THEO201 Fall B01 201040

Allen Cooke Student ID# L23197599

Short Essay #1

Allen Cooke
Student ID# L23197599

THEO 201

Dr. Don Allard

Liberty University September 3, 2010

THEO201 Fall B01 201040
Allen Cooke Student ID# L23197599
There are times when your day goes just as you expect. You wake up at the same

time, have the same breakfast, glance outside and check the weather and start on your

way to work. Such had been my life for the past several weeks; not because I was in a

rut, but because I had made a commitment. I had made a commitment to spend my lunch

hour in the park close to where I work so that I could spend some “quiet time” with God.

I had tried to spend the time at my desk each day but there always seemed to be some

interruption. I even tried to playing my iPod while I read my Bible and worked on my

work for class. It seemed that no matter how occupied I looked, there was always an

interruption; to the point that I was beginning to feel anxious and empty and frustrated.

So I made the decision to take my Bible, my laptop and my lunch to my favorite bench in

the park. I enjoyed the sun on my face as I walked with anticipation to my designated

spot. My heart would begin to pound each day as it readied itself for the special time

with God I was about to have. The time was special and I was very selfish about it.

Nothing; I mean nothing, would interfere.

Thursday was the exception. I believe that God brings circumstances and people

into our lives to shake things up and to strengthen our faith. I do believe in “divine

appointments” Thursday was such a day.

I had arrived at my park bench as usual. I removed my Bible, my textbook for

class and my laptop from my book bag. I opened my Diet Coke and removed my

sandwich from the brown paper sack I had packed earlier that day. My heart was so ready

for these moments with God. I had spent several minutes with my Bible spread on my

lap when I noticed a pair of Nike running shoes with a bright yellow “swoosh” run

uncomfortably close to where I was sitting. I few moments later the same pair of shoes
THEO201 Fall B01 201040
Allen Cooke Student ID# L23197599
ran by in the opposite direction. It was unusual enough to catch my attention and I heard

the footsteps stop a few feet away, turn and walk back to where I was sitting. “Great”, I

thought, “Someone from church is running in the park and has seen me sitting here.

There goes the quiet time I was looking forward to”.

As I glanced up from my Bible, trying hard not to have an annoyed look on my

face, I noticed the man in the Nike running shoes standing there with crossed arms.

“Excuse me”, he said, “but can I ask you a question?” “Sure”, I replied. “How can you

sit there every day and read that book?” he said. “This book is called a Bible; it‟s the

Word of God” I said. “I am aware of what you people believe and what it‟s called” he

said. “I just don‟t understand how you can believe what it says and why you feel you

have to do what it says”

I explained to this gentleman that the Bible wasn‟t just an ancient archaic book; it

was the inspired Word of God. He looked at me with a puzzled look. I explained that the

word “inspired” means that “God Breathed” the words to the writers of the Bible. I

immediately thought of the scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16 that says “All Scripture is God-

breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”.

What this means is that the living God is the author of Scripture and that Scripture is the

product of his creative breath.

I also explained that the Bible is authoritative. To say that the Bible is

authoritative means that it has the right and power to command, enforce laws, exact

obedience, determine or judge. This means that the Bible has all the authority of God

Himself backing it up. Every Word of the Bible points to God; it doesn‟t point to itself

so that we should worship the Words of God; we should worship the God of the Word.
THEO201 Fall B01 201040
Allen Cooke Student ID# L23197599
Just as the authority of God is found in the fact of Who He is, so the authority of the

Bible is established by its own claims as the Word of God.

“Since the Bible is written by man, doesn‟t that mean there could be mistakes and

errors in what they wrote?” he asked. “Some argue that God only inspired the “idea” of

what the Scripture should say. I understand this concept because I am a song writer.

There are times when God inspires the “idea” for a song and other times when the entire

song seems to be “God breathed”. I believe that God spoke the exact words and the

writers obeyed. There are two very important words to remember; inerrancy and

infallibility. No one can for certain claim that the Bible is totally inerrant (without error)

because we do not have one single original copy of the manuscript. All we have are

translations and copies of the original manuscripts. So we have no way of knowing if we

have the complete Word of God or not. I believe that we have what God intended for us

to have. The Bible has itself as its own authority; it is the Word of God. Dwight L.

Moody said „I am glad there are things in the Bible I do not understand. If I could take

that book up and read it as I would any other book, I might think I could write a book like

that.‟ That statement sums up what I am trying to say; the Bible is the Word of God.

Stating that the Bible is inerrant simply means that what God revealed and inspired is

accurate, reliable, authoritative and without error.” I also explained that the Bible was

written in different locations stretching over 2000 miles by 40 different authors over a

period of 1600 years by men from as many different occupations, yet its unity is evident.

Any reader should recognize that it is the Word of God.

I would like to say that this gentleman had a full understanding of what I was

trying to say. I can‟t say that with certainty. He unfolded his arms and the annoyed
THEO201 Fall B01 201040
Allen Cooke Student ID# L23197599
expression on his face had disappeared before he slowly resumed his run. Maybe God has

begun a work in his heart like He had in mine years before.

It is hard to explain that a believer‟s belief that the Bible is the Word of God

comes through faith more than fact. The Bible states in Mark 10:15 “I tell you the truth,

anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

There must be a personal faith in God before we can even begin to understand the total

meaning of Scripture.

“If Christianity is really true, then it involves the whole man, including his

intellect and creativeness. Christianity is not just "dogmatically" true or "doctrinally"

true. Rather, it is true to what is there, true in the whole area of the whole man in all of

life.” Francis Schaeffer

Word count: # 1217

Bibliography

Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008, 2002

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book

House Company, 1984, 2001