The Bible—Practical for Our Day?
THIS world has changed dramatically within the past century. The transformation from the horse-and-buggy days to the modern space age has advanced so quickly that technical books are often outdated shortly after they are printed. At the forefront has been a surge in the fields of science and technology. Though digital concepts were first employed some 150 years ago, it is only in recent years that computers have come into universal use, controlling everything from the launching of satellites and spacecraft to the balancing of household budgets. It has truly been amazing! One can hardly keep abreast of all of it!
Many of the changes have been beneficial. Among these have been advances in the field of communications, transportation, labor-saving devices, and medicine. For instance, by microsurgery a severed hand or finger, once considered hopelessly lost, can often be restored to use. We can fly to the other side of our globe in just a portion of a day, saving months of travel time. Compared to a hundred years ago—when there were no automobiles, radios, TVs, motion pictures, refrigerators, washing machines, vitamins, antibiotics, vaccines, and hundreds of other items that are commonly accepted today—we are truly living in a new era.
But not all has worked in our best interests. The harnessing of nuclear energy, for instance, has posed a serious threat to humanity through warfare or by radiation. Widespread chemical pollution, a by-product of our industrial technology, adds to that threat. Illicit drugs and the modern drug culture wreak havoc in many lives.
Most noticeable has been the change in people’s lives. Industrialization and the switch from rural to urban living have fragmented the family. More than ever before—and especially among women and children—people feel liberated and independent. Freedom from the restrictions of previously held mores has resulted in new life-styles and changed social values, so that these are now far different from what the world had known for thousands of years.
Bible Unchanged
Where, then, does one turn for guidance? What advice is applicable today? Modern educators constantly revise their methods and textbooks to keep pace with our changing world. Clergymen and other professionals restructure their advice around what is popular and generally accepted.
The Bible, on the other hand, has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Indeed, it contains firm warnings not to add to or take away from the words written therein. (Proverbs 30:5, 6; Revelation 22:18, 19) Can the Bible be accepted as a practical guide for our modern day?
Some say no. “Nobody would advocate the use of a 1924 edition chemistry textbook for use in a modern chemistry class—too much has been learned about chemistry since then,” writes Dr. Eli S. Chesen in his book Religion May Be Hazardous to Your Health. He continues: “In the same way, much has been learned about sociology, philosophy, and psychology in the past several thousand years; nevertheless, the Bible (which has much to say about these subjects) is used as an authority and seldom revised.”
He adds: “I am always amazed when I hear someone discuss the ‘miracle’ of how timeless the Bible is and how it is as meaningful today as it was when it was written. This is somewhat akin to one’s amazement over the ‘accuracy’ of astrology. The Bible has wielded such strong authority that few ever give consideration to updating or discarding it.”
However, is the Bible really outdated in our modern world? Or is the advice it gives still practical and meaningful for our time?