READ THIS (Please)!

If you read my blog at all (watchmakerspulse.com), you’ll know that I’ve written more about the Bible than any other topic. Typically, my blog posts are either about the Bible or updates regarding our travels. I actually have one of each in the works and will be publishing them over the next few days. We’ve been traveling for almost a year, and I’ve been blogging for over 2 years. If you look at the statistics for a 3 month period (which WordPress provides), it usually looks something like this.

I’m aware that more people read and visit my blog when I write about our travels than they do when I write about the Bible. I do the same amount and type of “advertising” for each (which amounts to a Facebook post). With such a disparity in numbers, why do I continue writing about the Bible?

It all boils down to what I feel is most important. I enjoy writing about our travels and sharing pictures of things and have gotten comments from people indicating they are enjoying them. But writing about the Bible is dearer to my heart, although it’s certainly not easier. It takes much longer for me to formulate my thoughts and research my ideas because I want to be truthful and accurate in what I write.

I write about the Bible for 3 basic reasons. First is the same reason that I chose to teach a Sunday School class and evening Bible study for so many years. By teaching the Bible, I learn the Bible. It’s as simple as that. While I have kept up with reading my Bible consistently for many years, reading it and studying/teaching it accomplish very different things. Consistent sequential reading certainly helps solidify overarching themes and keeps things in perspective with the Bible as the complete, reliable word of God. However, studying in preparation for teaching forces one to see those smaller details and nuances that make scripture come alive. Since we’ve begun traveling full-time (which, of course, won’t last forever), this blog provides an avenue for me to continue the activity of teaching. Of course, the act of teaching also should involve students, which is why it’s a bit disconcerting to see the lesser traffic these Bible blog posts garner. However, that is a minor detail in my mind.

Second, which also relates to the smaller readership, is my desire to reach a specific audience. When one writes, he or she should have a target audience in mind. My target audience, of course is limited to those who I anticipate will be exposed to my blog, which happens in several ways. First are my Facebook “friends”. We all know that “friends” as defined by Facebook is anyone with whom you’ve made an online connection, so my friends include family, former co-workers and related acquaintances, church-based connections (some of whom are former Sunday School class members), neighborhood friends, former schoolmates, and the occasional person who has “befriended” me because I am “friends” with one of their “friends”. Another, much smaller group of people who read my blog, are those who have simply found the blog because they’ve browsed through WordPress or used a search engine which turned up one of my posts related to some topic they’re interested in. Of all these people, some have a knowledge and interest in the Bible, and some don’t. I get that. It is these last two “groups” to whom I write. I hope to teach additional Biblical literacy to those who already know the Bible, but also to hopefully spark some element of interest in those who don’t, in hopes that they will pursue that interest a bit further.

My third reason is integrally tied to the first two. I simply believe the Bible is extremely important. It’s not just that it contains wise sayings and good principles. It is the words of God spoken to us. The Bible claims that for itself, but in addition to that, it has held up to scrutiny and has maintained historic veracity for millenia. Unlike other “holy” texts, it is highly verifiable and trustworthy in multiple elements which can be checked, thus lending credibility to those elements which must be taken “on faith”. It has multiple ancient texts from which it has been translated, which can be cross-referenced and verified for accuracy of transmission. It stands alone among other “scriptures” not only in veracity but also in exclusivity. It allows for no other texts to be a parallel or companion text.

This is but a small explanation of the trustworthiness of the Bible. Please reference the following articles for more complete treatises on this topic.

• “Why Christianity? Why the Bible?” contrasts Christian, Muslim, and Hindu texts.
• “Why is the Bible more reliable than the Qur’an?” by Greg Koukl
• “Why I trust the scriptures” by John Piper
• “The Bible or the Book of Mormon” by Greg Koukl

This blog post breaks a bit from my usual set of topics and I’ll soon get back to my regular postings. I would really appreciate it if you would click the “Follow” button at the top of the left column on my watchmakerspulse.com blog page. Also, please pass it on to others who might be interested as well!