Archeological evidence, non-theological history, literary, and linguistic studies have been conducted on the authentic nature of biblical writings. That is to ask, "were the scriptures written by the people we are told wrote them or were they written then edited over these 1,600 years to sound good?"

There are more copies of scripture than any other antiquity writing. Scripture is found in so many non-biblical works that even if every Bible in the world were to be destroyed it could be recreated in it's entire form using other literary works.

While the original documents are no longer in existence, the earliest copies found have been verified to correspond with dates well within reasonable time periods to trust their authenticity as carbon copies of the original. In some cases copies are traced as close as 60 years of the author, which is earlier than other antiquity writings held as credible historical records.

The question of authenticity of God's word as old as the beginning of the world. In Genesis the serpent asks the first woman (Eve) "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?" The serpent questioned Eve on the authenticity of God's Word. Eve corrected the serpent by saying, "God did say, 'You must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" Again, the serpent questions the authenticity of God's word by saying back to Eve, "You will not surely die."  He then adds the temptation, "For God knows that if you were to eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The Bible then reads that Eve saw, "...that the fruit was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. She took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."

I have found myself, and I believe you have too, questioning the authenticity of what someone has told me. Most often, I find I question when someone has said that I cannot do what I want. The other day I was calling customer service for my utility bill. The utility is set up under my wife's name. I was calling to pay the bill. The gal on the other end of the phone asked me my name. I told her my name. She replied to me that she could not discuss the bill with me unless my wife was either on the phone, or had called to put me on the account to discuss it (come to think of it I still need to discuss that with Shana...but I digress. I did pay the bill, so don't worry about that). I said, "But I want to pay the bill. I am not looking for anything about the bill except to verify the amount so I can write the check." To which she replied that it was "the law". To which I replied, "Are you sure it's the law and not just a policy?" To which she then replied, "Law and policy...it's the same." Of course, I (in my grand knowledge and discernment) replied to her, "Law and policy are not the same thing, and all I want to do is pay the bill. And what your telling me is that your policy actually says that even though I just want to verify the bill amount and pay the bill, you cannot tell me the amount so I can give the utility company money?" She did better than Eve and "stuck to her guns" with the quick..."unless you were to have your wife on the phone giving permission." She proceeded to give me the hours of customer service and told me that they would gladly help if we (my wife) called back.

That customer service representative, was not thrown by my temptation - "But I am going to give you money." Why? Because she knew the authenticity of her policy, and she knew that going against it could mean her separation from the company that pays her and ultimately may feed her family. My short-term mention of money did not measure against her long term paycheck. Eve, or Adam for that matter, did not weight the options that way. Both Adam and Eve knew the authenticity of what God said. They heard it directly from Him. They chose to go against it. Their decision resulted in the separation from God. That separation is the definition of "death" - the permanent separation from God. It was that death that God spoke of when he told Eve and Adam they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

The authenticity of the Bible as God's Word is not only being questioned, today, about whether God said we will die. It is also questioned whether we can have eternal life - only through the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "The thief comes to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." We must ask ourselves whether our belief can guarantee life.

Jesus says he is "...the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me."

Next stop - Newton Center