Awesome article, I just love it when we talk about the greatness of God’s Word. Believers and non-believers need to know just how carefully crafted the Word is.

If you haven’t seen this already, check out this site by a guy called Chris Harrison.

www.chrisharrison.net/projects/bibleviz/index.html

He has produced a stunning piece of art that faithfully illustrates that the Bible could ONLY be divinely inspired.

Kevin Moffat

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

Tony Abbot is not the first person to call for compulsory Bible Classes in our state schools, I have heard atheists like Philip Adams do the same. You simply cannot understand pre-World War II literature or even politics within Western societies without a thorough understanding of the Bible. My only problem with these calls comes from a cheap remainder book I picked up once. The book is Gregory Baum The Church for Others: Protestant Theology in Communist East Germany (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996). East Germany was the only protestant dominated society among the communist occupied countries after World War II. In the 45 years until there absorption by the then West Germany, they had centre Christian education in the Churches. West Germany had it centred in the schools. The East German Protestants fought and lost this move from the Churches to the schools. The power of the gospel was then lost.

If you look at our own country, look what has happen to the majority of students who attended ‘Christian schools’ over the past century. Most enter the churches for hatches, matches and dispatches only! We need to find ways to improve Biblical literacy to promote greater adherence to Christ. Given the past failures, is school based Bible classes the best option? However, don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe that we need to restore the fourth “R” to the curriculum: reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.

Michael Boswell

This is wonderful to gain the revelation of how important the Bible really is, its truth, its God’s spoken word. I believe it is greatly important to place into schools, just like Abbott was saying they don’t have to become believers, because ultimately that is their choice, but if they look at, read it, and take it in, we will see better citizens in society. I sometimes wonder if people have any idea why western judeo-christian nations are doing better then other nations, its because we are based upon truth, upon the Bible… if you take that away… it would be chaos, like we are seeing in nations that aren’t built upon a Godly foundation.

Thanks for this post of information, I hope and I will pray that more people become aware and have a heart to seek out the truth.

Sara Freeman

We know there is a much better definition found in a book that far too many (including myself) read far too little. Molly pointed this out from proverbs that.. the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Let us all take the opportunity to read God’s word while we have it available, lest we see in our time the prophecy of Amos fullfilled “The days are coming” declared the Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” Amos 8:11. Perhaps we are seeing this in some churches already!

God has promised …As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yeilds seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so it is with my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11. Does this mean that every time we read His word, the Bible, that some transaction occurs achieving more of Gods purpose? What a privelege! No time reading the Bible is wasted.

Richard Jardine

After the Reformation, science made great advantages when they applied their objective and straightforward understandings of Scripture to nature. (Peter Harrison, The Bible, Protestantism and the rise of natural science, Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Furthermore, scientists were highly motivated by a literal understanding of Adam’s Fall, regarding science as way to approach Adam’s superior unfallen knowledge. (Peter Harrison, The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science, Cambridge University Press, 2007)

See my article The biblical roots of modern science: A Christian world view, and in particular a plain understanding of Scripture and Adam’s Fall, was essential for the rise of modern science.

Jonathan Sarfati, Brisbane

Tony Abbott isn’t going to have an easy run. And I urge the people of God to stand behind him, to pray and to encourage him – just as the people of India stood behind Ghandi even when he was in jail.

Ghandi died a Hindu – killed by an assassin’s bullets. But his mission was accomplished. He never believed, but he was wise enough to treasure – and put into practice – the wisdom of the Bible.

Swines will never be able to appreciate pearls. But as Ghandi said, “let us not go down to their level, but love them even as they beat us”.

Eddie Sim

Yes it is quite true that more recent forms of slavery were quite different from earlier forms, which can often be more properly called ‘indentured servitude’. Many differences, including the ability to purchase one’s freedom, could be noted. I have tried to cover this in more detail elsewhere, eg., www.billmuehlenberg.com/2007/07/25/the-bible-slavery-and-morality/

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

Damien quoted Havers quoting Hegel as saying “… only Christianity in its most Protestant form ended slavery …”, yet I am sometimes uneasy with biblical “at-easeness” with slavery. I do think that “modern”, i.e. the Euro-American slave trade, was different in its nature to biblical slavery, but I am interested in your thoughts.

Graeme Cumming