Stand with—and on—the Truth of the Bible

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

In 1925, John Scopes stood trial for teaching evolution in a public school in Dayton, Tennessee—an act that was against the law at the time. But in actuality, it was the Bible itself that was on trial.

Clarence Darrow, the lawyer for the defense made the unorthodox move of calling Williams Jennings Bryan to the stand. Bryan was not only a devout Christian, but he was also the case’s prosecuting attorney. Darrow questioned Bryan about the days of creation, the historicity of Adam and Eve, and the sun standing still in the sky in Joshua’s day, his every question ridiculing and belittling the Word of God.

In the end, John Scopes was found guilty (and had to pay a hundred-dollar fine), but it didn’t matter. As the world watched, Bible-believing Christians and the Bible itself were made to look foolish. William Jennings Bryan may have won the trial, but he lost the battle for public perception.

In the nearly one hundred years since the Scopes Monkey Trial (as it came to be called), little has changed in Western culture. We who hold firmly to the Word of God often find ourselves at odds with the prevailing culture. But contrary to what you might hear from the media, there is not a single claim from Scripture, when taken as God gave it, that can be disproved by appealing to scientific evidence or some archaeological discovery. And there never will be, because God, as the ultimate Author of the Bible, is reliable and trustworthy.

There are stories in the Bible that may challenge us and claims that may seem too good to be true. But for the God of the Bible, no miracle is beyond His power and no promise beyond His goodness. Paul tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16; emphasis added). Therefore, every last jot and tittle is worth believing—even the parts we can’t seem to wrap our heads around.

“The Bible is shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim.”

Augustine of Hippo

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