not
the reason we have a Bible. Is
this the reason ~ that God can
speak to man only in a written
Word? Not at all. Did you ever
stop to think that the whole
Bible was written by persons
who did not have a whole
Bible? In fact, great deal Of
the Bible is devoted to accounts
Of how God has been found in
other ways as well as in the
Bible. Is the reason for the
Bible our need of a book of
rules? No. the Bible itself does
contain a few rules, but nearly
every page of it is something
else besides rules.
Inspired
One reason the church cher
ishes the Bible is because we
believe it to be inspired by God
himself. This does not mean
that God dictated the various
books Of the Bible, certainly not
in English. What we do mean
is that God was at work in the
entire process by which the
Bible has come down to us. You
would cherish every letter Of
one you love: if your loved one
was for instance) a teacher of
art. you would no doubt be glad
to have pictures or sculpture
done by her pupils. Perhaps
your friend the teacher did not
paint this picture herslef, but
you can tell it must have been
done by one of her pupils. 1T
looks liker her." you say. In the
same way, God did not hold the
pen for the writer's of the
Bible; but persons who have
assmedly known God, have
through the ages recognized the
unmistakable marks of Gods
thought and action here. It is as
difficult to prove" the inspir-
alton of Scripture as to prove
that Mozart was a great mu-
sician. But both the Bible and
music can be studied. Out of the
study comes appreciation, and
out of the appreciation grows
the conviction of inspiration
You can put up a shack on
desert sands or at the edge of
the swamp. But if what you
want to erect is a skyscraper or
a cathedral, you have to look
for solid rock foundations.
Build on Rock. not Sand
So when you are building a
life, as Jesus said, you need to
build it on a rock, not on sand.
We feel the need of a court of
last resort. a nudge above all
judges. We need an accurate
compass. we need dependable
light, a map with roads plainly
marked. Now the Bible is all of
these things, and people who
have discovered its value have
used such words as these about
it. For the Protestant Christian
of every kind, in spite Of all our
smaller or greater differences,
the Bible stands as the supreme
a t h GRITTY, even above the
church. We do not find codes of
rules here; we find living men
and women who had authenti-
cauy known God. In their life
experiences and in their reflec-
tons and conclusions. we find
again the will Of God for our
selves
Some treasured heirlooms are
valued highly because they are
irreplaceable. So the Bible is in
valuable. because it is unique.
Most books answer some ques-
tons. the Bible answers the
cent ra questions. The Bible
gives us the answers we do not
find elsewhere. The Bible speaks
to our most agonizing question
ings. our most Unsuitable guests.
What is my destiny, as a hui
man being? Am a kind of &C
cident, along with other human
beings, or are we all part Of the
plan Of God? How can I, poor,
sick as I am, come to terms
with the high God? What is God
like? What can I believe about
Him. and what does He want me
to do? When l come to The in
evitable end Of this life. and
face the last dark doorway. the
last toll-gate. what lies beyond?
When I stand at the graveslde
Of a loved one, must / stand
forever alone? When l look into
the va st reaches Of space to the
galaxies receding ever beyond
our reach. do I find there only
mindless energy or do I dare to
see al ove all, above all. inf
mite and eternal love? The
Bible and the Bible alone gives
US the answers to such ques-