By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Argumentations around the authenticity, authorship and altruism of the Bible will apparently be a recurring conversation. Barely eight months after UK-based Nigerian cleric Pastor Tobi Adegboyega dismissed Christianity as a “social construct”, contending that the Bible was written by the Europeans to make Africans submit and accept colonialism, a similar debate trended in local online spaces these past few days.
Nigerian music producer and sound engineer, Igbinoba Osazee, who the rapper Phyno fondly calls Ozedikus Nwanne, asked how Christians can be certain that the Bible is the absolute truth when it is written by men who lie. In a post on his Instagram page, the hitmaker wrote, “You claim the Bible was written by men inspired by God, and we all know that men lie. On top of that, it is a collection of texts written by multiple authors across different periods. So, you’re essentially banking on the probability that all these men were telling the absolute truth, without a single error, because they were supposedly inspired by God?”
The post drew some raw emotions and righteous indignation in the comments. But those are unnecessary. Although his “supposedly inspired by God” phrasing defies 2 Timothy 3:16, Igbinoba shouldn’t yet be deemed rebellious for expressing what even some Christians harbor in their minds. Why the spleen when insightful preachers would tell you that not everything written in the Bible is true? It’s a no-brainer given instances where biblical characters’ lies were also captured in the Good Book as teachable moments.
The point being missed by people with the same thinking as Ozedikus on this subject matter is that they’re ignorant of the huge difference between the Bible and the Word of God! This is not a matter of semantics. People may find contradictions in the Bible but definitely not in the Word of God. What does John 17:17 say? “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” Come to think of it, how can a text laced with lies be sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow to the extent of exposing people’s innermost thoughts and desires (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)?
Peter, the apostle, described the Word as the incorruptible seed. This is why the Word exposes the insincerity of preachers who manifestly manipulate it. Take, for instance, materialistic pastors in Nigeria who preach ministry as business because Jesus said something like, “I must be about my father’s business.” Not all translations even render Luke 2:49 that way. Commerce is apparently not what the 12-year-old Jesus meant by that statement. If it were, He wouldn’t later in ministry use a horsewhip to chase out those trading in the temple and overturning their table of wares.
Meanwhile, assuming arguendo that writers of the biblical books lied in the process, “forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable]” (Psalm 119:89 AMP). Let it be known that Rhema differs from, and trumps logos. The Word, which is firmly fixed in heaven and downloadable by believers, is the Rhema, while the Bible remains the logos. Lawyers will tell you about the spirit and letter of the Constitution, but in terms of the Bible, “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). The letter (Bible) may be that deadly due to its purported imperfections, but not so with Rhema, where the Holy Spirit broods over the Word.
When 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” it means that although written by men, the Bible is authored by God. This should already make it infallible. Those who dispute the Bible because of the human input don’t understand how God works. It’s all about the divine assignment, not the vessel. This is why Brother Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
When men and forces of darkness thought they were prosecuting their agenda at the Lord’s expense, they ended up playing into His hands and working out His purpose. This was the case with Judas Iscariot and those who conspired to crucify Jesus on the Cross. They only realised their miscalculation after the fact. As 1 Corinthians 2:8 puts it: “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Jonah was unwilling to evangelise Nineveh. After God forced him to, he preached a rather unconvincing message, yet the entire country became so penitent that “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.” (Jonah 3:7-8)
On this basis, even if those who scripted the Bible were insincere at some point, God must have formed the truth from their lies. This is clear from the consistency that defines the Bible, with the entire 66 books projecting one basic truth. Written by 40 individuals (among whom were farmers, fishermen, doctors, lawyers, tax collectors, kings, judges, teachers) over a period of 1600 years, thousands of archaeological finds have since validated their narratives. Most of the writers never met one another as they lived in different lifetimes: across three continents and three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). Yet, their documents, when collated, have a singular message. No other book in the world has such consistency.
The Holy Writ points to one prophecy, not prophecies. It highlights the singular revelation of Jesus Christ. Every prophet that was recorded in scripture spoke from the same source not out of personal intuition that would have given room for fibs and fables. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).
These prophets were all inspired to speak about the Messiah even when they didn’t know Him. Jesus Christ remains the content and context of Old Testament messages. He reveals God. The person who doesn’t know Jesus doesn’t know God. He goes to the very root of the Gospel, beginning from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The Bible is a collection of books detailing progressive revelation about Christ.
The Old Testament is Jesus concealed; while the New Testament is Jesus revealed. You read the Old Testament (which is mystery, shadows and types) with the lens of the New Testament. It’s like the light one uses to find an item in a dark warehouse. Now, if God could be this meticulous and intentional in orchestrating the Bible, how would He allow the foibles and fallacies of the writers to throw a spanner in His work?
This column invites Ozedikus to find out the meaning of “The Gospel”. When he’s done, he should return to tell whether the writers of the first four books of The New Testament are among those who must have lied. In one of those books, Jesus clairvoyantly addressed the music producer’s argument about the existence of “35,000 Christian denominations with different doctrines and interpretations of the same Bible?” This is attributable to man’s inordinate ambitions and should not be blamed on the Bible, which advocates otherwise. John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”
One major counter to the claim that the Bible may contain some lies is that lies have a lifespan. The supposed lies in the Bible would have been outed for what they are over the thousands of years that the Bible has resonated. Yet, while seasons come and go alongside the fads that define each epoch, Scripture has remained relevant and refreshing even unto eternity. You can then appreciate why Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ (who is actually the Word) is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
While this essay was in the works, the lyrics of Lynn DeShazo recorded into a song by Michael W. Smith on his 2002 album Worship Again, kept playing in my spirit:
“Ancient words ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.”
Absolutely, the Bible must be approached with an open heart, not a mind steeped in suspicions and misgivings. With Yahweh’s permission, yours sincerely here paraphrases Proverbs 5:6: Trust in the WORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding!
*VIS Ugochukwu is a sage, branding specialist and media trainer who welcomes feedback sent to nmiringwu@gmail.com