Reasons To Trust The Bible; Part One

I believe the Bible is the word of God. It is God's instruction for mankind. It's many things, including an instruction manual, a poetry book, a history, an explanation, a great story book, a financial planner, a wedding planner and a nature guide. But most importantly, it is a book offering salvation to sinners, pointing to a savior in Jesus Christ. There are many reasons to trust the bible, but here is one that works well for me: Israel.

If I really wanted to disprove the Bible, it would be helpful if the Jewish people were no longer with us. I could say that perhaps they never existed or that they were no different than any other group long gone from history's pages. The Normans, the Saxons, the Celts, the Spartans, The Pyramid Building Egyptians or the column building Greeks are all gone and if the Jewish people were gone, it would be so helpful. Because if the Jewish people were gone, they would be like any other people or society long gone, assimilated into another group, forgotten or forever lost and then we could say that the promise was broken and the relationship given to them by God, according to the Bible, was just a story and not to be trusted. The only problem with that idea is that the Jewish people are still here.

Not only are they here, they have taken back the biblical promised land. No matter the politics, no matter our opinion of the conflict in the Middle East, it still makes us wonder. We know that Israel is a people of the Bible. We've watched Hollywood recreate the exodus and the parting of the Red Sea. We know the story of David and Goliath. We know that Jesus was a Jew and brought up keeping the law and attended synagogue. Most of us are familiar with the Jewish people of the Bible, and it's hard not to wonder, being amazed that a nation mentioned in an ancient text is still here. These "mythological" people are very real.

I don't like to think about prophecy, and sometimes I don't understand it, but I know this: God promised a special relationship with Abraham, and as far as I can tell, it still stands. I think Israel's existence is fulfilled prophecy in itself.

It would be so helpful to me, if I was trying to prove the Bible wasn't true, that Israel didn't exist. But Israel does exist, and after only six days (a war whose strange case for divine intervention is an example in itself of the relevance of the Bible) the Jewish people were able to take back a land from the pages of history. I've heard explanations for this, some conspiratorial, or racist, or both, but none of them take away from the fact that we are still talking about a very real people group, still in existence today, a people group at the center of the Bible's narrative.

One of the main characters in the Bible is Israel. It's amazing, but Israel is still here, more or less. They, after a couple thousand years, even have their country back, and for the most part they still have their faith. To me, this is one amazing piece of evidence in the case for the Bible's divinity.

If Israel was gone, or more specifically if the Jewish people were gone like the Philistines or the Babylonians or the Hittites or the other groups mentioned in the Old Testament, that would be one thing, but the Jewish people are still here. Some people will scoff and mock this; oh well. To me it's amazing that Israel is still here, a living testimony to the truth of the Bible. Some might argue that other groups are still here as well, the Egyptians for example, but most people agree that the Egyptians of today are not the same people who built the pyramids, and what's more, they no longer worship Anubis or Ra; they're not the same people. But Jewish people still worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Jupiter worshipping Romans are gone. The Greeks with all they gave to civilization are gone too, victims of countless conflicts, invasions and emigrations. But the Jewish people remain. On a simple level, they are a real people who are mentioned in the Bible, and that is enough evidence for me.

What about the messy situation in the Middle East? Oddly enough, to me, this situation is even more evidence of the Bible's credibility. When we read the Bible, we read about very real people who still exist today. The conflict in the Middle East is not between new groups who only came to be recently. The conflict in the Middle East is neither between Spartans and Goths, Samurai and Ninja, Greeks and Romans, Philistines, Vikings, Vandals or any other forgotten people of history--but it is between two sons of Abraham: Ishmael and Isaac. The conflict in the Middle East today is centered on the central nation of the Bible, Israel. The three great faiths of the world all come from Abraham, a character in the Bible.

Why does this conflict carry on after so many thousands of years? Where is the conflict between the Spartans and the Persians? Where is the conflict between the Vikings and Rome? How about the Saxons and Normans? All of these are relics of the past, left only to the pages of history.

The Jewish people themselves are evidence of the trustworthiness of the Bible. Their resilience in the face of persecution, their ability to overcome and their ability to restore the land promised to them in the Bible are all evidence to me of something divine. The fact that Israel, regardless of the politics, would end up back on that same soil is amazing to me. Anyone who has read the bible is familiar with the importance of Jerusalem and the promises God made to Abraham. Obviously, the Jewish people have taken the Bible quite seriously. If the bible is only a metaphor, a myth or a story then what a coincidence that Israel has taken back the very land promised to them by God, in a so called myth.

