The Bible is the preeminent textbook of Western Civilization, and especially of America where our very identity as a nation is inextricably intertwined with the Bible. Those that would disparage the Bible and speak favorably of the Koran for example show their ignorance; the line isn’t forming to trade American freedom based on the Bible for the ignorant and superstitious slavery the Koran has produced. The very soul of America is rooted in the Bible, all the documents of our founding as a nation are rooted in the Bible, and to my mind evidence of the miraculous intervention by God in the affairs of humankind is that such a diverse group as the Founding Fathers finally came to agreement resulting in the freest and greatest nation in the history of the world.

But the Founding Fathers were steeped in the knowledge of the Bible and its precepts, had imbibed these with their mother’s milk as were all the educated men of the time. It was no accident of history that the Bible was the foremost textbook of the schools and universities in our beginnings as a nation and long afterward, that our first universities were founded on Biblical studies.

And to repeat, no one has any claim to being educated that has not read and knows something of the history of the Bible, this one book that has had a greater impact on the history of humankind than any other. Ignorance of this book whether in espousing a religious belief while ignoring scholarly historical or textual criticism or an equally ignorant bashing of the Bible because of bias or prejudice, both are beyond any attempt to dissuade such “believers.” A civilized discussion about points of view cannot be had when confronted by ignorance or prejudice on either side of the issue.

While most Bible “studies” are a pooling of mutual ignorance, the same in my experience can be said of most of the detractors of the Bible, many of whom speak from a vast well of assumed knowledge based on some book they read or some TV presentation in lieu of studying for themselves. But then the majority of people has not had the benefits of theological studies nor is there that many schooled in the discipline of philosophy. And it isn’t that unusual to find university professors equally ignorant.

For those unschooled in Biblical studies the names of those like Matthew Henry are unknown. But when it comes to a “purpose driven life,” for a man like Henry to devote his entire life to a scholarly verse by verse commentary on the entire Bible exemplifies purpose driven. And there is a history of hundreds of such men devoting their entire lives to such scholarship of the Bible, some of their efforts extending to several large volumes while thousands more made their contributions and continue to do so.

If you have a sincere interest in the subject of Biblical studies as opposed to idle curiosity rather than “going through the stacks” we now have search engines that quickly inform of the immense amount of scholarship devoted to such studies. Choose a single word search of Soteriology, Baptism, Communion and you will be amazed at the number of references. Choose the phrase Biblical Studies, or simply The Bible or Church History to get some idea of the enormous complexity and amount of scholarship devoted to such things. Add a search of Free Will vs. Predestination and a whole world of exploration opens to you on the subject.

Spend some time looking at the extra-canonical books and writings of antiquity that did not make it into the canon of Scripture and if you have read the Bible in its entirety and are able to make the comparison you will discover why such writings were rejected by the various councils that finally decided on the Bibles used by the Roman and Protestant churches.

For the serious take some time evaluating the various translations and versions of the Bible and you will find the disagreements are very few. Granting the original writings are not available, the historical documents used for serious translating efforts show little discrepancy just as the Qumran texts verified those in modern use. And while it is true there are always difficulties in translating from one language into another, virtually no other languages have been the subject of such scholarly research as those of the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament.

The loss of the great library at Alexandria is one of the great tragedies of history. Who knows what manuscripts were lost dealing with issues like the building of the pyramids and so much more; perhaps writings dealing with ancient civilizations like that of Atlantis. Who knows what may lie buried beneath mountains, oceans, deserts, glaciers that would shed light on so many of the myths and fables of antiquity. At any given time some discovery may be made that would shake the very foundations of our beliefs about many things. In the world of “What If?” many things are possible. But this is all speculation, and like a belief in UFOs without empirical evidence, without proofs considering such things remain speculation.

Unfortunately there are many that treat the Bible as a totem, many who believe in the pneuma of Scripture, that the Bible is “God-breathed.” I was raised and schooled in this belief myself, and it was with the greatest difficulty that I was able to extricate myself from such tyranny of religion. But I continue to count it a blessing in my life that I committed so many years to a scholarly study of the Bible.

While I long ago left off a belief in the plenary verbal inspiration of Scripture many of my personal beliefs are grounded in the Bible, not the least of which is my concern for America becoming too close to the description of Babylon in the last book of the Bible, that Great City that is destroyed leaving the merchants of the world howling “Who will now buy our goods?” But it isn’t just those who credit the passage in Revelation applying to America that are concerned about our having become a consumer nation upon which other nations depend to buy their goods, and having been betrayed by our leadership making it increasingly difficult for honest Americans to earn an honest living thereby decreasing their ability to support a fast deteriorating economy favoring the rich over the poor.

The Stock Market does not show how most Americans are faring; it is however a very reliable indicator of how the wealthy are faring. But the rapidly increasing disparity between rich and poor in our nation does not paint a rosy scenario for the future of America; on the contrary it paints a threatening picture of that Great City Babylon. The pragmatic point of “Life Boat Ethics” is a very sobering one, and applies equally to nations as to the individuals comprising nations.

To kill the goose laying the golden eggs is a story of lunacy. But it is a story that aptly describes our leadership, a leadership blinded by the god of this world, Satan as described in the Bible, and given to the destructive goals of greed and avarice. Of course Satan is a matter of belief, but it is a belief that makes sense of what would otherwise leave only lunacy as the alternative. And our leaders are not lunatics though they behave as such, a prime and infamous example being the refusal of the leadership to secure our borders, the refusal to make English our national language by law, printing ballots in foreign tongues, anchor babies and so many other things that shout “Lunacy!”

However, America used to be a nation of “People of the Book.” But the Bible is now banned in our schools thanks to the universities and their product ACLU and allied judiciary, and America is all the poorer for this. The banning of the Bible from public schools opened the door to every kind of evil, not the least of which has been a loss to this generation of any real instruction in our history as a nation. It is no accident that such a failure to give the Bible its proper place in our schools has led to a Muslim now demanding his oath of office be taken with the Koran, thereby spitting in the face of our Founding Fathers and our very history as a nation.

One does not have to be a “Bible believer” to appreciate the supreme importance of it in producing the greatest of the arts and sciences, of its impact on Western Civilization in general and America in particular. But to attack the Bible while ignoring its ennobling influence is the worst kind of self-willed ignorance, an ignorance betraying the small mind of chosen prejudice.