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THE
BOOK OF BOOKS
"The Bible is worth all the other books which have
ever been printed." Patrick Henry
"The
Bible is a book, in comparison with which, all others in
my eyes are of minor importance; which in all my perplexities
and distresses has never failed to give me light and strength."
Robert E. Lee
"The
Bible is the sceptre by which the Heavenly King rules His
Church." John Calvin
"The
Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible is the
religion of Christ's Church." Charles Spurgeon
"The
truly wise man is he who always believes the Bible against
the opinion of any man." R.A. Torrey
"The
Word of God is above the Church." Thomas Cranmer
"I
will put down all apparent inconsistencies in the Bible
to my own ignorance."
John Newton
"We
must never edit God." A.W. Tozer
"If
we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country
will go on prospering and to prosper; but if were now posterity
to neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell
how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our glory
in profound obscurity." Daniel Webster
"Every
thinking man, when he thinks, realises that the teachings
of the Bible are so interwoven with our whole civic and
social life that it would be literally impossible for us
to figure what life would be if those teachings were removed.
We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge
both public and private morals; all the standards to which
we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves."
Theodore Roosevelt
"The
Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest
way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying."
John Flavel
"I
have done nothing; the Word has done and accomplished everything."
Martin Luther
"A
Bible reading laity is a nation's surest defence against
error." J.C. Ryle
"It
is a miracle how God has so long preserved His Book! How
great and glorious it is to have the Word of God!"
Martin Luther
"The Christian feels that the tooth of time gnaws
all books but the Bible…19 centuries of experience
have tested it. It has passed through critical fires no
other volume has suffered and its spiritual truth has endured
the flames and come out without so much as the smell of
burning." W.E. Sangster
"Doers
of the Word are the best hearers." Thomas Watson
"My
conscience is captive to the Word of God." Martin
Luther
"In
regard to this great book, I have got to say, it is the
best gift God has given to man. All the good Saviour gave
to the world was communicated through this Book. But for
it, we could not know right from wrong. All things most
desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to
be found portrayed in It." Abraham Lincoln
"A
man has deprived himself of the best there is in the world
who has deprived himself of this, a knowledge of the Bible.
When you have read the Bible, you will know that it is the
Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your
own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty."
Woodrow Wilson
"In
this age of space flight when we use the modern tools of
science to advance into new regions of human activity, the
Bible…remains in every way an up to date book. Our
knowledge and use of the laws of nature that enable us to
fly to the moon, also enable us to destroy our home planet
with the atom bomb. Science itself does not address the
question whether we should use the power at our disposal
for good or for evil. The guidelines of what we ought to
do are furnished in the moral Law of God." Wernher
von Braun
"A
thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college
education."
Theodore Roosevelt
"Nobody
ever outgrows Scripture; The Book widens and deepens with
our years."
Charles Spurgeon
"Education
is useless without the Bible." Noah Webster
"The
Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good, and
the best corrective of all that is evil, in human society;
the best Book for regulating the temporal concerns of men,
and the only Book that can serve as an infallible guide…the
principles of genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations,
are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority.
The man therefore, who weakens or destroys the Divine authority
of that Book may be accessory to all the public disorders
which society is doomed to suffer…" Noah Webster
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the
Scriptures ought to form the basis of all of our civil constitutions
and laws…All the miseries and evils which men suffer
from - crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and
war - proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts
contained in the Bible." Noah Webster
THE
BOUNTY'S BIBLE
On
28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian staged the most famous
mutiny in history, on the English ship "HMS Bounty",
in the South Pacific. The captain, William Bligh, and those
loyal to him were set adrift in an overloaded lifeboat,
which they miraculously navigated 3700 miles to Timor.
The
mutineers upon the Bounty immediately began quarrelling
about what to do next. Fletcher returned to Tahiti, where
he left some of the mutineers, kidnapped some women, took
some slaves, and travelled with the remaining mutineers
1000 miles to the uninhabited Pitcairn Island. There their
group quickly unravelled. They distilled whiskey from a
native plant. Drunkenness and fighting characterised their
colony. Disease and murder eventually took the lives of
all the men, except one - Alexander Smith. Smith found himself
the only man on the island surrounded by an assortment of
women and children.
Then
Smith found the Bounty's neglected Bible. As he read it,
his heart was transformed and he began to instruct the survivors
of their community. He taught the Scriptures and helped
to implement its instructions. The message of Christ so
transformed their lives that, 20 years later, in 1808, when
the crew of the Topaz landed on the island, they found a
joyful society of Christians living in prosperity and peace,
free from crime, disease, murder and mutiny.
That
Bible resides on display in the Church in Pitcairn as a
monument to its transforming message.
THE
WORLD'S NO. 1 BEST SELLER OF ALL TIME
The
Bible is the No. 1 best selling book in all of history.
The Bible Society alone has a world wide distribution of
24 million Bibles, 26 million New Testaments and 577 million
portions of Scripture each year. This does not include the
over 1 million New Testaments distributed each week by The
Gideons. Or the New Testaments distributed by the Pocket
Testament League. The over 18 million Scriptures provided
each year by the Bible League, the over 22 million Scripture
tracts and booklets given away so far by Scripture Gift
Mission. And there are even more Bibles sold by Zondervan,
Thomas Nelson, Tyndale, and others. It is estimated that
well over 30 million Bibles are sold each year, and possibly
over 100 million New Testaments - each year!
