Is the Bible the Word of God?

The bible was written in over a 1,500 year period with 40 authors in 3 different languages about many controversial topics yet it remains in complete harmony from beginning to end. This is evidence to me that it is the word of God.

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Originally posted by joz:
So you don't see any incongruities in a work that includes "suffer the little children to come unto me..." and God sending bears to eat children for taking the piss out of one of his prophets for being bald?

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Wake up and smell the coffee mate.....

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Or even better explain to me what they are both doing in an internally consistent, divinely inspired document, I could do with a good laugh.....

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[This message has been edited by joz, 12-10-2001]

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I didn't claim to understand everything in the bible. I don't think anyone can. But if you ask me a specific verse and tell me where it is in the bible I should be able to do some research and let you know the meaning and hopefully help you understand it better.

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[This message has been edited by redstang281, 12-11-2001]

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Originally posted by Percipient:

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Redstang writes:
The bible was written in over a 1,500 year period with 40 authors in 3 different languages about many controversial topics yet it remains in complete harmony from beginning to end. This is evidence to me that it is the word of God.

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This is a simple statement of what you believe. What evidence is there that the Bible is the word of God? How do you square the Bible's internal and external inconsistencies with the view that it's in complete harmony?

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--Percy

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Further proof that it is the word of good is in it's prophecies. The prophecies in the bible have come true in minute detail 100%. When I said harmony I meant that it appears as if it was written by the same person throughout the entire book.

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[This message has been edited by redstang281, 12-11-2001]

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[This message has been edited by Percipient, 12-11-2001]

This information was taken from another website.Perhaps the greatest and most obvious testimony to the accuracy of Biblical prophecy is provided by the people and nation of Israel. The Jews went without a homeland for 1900 years, just as God had promised numerous times in the Old Testament2, as a reluctant judgment on His rebellious chosen people. Moses warned Israel that if they corrupted themselves, then "the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other (Deut 28:64, KJV)". Remarkably, this century God restored the Jews to their ancient homeland, fulfilling many other specific Old Testament prophesies3.It is inconceivable to me how the honest skeptic could deny God's handiwork in the history of the people of Israel. Throughout history the "wandering Jew" has been hated and despised, yet despite the unbelievable persecution they endured, the Jews somehow managed to maintain their identity such that when God's timeclock warranted they were able to re-group as a nation in their ancient homeland. Indeed, history is replete with once great nations which were eventually overrun and defeated, but whose people were over time absorbed into the culture of the conquering nation. The fact that this did not happen to the Jews is nothing short of miraculous. There are American Jews, German Jews, Russian Jews, etc.; have you ever heard of a German Babalonian, or an American Philistine? The plight of this small percentage of humanity is certainly unique and unprecedented in the annals of world history

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Originally posted by joz:

Any prophesy that is stated in vague enough language as to provide a plenum of solutions is not verified by the occurrence of one of those solutions....

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Also you have neglected to consider that hatred, religious intolerance and ostrasation all form effective barriers to social integration....

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So you consider that too vague. I will research it further and find out more details on it. Here is more from that site.Speaking of Egypt, there is another prophecy also recorded in Ezekiel that I would like to share with you: "and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt (Ezek 30:13, KJV)." Twenty-five hundred years have passed since this prophecy, and during this period of time not one of its numerous ruling princes were Egyptian! This would be similar to my predicting that their would never again be an American elected President of the United States!

nothing to say to the last one?

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Originally posted by mark24:
"Speaking of Egypt, there is another prophecy also recorded in Ezekiel that I would like to share with you: "and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt (Ezek 30:13, KJV)." Twenty-five hundred years have passed since this prophecy, and during this period of time not one of its numerous ruling princes were Egyptian! This would be similar to my predicting that their would never again be an American elected President of the United States! "

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The prophesy is plainly wrong.

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"According to Egyptian law, Cleopatra was forced to have a consort, who was either a brother or a son, no matter what age, throughout her reign. She was married to her younger brother Ptolemy XIII when he was twelve, however she soon dropped his name from any official documents regardless of the Ptolemaic insistence that the male presence be first among co-rulers. She also had her own portrait and name on coins of that time, ignoring her brother's. When Cleopatra became co-regent, her world was crumbling down around her. "

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So Ptolemy XIII co-ruled Egypt with Cleopatra, albeit briefly. This was nearly 500 years after your prophesy. He was born in Alexandria. He was an Egyptian Prince.

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[This message has been edited by mark24, 12-13-2001]

