LAGUNA NIGUEL, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- A growing chasm between people's faith and their lifestyle choices is the motivation of a new book intended to build confidence in the Bible.
"The disparity between what people say they believe and how they live has grown greater almost every year," says Dr. Harold J. Sala, author, speaker, and radio commentator. His Guidelines radio commentary is the longest-running five-minute program on Christian radio. "Vast numbers of people say 'I believe the Bible,' yet what it says never greatly affects their lives, their marriages, their morality, business ethics, or lifestyle choices."
Dr. Sala's new book, "Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible" (Harvest House), combats cafeteria-style Christianity by methodically building a case for the uniqueness and authority of God's Word. "People must have confidence that the Bible is trustworthy and is what it claims to be: the very Word of God, and thus God's inspired handbook for life," he says.
With scholarly research and remarkable historical details and illustrations, Sala presents the case for the Bible in a highly readable form the average person can understand.
"Vast numbers of people have bought into alternative spiritual beliefs such as those espoused by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code," he notes. Sala hopes to reach a generation influenced by postmodern thinking and relativism. "Many of these individuals have never been confronted with the case supporting biblical authenticity and authority."
Sala quotes researcher George Barna's finding that 93% of Americans own Bibles, yet less than half actually read it. While many hold a passing admiration and even reverence for the book, they never pick it up. Perhaps this accounts for the embarrassing frequency of divorce among Christians -as high or higher than their secular counterparts - and Christian singles who seem to be as sexually active as non-Christians.
The book builds a bridge to confidence in Scripture by examining the uniqueness of the Bible in its authorship, structure, claims, and preservation. Sala relates the story of Cambridge University Professor J.B. Phillips, who once had a snobbish disdain for the Bible - until he actually studied it. Then he discovered the book was "strangely alive" and "it spoke to my condition in the most uncanny way."
To combat urban legends about nefarious changes to the Bible, Sala examines overwhelming manuscript evidence which serve to buttress its reliability. His sections on the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Sinai manuscript contain colorful details that will enthuse lovers of historical narrative. He describes German scholar Tischendorf's trip by camel to St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai, where he witnessed a librarian lighting a fire using old sheets of papyrus. Ultimately, Tischendorf's spadework, prodding, and intellectual curiosity led to one of the oldest complete manuscripts of the Bible known as codex Sinaiticus.
Sala highlights ten important archaeological finds that affirm the Biblical text, including the 15,000 tablets found in the remains of the royal library at Ebla. Considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th Century, these nearly perfectly preserved tablets opened a window on a highly literate society that existed in Mesopotamia 1,500 years before Moses wrote the Pentateuch.
The Bible's uniqueness in fulfilled prophecy is also examined and contrasted with secular attempts at prophecy, as well as a shockingly scant record of fulfilled prophecy by other religious figures like Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad.
Sala wades into the battle between science and Scripture by reviewing seven scientific statements made by biblical authors that were confirmed centuries later by scientific proof.
In Pastor-Evangelist Greg Laurie's endorsement of the book, he says his favorite chapter is the one about changed lives. Eleven personal stories display the Bible's power as a living book written by a living God, who continues to transform individual human lives.
After publishing more than 40 books and hundreds of publications, Sala considers this one his most important, because it "bridges the distance between the human heart and God's Word."
Mark Ellis,a Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service, is also president of Christian Writers & Artists Ministries. Used by permssion: ASSIST News Service / www.assistnews.net
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