THE
MOST INFLUENCIAL BOOK IN ALL OF HISTORY
It
is to the Bible that we owe our Legacy of the Law. It is
the Bible that ushered in an area of compassion, liberty
and justice. The 10 Commandments are the moral and legal
foundations of Western Civilisation.
The
foundations of the Common Law were made by King Alfred the
Great of England who introduced his Code with the 10 Commandments,
the Case Laws of Exodus, the Golden Rule of Christ, and
other Biblical principles.
The
Magna Carta of 1215 was the first statute, the first written
restriction on the powers of government. It was written
by a pastor and thoroughly saturated with Scriptural principles.
The
Bible has inspired the greatest literature, the greatest
art, the greatest examples of architecture - the cathedrals,
the age of exploration, world missions, the rule of law,
the separation of powers, checks and balances, representative
government, the sanctity of life, and so much more that
we take for granted.
Just
consider some of the everyday things which has been inspired
by the Bible. The word "breakfast" comes from
the concept of breaking the fast. The word "restaurant"
comes from Jesus' promise in Matthew 11:28 "come to
me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest." The first restaurant, founded in Paris in
1766, placed that verse from Matthew 11:28 in bold letters
outside this first public establishment dedicated to providing
meals in a pleasant atmosphere.
The
fact that our week consists of seven days is a testimony
to the fact of God creating the world in six days and rested
on the seventh. The practice of Sunday being a Day of rest
dates back to the Christian tradition of honouring the first
day of the week as the Lord's Day, remembering that Jesus
Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
The very way we date our years is a testimony to the centrality
of Christ. All of history is divided into BC - Before Christ;
or AD - Anno Domini - in the year of our Lord. Jesus Christ
is the focus of history.
Most
of the world's languages were written down for the first
time by Christian missionaries. The first book in most languages
in the world was the Bible. Martin Luther's translation
of the Bible had a tremendous impact upon the formation
of the German language, as did William Tyndale's translation
on the English language. Many common phrases, expressions
and words come right out of the pages of the Bible. ("My
brothers keeper" Gen. 4:9; "The mark of Cain"
Gen. 4:15; "An eye for an eye" Ex. 21:24; "Scapegoat"
Lev. 16:26; "The valley of the shadow of death"
Ps 23:4; "Feet of clay" Dan 2:33; "The Fiery
Furnace" Dan3; "The handwriting on the wall"
Dan 5; "In the lions den" Dan 6; "Baptism
of fire" Matt 3:16; "Go the second mile"
Matt 5:41; "Our daily bread" Matt 6:11; "Pearls
before swine" Matt 7:6; "The straight and narrow"
Matt 7:14; "Wolves in sheep's clothing" Matt 7:15;
"A den of thieves"
Matt 21:13; "Blind guides" Matt 23:16; "White-washed
tombs" Matt 23:27; "Good Samaritan" Luke
10; "Prodigal son" Luke 15; and literally hundreds
of other expressions could be added.
The
very word "good-bye" comes from: God be
with ye.
The
word "holiday" means holy day.
Napoleon
Bonaparte asserted "The Bible is no mere book, but
a living power that conquers all that oppose it."
THE
FOUNDATION OF MODERN SCIENCE
Sir
Michael Faraday, one of the greatest scientists of all times,
who discovered electromagnetic induction and invented the
generator, observed: "The Bible, and it alone, with
nothing added to it nor taken away from it by man, is the
sole and sufficient guide for each individual, at all times
and in all circumstances. …faith in the Divinity and
work of Christ is the gift of God, and the evidence of this
faith is obedience to the commandments of Christ."
All
the great pioneer scientists who laid the foundations of
modern physics, astronomy, calculus, dynamics, oceanography,
anaesthesiology, and every other branch of science, confirmed
the Bible as the foundation and inspiration for their work.
This included Johannes Kepler, Francis Bacon, Galileo Galile,
Isaac Newton, Carl van Linnaeus, Charles Babbage, Blaise
Pascal, Samuel Morse, Matthew Fontaine Maury, James Simpson,
George Washington Carver, and many many more.
As
Dr. Howard Kelly asserted: "Whatever there is in
civilisation that is worthwhile rests on the Bible's precepts."
THE
BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
"Your
Word, oh Lord, is eternal; it stands firm…"
Psalm 119:89
"…the
Word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8
"I
tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not
the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will
by any means disappear from the Law until everything is
accomplished." Matthew 5:18
"Heaven
and earth with pass away, but My Words will never pass away."
Matthew 24:35
"But
the Word of the Lord stands forever." 1 Peter
1:25
"Fix
these Words of Mine in your hearts and minds…"
Deuteronomy 11:18
"I
have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against
You." Psalm 119:11
"The
precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the
eyes." Psalm 119:18
"Your
Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Psalm 119:105
"The
entrance of Your Word gives light; it gives understanding
to the simple."
Psalm 119:130
"For
the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart." Hebrews 4:12
"Is
not My Word like fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer
that breaks a rock in pieces?" Jeremiah 23:29
"Let
the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms,
hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts
to God." Colossians 3:16
"Oh,
how I love Your Law! I meditate on it all day long."
Psalm 119:97
Peter
Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P O Box 74, Newlands, 7725, Cape Town, South Africa
E-mail: admin@frontline.org.za
See also related article: You
Are What You Read
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