The Jewish people were given the Law, according to the Bible, and like all of us, they sometimes had trouble keeping that law. But nonetheless, they had it. They were given an instruction manual from God, and though history is marked with their troubles, they have thrived and succeeded. Perhaps it's their relationship with God and His intervening more than their keeping of the Law, I'm not sure, but God established a special relationship with the Jewish people many years ago, and it seems to me, God has kept His promise, regardless of how well they kept theirs.

There are those who create fantastic excuses for the resilience of the Jewish people and some might descend into lies or racism to explain the ongoing success of Israel and the Jewish people, but deep down we know it's all bunk. They are a resilient, successful, intelligent people that have maintained family bonds, all the while having the Word of God as a blueprint for success and remain today as evidence of that ancient book's credibility. I'm hardly saying they're a perfect people anymore than any other people, or more than anyone else of any faith, but if they had a divine blueprint to begin with and a divine relationship to begin with, a divine relationship with the Creator of the universe, it might help explain their success and survival, while other groups have long been forgotten.

 No group in the Bible still exists today in the same way Israel does. To me, the Jewish people are a testimony to the Bible's credibility. There are many more pieces of evidence that tell me the Bible is something special, but Israel is one of the most important ones.

The Jewish people lived through centuries of turmoil to remain today, a resilient people and a relevant people, unfortunately at the center of one of the the gravest conflicts of our time. Regardless of your political opinions or even regardless of your opinion of the Jewish people themselves, their relevance today in world affairs proves they are no myth. The people themselves, as well as the nation of Israel, speak to the credibility of the Bible.

Here are just a few scriptures that point to the importance of Israel's relationship to God and their connection with the Bible:

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Isaiah 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
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Isaiah 65:21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
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Jeremiah 12:15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.

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Jeremiah 33:7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.
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Ezekiel 28:26 They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.'"
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Ezekiel 37:21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land

New International Version

Wow, That Was Summer?

That was quick. What happened? I thought it was still June. Wasn't August still beginning?
Well, technically, we still have a few weeks until the viral hydrox or whatever it's called. So savor these last tender days of summer in September. But, that's kind of hard to do once school starts. Buses, diesel fuel, backpacks, canned peas and fancy fruit cup. Bagged P&J with crackers and apples. New clothes- maybe, school supplies and Star Wars pencils.
Remember the Trapper Keeper?

Where did summer go? Pack your nuts. Stack your wood. Look out turkeys. Football romping in the leaves of autumnal spectrum. Yellow and dark red rustle rustle and toss the football to me! Hike and walk in the crisp air. Weather strip your cracks and holes. Duct tape works.

Summertime

Pardon us, we're busy dancing 'round the sprinkler, swimming at the lake and eating hot dogs.

Check back in the fall.

Free Stuff At The Dump

You never know what you'll find at the dump. Need a new clock? You'll find it. Need a new set of headphones? You'll find them. Need some new frames for your artwork? You'll find those too. It's all free for the plunder at the dump.

The dump is a wonderful place. There are friendly people there ready to help you sort your paper and plastic. Not sure where that clear plastic container for tossed salad goes? Don't worry, the attendant will be happy to explain it to you. Old records, helpful neighbors; the dump is a wonderful place.

Looking for more Herb Alpert vinyl to add to your collection? You'll find it. Need a new lamp? You'll find it. I needed a new book on economic trends of the nineteen seventies; found it. I needed some school materials; found them. You can find it all at the dump. Today there was a nice Thomas organ placed next to the glass recycling box. All at the dump. Whatever you're looking for, you can find it there.

Nothing beats a dump deal. Sure, you may hunt for bargains at Marshalls or Kohls, but nothing beats a dump deal. Ten percent off? Twenty percent off? How about One hundred percent off? Nothing beats a dump deal.

What's more is the dump offers culture. Our dump has a lovely gallery of local artists. Their earnest attempts at painting are displayed in a sometimes permanent and often times revolving showing. The gallery is located beside the tinfoil and cat litter barrels-you can't miss it. There's something charming about paintings hung on the interior of the dump barn walls. It's like the Louvre meets Oscar the Grouch. It's quite comforting to see the folksy portraits, still lifes and my favorite- Two Lovers Kissing In The Grass; With Lawnmower Grease Stains. Nobody has taken that one yet.

