Q&A: Is the bible literally true? Tim Keller

Timothy Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminister Theological Seminary. He is pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. Today Redeemer has nearly six thousand regular attendees at five services, a host of daughter churches, and is planting churches in large cities throughout the world.

This is a free download from Redeemer.com

Category:

Education

Tags:

• tim keller
• the bible
• truth
• god
• religion
• christianity

[atthehops]

If you wanted to follow the hundreds of arcane and obscure laws that are in the Bible, there is the law in Leviticus, "You cannot shave the corners of your beard."

The Bible says that you cannot touch women during certain times of the month, and more than that, you cannot sit on a seat where a menstruating woman has sat.

The Bible says you cannot wear clothes made of mixed fibers.

No gossiping, no coveting, no lying. And perhaps the clearest example of this is stoning adulterers.

[baabaa1000]

@atthehops i've seen this kind of objection to christianity too often on the internets. it implies that christian thinkers have somehow missed these problems with the old testament and moved on, while intrepid secular thinkers have caught onto the fibers that unravel all of christianity. i'll submit to you here that this is not the case. check out paul copan's book 'is god a moral monster?' it does a great job of answering the objection you level here. hope it helps.

[atthehops]

@baabaa1000

Other's can read that book if they take the Bible seriously and literally. I don't and that seems to be a problem for some. There are those who will claim the Koran is not to be believed but the Bible should be and visa versa. And these are not the only so called "Holy Books." The world is full of fundamentalism to the point that burning the books can start wars. It issue is not the books, the issue is the people that read them and believe they are the word of god.

[baabaa1000]

@atthehops forgive me if i miss your point here. but i think i can agree with you that (extreme) fundamentalism can be the cause of many evil things. but i don't think that having a fundamental belief in anything necessarily gets you evil deeds. the amish are as fundamental christians as anyone has ever seen, and they aren't starting wars. you seem to have a very fundamental belief that people ought not take the bible literally. should i put the cause of wars at your feet? that would be unfair.

[baabaa1000]

@mikeisi Thanks! Tim Keller is awesome. I'm glad you enjoyed this video :)

[atthehops]

quoting from Fox's book, page 30: "There is a contradiction in Luke's story: if Quirinius was governor, the Roman census is credible, but Herod is a mistake." This brings into question the story of the Wise Men and the Flight to Egypt in Matthew's Gospel. And again this is just one small point, there are hundred of other examples. What do we believe, historical facts or the bible? Do we believe one book because we are told it is the true "word" and ignore all the others or read them all.

[atthehops]

This is only one of the inconsistencies in the story of the birth of Jesus; taxes at the time were of property and Joseph had not property in Bethlehem, the Romans did not require people t travel to the city of their lineage, why would a pregnant Mary travel with Joseph if it was not required, was King Herod even king at the time, etc?

[atthehops]

Let tackle this issue directly. Keller, in this video, speaks specifically about the accuracy and literalness of the Gospel of Luke. The book "The Unauthorized Version" by Oxford University scholar Robin Lane Fox address the accuracy of the gospels including Luke's, specifically, the birth of Jesus, on pages 27-34. He concludes that even if the was a census and tax issued by the Romans, who ruled over Judea where Bethlehem is, it did not include Nazareth, part of Galilee.

[atthehops]

@baabaa1000

"There are those who will claim the Koran is not to be believed but the Bible should be and visa versa. And these are not the only so called Holy Books."

You have nothing but belief and faith to base any of this on. And it is merely and accident of birth that causes you to chose one over the other. I are not saying you have studied both the Bible and the Koran, or Quran, and found truth only in the Bible.

[atthehops]

@baabaa1000

LITERALLY! That is the title. Perhaps Keller needs to read

Paul Copan

[breenhill]

@osiris7nz Okay....okay.