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This information was taken from the site http://www.ehs.pvt.k12.ca.us/ehs/projects/9798/AnCiv6/Egypt/acstephanie ."Cleopatra VII was born in 69 b.c. Her parents were Ptolemy XII (or Auletes) and Cleopatra Tryphainia, probably his sister. Cleopatra's childhood was very luxurious.When her father died, he willed that Cleopatra rule jointly with her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was 13. Ptolemy XIII was too young to rule so his advisor had the real power. Cleopatra's joint rule was cut short due to the fact that Ptolemy XIII's advisor resented Cleopatra and took every opportunity to make her look bad. He accomplished this by blaming her for food shortages, people avoiding paying taxes, and other big problems. Cleopatra was finally forced to flee the country.Cleopatra asked for Roman help to return her to the Egyptian throne. She asked Rome for help because it was so powerful. The help she received was from Julius Caesar.When Julius Caesar first came into Egypt, the people thought he was attacking and rioted. Caesar then settled down in the royal palace to wait for the rioting to stop. Cleopatra came to him at the palace in a rolled up blanket. She seduced him, and Caesar decided to help Cleopatra with her royal problems.Caesar helped Cleopatra by demanding that Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII marry and rule jointly again. Ptolemy XIII's advisor agreed to Caesar's demands, but didn't keep his word. The advisor ordered the Egyptian army to surround the palace. Cleopatra and Caesar were trapped along with a small force of Roman soldiers. Ptolemy XIII and his advisor were trapped also. During this, Arsinoe, Cleopatra's sister, proclaimed herself ruler of Egypt. When Caesar heard that the advisor was involved in Arsinoe's proclamation, he had him executed. With Roman reinforcements, Caesar defeated the Egyptian army. Ptolemy XIII's body was later found in the Nile River.In the course of these events, Caesar had helped Cleopatra regain the throne. Caesar had helped her because he knew she would be a good Roman ally. Because of this he reinstalled her on the throne with great ceremony. He then tried to please the Egyptians by following the custom of having Cleopatra marry 12-year-old Ptolemy XIV. This time, the New Pharaoh didn't have any advisors, so Cleopatra was really the only ruler. Then in 44 b.c. when Ptolemy XIV wanted to rule, Cleopatra had him poisoned. Now she was truly the only ruler. All this time, Caesar had stayed in Egypt with Cleopatra. When Caesar did finally go back to Rome, Cleopatra was pregnant"This document says plainly that Cleopatra was really the only ruler. The prophecy still remains true.

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[This message has been edited by redstang281, 12-13-2001]

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Originally posted by mark24:
Please re-read my text. You posted whilst I was still adding stuff. I should have got it all together first

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"and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt (Ezek 30:13, KJV)."

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The prophecy never mentioned rulers, just Egyptian princes.

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Therefore the prophesy is wrong because there WERE Egyptian princes post prophecy, whether they ruled is neither here nor there.

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Please show me examples. You require me to bring evidence, so I require you to do the same.

I also found this" The Fate of Egypt
Egypt had also been a mighty power in the Middle East. The period of its greatness was about 1600 BC, when the armies of the conquering Pharaohs pressed southwards into the Sudan, westwards along the north African coast, and northwards through the land of Canaan (later Israel) and into Syria. The discovery of some of the ancient temples, monuments and tombs of Egypt has revealed the glory of the Pharaohs at the height of their power.
But from about 1400 BC Egyptian power began to decline, due to civil war and to the rise of Assyria, and later Babylon. Nevertheless, during the period of Israel's occupation of the land of Canaan, 1400-600 BC, the Egyptians interfered periodically in the politics of the Middle East, with varying success. The Israelites, fearing invasion from the Assyrians or Babylonians, were often tempted to seek support from Egypt instead of relying in faith upon their God.
Now the prophets of Israel had something very definite to say about the destiny of the Egyptians. The prophet Ezekiel, whose pronouncements were made in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from about 600 BC declared that as a result of the judgement of God Egypt was to be desolate for 40 years. Then there was to be a revival, but not to the former glory and power:
Thus saith the Lord God: at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered . . . and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros [in upper Egypt, the original seat of Egyptian power], into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom (RSV, a lowly kingdom). It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations . . . Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols and will cause the images to cease out of Noph (Memphis); and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt ... (Ezekiel 29:13-15; 30:13).
Again the sense of the prophecy is clear: Egypt was to suffer the calamities of invasion and the deportation of captives. Although no precise historical record of these events has survived, they must have been the result of the invasion of Egypt by the Babylonians, as Ezekiel himself prophesied (see Ezekiel 30:17-20). But that was not to be the end of Egypt. For after 40 years the captives were to return to their own land. Egypt as a kingdom was not to be destroyed: it was to survive but with greatly reduced power - "a lowly kingdom", never presuming to exert power over the surrounding nations any more. "

It could be that the original website quote I posted was not a correct interpretation of the prophecy and perhaps the second one I posted is in fact the correct. Which would still be valid. I am researching right now.

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Originally posted by joz:
Still waiting pal.......

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WHat do you presume "suffer the little children" means?I don't really understand what I'm supposed to disprove or prove?

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Originally posted by joz:
Case one:

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Someone I forget who tries to stop some children from "bothering" (from his perspective anyway) jesus, JC then says "suffer the little children to come unto me..."

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This just means he wants the children to come to him. [b] [QUOTE] One of Gods prophets (either Elijah or Elfish) is walking along one day when some children make fun of his bald head, so God sends some bears to eat the children....Prove that these two passages can both exist in an internally consistent and inerrant document....

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[This message has been edited by joz, 12-13-2001][/b][/QUOTE]I think I see what you're saying. How can God want to help the children at one point then later want to kill them later?Well God values the soul more than life because that is eternal. God wants us to come to him to have our soul saved. So when Jesus wanted the children to come to them he wanted them to learn of him so their soul would be saved. The children being eating by the bear could just illustrate that you could die for doing a wrong deed.

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Originally posted by mark24:
But Egypt DID presume to exert power over "surrounding nations". they attacked Israel in 1948 & 1973, & has always desired its elimination as a state since 1948.

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Egypt was once a great and powerful nation, and the prophecy fortold that it would loose that power and never be able to regain it again.

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Originally posted by mark24:
But the quote still has "and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt " in it.

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As you say yourself Ptolemy XIII was too young to rule & had an advisor. Nevertheless he was still an Egyptian Prince.

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I emailed some authorities on this and they are supposed to provide me with further information. I think that the bible means a ruling prince, which would make sense inside the context of the preceding and following paragraphs.

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Originally posted by mark24:
But a "ruling prince" is a king/pharoah, & not a prince at all. Even if it was, theres loads of examples I've given post-500 BC.

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Pls post or give me the link to the full passage.

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Thanks,

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Mark

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I have a few sources who say they can prove this prophecy, so as soon as I get their email I can post it.