Then there's the library. That's right, the dump has a library. The shelves are lined with fiction, non-fiction, self help and they all smell like stale smoke. But, stale smoke adds character to a Danielle Steele novel.
You never know what you'll find at your local dump. So get out there and recycle! Recycle for the future. Get to know your neighbors. See their trash and learn about art and literature. The dump is a wonderful place.

And now I leave you with these fitting and phony words from Sir Charles Dickens in reference to his own town dump on the occasion of the bicentennial of the town refuse station:

"Oh, dump, thou hast given mu-waw such amusement and much odorness and trash. Whence not thee to question wherefore cometh the recycling bins of tomorrow, but asketh what thou can do for thine dump. And I bidet adieu and or-vwaw and etc. Many hours hath Aye spent at this here heap O' garbage. And that is the bare bodkin."

For the Queen's Recycling Ceremony, 1898

The Old Stone Walls

The old stone walls that mark the property lines of New Hampshire are like one giant flea market antique, but imagine how hard it would be to box them up and bring them for assessment on Antique Roads Show?
Unfortunately, one of our neighbors has caught folks stealing rocks from the old walls that line their property. So, that proves it; they're collectible. Maybe I could get ten dollars for one on eBay, but I'd rather keep them, they bring a little historical character to my yard.

There's an artist, who I really admire, named Andy Goldsworthy who was commissioned to build a stone wall somewhere in New York state. He was paid thousands of dollars to create this meandering neo-stonewall. It was a noble half mile long, maybe more, but salty New England farmers did the same thing without a commission, spanning thousands and thousands of miles.

The stone walls tell us about the laborious, frustration of New England farmers who had to move the glacial leftovers strewn across the fields to make room for planting. These pain in the neck rocks were probably one of the reasons New Hampshire's Horace Greeley stated, "Go west, young man!" Go west to get away from these rocks.

Sheep farming was popular on our hill at one time. I imagine it was easier to raise sheep than grow crops in these rocky meadows. Look at any, old, New Hampshire farm field and you will see an ancient, monster rock still standing somewhere. These lone testimonies to what once was stand untouched by modern earth movers that so easily rewrite the landscape's narrative. Don't get me wrong, bulldozers are cool, heck, I knew a Bulldozer in college, he was a great guy and all. But, these old stones are a picture of what New England farms once looked like. Seeing these heavy loads of granite you can almost imagine the difficulty these farmers had trying to clear the pastures.

Here's an excerpt from "River's and Tides" that documents the work of Andy Goldsworthy who created art made from natural materials. No paint, no tricks, just the natural color of leaves, arranged to create dynamic results, the reds kneaded from the iron rich clay and the balancing of rocks and ice done skillfully with a steady, patient hand and without glue or nails.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkHRZQU6bjI&feature=related

High Roof Drifter

My son and I flushed him out this morning. The beast was cunning. Already he'd taken a half-cup of blueberries from our small harvest of bushes behind the garage. Blueberries for pancakes. Our blueberries. Blueberries filled with anti-oxidants. Blueberries to feed my family. This animal was a threat. He needed to be stopped. Was he feeling lucky today?

He was no easy target, hiding in roof rafters, behind walls, leaving piles of germ infested acorn shells in the basement. Who knows what else. I said, "Quick son! Head 'em off at the garage trail!" "You betchya Dad!"

"Rattle the walls," I said.

With pellet gun in hand, I scanned the roofline. Would the creature fall into our trap? "Rattle-rattle-rattle," the boy banged the side of the garage wall with his plastic rake sending the scurrying animal over the roof to my side where I waited in ambush from my back deck perch. Maybe I should have put on my Mossy Oak camo jumpsuit. Nah. "Here he comes boy! I see him!" I said.

Like Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider, I slowly raised the barrel. Looking down the scope, knowing the calibration meant just a couple millimeters below the crosshairs, I took aim at this vermin. For too long he'd plagued these roofs. Justice was coming to town. A tumbleweed rolled across the lawn. One desperate citizen, derby hatted, dashed across the street to hide in a stable barn. Did I set the scope right? I don't know. It didn't matter now. It was just me, the prey and my pellet gun. This was the moment of truth. "Poooosh!" (The sound of a pellet gun)

"Did you get him, Dad?"