We have had 2000 years to examine truths of the scriptures

The Truth about Covid-19!

Every time I read a heading like this; I ignore it. Why? Either because I have followed through many such headings that have proved a waste of time because they cannot really substantiate their claims, or another “reliable” report flatly contradicts the first one. This is not just a philosophical debate; these are life and death issues. So, if you have read thus far, well done you, because I would not have! Trying to find the truth about anything can be quite difficult, but trying to find the truth about something really important, can be an almost impossible task. At least to us amateurs. So, we depend on the information we are fed from different sources, i.e. the “professionals”, the experts in those fields and whose conclusions we depend upon. Upon their judgements we take appropriate action, even though we are pretty ignorant about how they have come to their conclusions. We live by faith; faith that these judgements are unbiased, and utterly trustworthy. Faith that they have been thoroughly researched, and are the result of rigorous scientific scrutiny and so they can say, “You can trust our conclusions, and act upon them”. Trouble is, scientists can get in the way of science. The human element can often be the weak point. The science may well point in one direction, but scientists can have their own agenda.

The role of the WHO is a case in point. The reluctance of this most prestigious authority is very questionable right from the beginning. The World Health Organisation were very slow to admit this was a pandemic, and even more importantly it was very slow in acknowledging that the virus could spread through human contact. Had we known this earlier then flights from Wuhan could have been stopped far sooner and the spread of the virus would not have happened so quickly with such disastrous results.

I trust that this “Food For Thought” column deals with facts rather than just some opinions about religion and morality. The heart of the true Christian message is the claim that Jesus Christ is the Truth. What he said was the truth and still is. His stupendous claims to divinity, as evidenced in his use of term “I am”, a title that could be attributed to God alone, leaves us in no doubt about what he thought of himself. We have two great advantages in ascertaining the claims about Jesus Christ.

One is the Bible. Some of you may not be aware that theology used be called the “Queen of Sciences” (I understand that Mathematics has taken over the role now). Why the connection with science? Because the rigorous study of the Bible in its original languages involves a strong intellectual and academic effort. The results of such studies have been examined by others, and so Biblical studies still go on. Now these are not secret, but rather work on the basis of what the Bible says and what it says elsewhere. So we do not depend on the acumen of others, or their oratory skills, but rather on what the rest of scripture says. I said we have two great advantages, one of which is the Scriptures themselves, the second is we have had 2000 years to examine the truths of scripture. In terms of Covid –19 we have only had some months.

The key to getting to know Jesus Christ lies in our ability to be openminded enough to study what the Bible says about him, how he is revealed. We do not have to take other people's word for it. We need not have faith in what others say, but rather go to the source.

The great thing is we have this at our fingertips. No need to go to Wuhan, just go to the Bible to find the truth about something which is ultimately more important than the pandemic.

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