Universidad de Santiago de Chile

Facultad de Humanidades Depto. de Lingstica y Literatura

Redaccin en ingls II

Essay
The Bible comes from God

Daniela Cubillos Lizana 14/07/2010

Outline The Bible comes from God Thesis statement: The Bible is a book from God I. The Bible is the most distributed book in the world II. Harmony A. Different writers backgrounds B. Harmony in content III. Accuracy A. Scientifically accurate a. Israels laws b. The shape of the Earth B. Historically accurate a. Specific accounts b. Writers honesty IV. Practical advice A. Written by an authority B. Sermon on the Mount V. Book of prophecy A. The example of Babylon B. Other examples VI. Considering the proofs, undoubtedly the Bible is the word of God.

The Bible comes from God

Do you have a Bible? If you do, youre not the only person. In whole or in part, the Bible has been published in more than 2,300 languages and, therefore, it is available to more than 90% of the worlds population. More than a million Bibles are distributed each week. As the Wall Street Journal reported, It's an astonishing fact that year after year, the Bible is the best-selling book in Americaeven though 90% of households already have at least one copy [...]. An estimated 25 million copies are sold each year. Some people have it on a beautiful shelf of theirs, opened to Psalm 91; unfortunately, the Bible is not a coffee-table ornament. If you dont read it, it serves no purpose. In addition, there are some people who think that it is just a human invention, something made up to meet the human need of believing in a superior being. However, the Bible is really a book from God. Imagine you are in a library. There are 66 books written by 40 different people during a period of 1,600 years. Then, someone compiles the 66 books and forms just one big book. How would the resulting book be? Well, the Bible is a library like that, but has only one topic from beginning to end. Let us think about the writers. Some of them were farmers, fishermen, and shepherds. Others were prophets, judges and kings. Even an evangelist, Luke, was a doctor. So as you can see, the Bible writers had very different backgrounds. Despite that, the Bible is harmonious. Its basic topicthe fulfillment of Gods purposeis introduced in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, which relates how the problems of humanity began; and in the last book of the Bible, Revelation (also known as Apocalypses,) the solution that Gods Kingdom will bring to the Earth appears. As an example of the Bibles harmony, Genesis 3:1 reads: Now the serpent proved to be the most cautious of all the wild beasts of the field that Jehovah God had made. So it began to say to the woman: Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?. In the whole book of Genesis, there is no explanation about who is really talking to Eve. But notice what Revelation 12:9 says: So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth []. The last book of the Bible reveals that

who lied to Eve was, in reality, Satan, an amazing harmony considering that Genesis was written by Moses around 1513 BCE (Before the Common Era) and Revelation by the apostle John around 96 CE (the Common Era.) Even though the Bible is not a science textbook, it is accurate when talking about scientific topics. For example, the book of Leviticus contains the law that God provided for the Israelites. According to it, if an Israelite had any mark on their skin, they should be isolated from the people. Even infected clothes had to be burned. This protected the nation from many diseases, most of which affected the neighboring countries. Another example of scientific accuracy found in the Bible is what it says about the shape of the Earth. Isaiah 40:22 states: There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth. The round shape of the Earth was a completely unknown truth at the time these words were written732 BCE, 22 centuries before Christopher Columbuswhose voyages proved the spherical form of the Earthwas born. The Bible is also historically accurate and reliable. Its accounts include not only the names but also the ancestry of individuals. The writers showed an honesty rarely found in other historical accounts. Secular historians do not mention their nations defeats or their own mistakes; in contrast, Biblical writers recorded their nations and even their own failings, some of them very serious and later severely punished. This historical fidelity makes the Bible a reliable text even for historians. What should you read every time you buy a new electrical appliance? Yes, the handbook. Why? Because it contains specific instructions about how to use the product and take the most advantage of it. The person in charge of writing the handbook is the manufacturer, the one who created the product and, therefore, the one who knows it better. The same applies with the Bible. Our lives are like an electrical appliance given to us, and, as any new product, we also have a handbookthe Biblewritten by its Designer. God is the Person who better understands human nature since He is our Creator. He understands our thinking and emotions better than we do. He also knows what we should do and what we should avoid in order to be happy. Consider Jesus speech called the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. In this masterpiece of teaching,

Jesus spoke on a number of topics, including the way to find true happiness, how to settle disputes, how to pray, and how to have the proper view of material things. His advice continues being as practical today as it was when he spoke it. Once, Mohandas Gandhi said that if all the nations that are said to be Christians would have practiced the principles taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, there would have been no World War. The Bibles principles are always beneficial. Its wisdom is summarized by the words found in Isaiah 48:17: I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit yourself. The Bible has many prophecies, most of them already fulfilled. One of them is the prophecy declared by Isaiah referring to Babylon. This ancient city was a religious and commercial empire in Mesopotamia. Despite the apparent indestructibility of the city, Isaiah wrote the following inspired words: And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant and progeny and posterity, is the utterance of Jehovah. (Isaiah 14:22) The prophecy foretold not only the end of Babylon, but also how it was going to be destroyed. Some details given were that invading armies would dry up Babylons river and march into the city without a battle. Isaiahs prophecy even named the king who would conquer BabylonCyrus. (Isaiah 44:27-45:2) Some 200 years later, in 539 BCE, an army commanded by Cyrus invaded Babylon. How did they do it without a battle? The Babylonians were holding a festival that night and felt secure behind their massive city walls. Cyrus diverted the water of the river, and soon it was shallow enough for men to cross the river and approach the walls. As most of Babylonians were drunk inside, the doors to the city carelessly had been left open. The city was seized in one night without a battle. Finally, Babylon was destroyed and, as foretold, it has never been inhabited again. Just ruins of the ancient city can be found 50 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq. Other examples of the Bibles prophecy reliability are the numerousmore than 300prophecies about the Messiah precisely fulfilled and prophecies about current world events, which are being fulfilled nowadays. Considering the Bibles harmony, scientific and historical accuracy, practical wisdom, and reliable prophecies, there is no doubt about the divine origin of this book. The Bible is truly a unique book, one that should be read, studied, and

appreciated. If you have a Bible, dont you let it gather dust. Read it and take advantage of this handbook written by God as a father writes a letter to his children. Then these words written by the apostle Paul will make much more sense for you: The word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any twoedged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and their marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.