Pastor researches harmony in sacred literature

How about joining a volunteer research team for the next 30 days? My work is in the theological field of apologetics and I could use your help as I examine the world’s sacred literature for cohesive themes that span long periods of time and involve multiple authors – all within one Scripture or holy book.

For instance, a common story line runs through the Bible from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Old Testament references to a Messiah and his future peaceable kingdom are revisited in the New Testament. Prophecies, types and shadows that were recorded before the time of Christ correspond in incredible detail to events and realities occurring hundreds of years later. Even entire texts in the poetical and historical books of the Bible are quoted, endorsed and explained in the Gospels and Epistles centuries after they first appear.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, your time and assistance would be valuable in my effort to discover whether similar patterns are evident in writings that are regarded as holy by non-Christian faith systems.

What’s the big deal about documenting harmony of this sort? The big deal is that this level of accord almost certainly would indicate supernatural coordination and inspiration. In other words, thematic congruency on this scale would constitute persuasive evidence of divine authorship.

After all, what natural factors could account for how 40 different human authors representing a wide range of vocations (e.g. farmer, physician, tax collector, fisherman, shepherd, monarch, etc.), writing in three languages from three continents over a period of approximately 1,600 years, are able to produce a remarkably cohesive best-seller that claims to be from God?

I’ve tried to get committees of three to agree on something without much success. What we’re talking about here is far more complex. Given such parameters one might expect totally haphazard results – a “Mad Libs” Bible with a patched-together story line like the ones produced in that old game where someone writes a sentence, folds the paper, then passes it to another to add a new line.

The novelty and magnitude of using 40 men over 1.6 millennia to convey a special and unified divine message itself strike me as uniquely divine. Who but God, after all, would try, and could manage, to pull off something like that?

So keep in mind as you begin your research – in order to meet biblical standards, the writing of this sacred book must span multiple lifetimes and result from the collaboration of multiple individuals. Obviously, this limits the field. For instance, Muslims claim that the Quran initially was revealed to Mohammed alone. The Book of Mormon came to light through Joseph Smith alone.

“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” was the work of Mary Baker Eddy and no one else.

Equally important, a discernible story line must mark the book. The Hindu Vedas, for instance, may constitute the work of numerous poet-seers and therefore meet the first criterion. But the Vedas do not seem to feature any particular unified theme running from beginning to end.

In contrast and by example, themes of human sin, sacrifice, the role and identity of a Messiah, and God’s choice of Israel run from the early pages through the last pages of the Bible. Someone once pointed out that it is as if everything in the Bible is ultimately centered on the life and teaching and person of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. All that comes before Jesus is preparatory.

Everything that comes after Jesus is explanatory.

The major issue, then, is this: Does thematic congruency occur in sacred literature other than the Bible and, if so, to what degree? How do other instances of harmony compare in frequency and clarity to that which we find in the Bible? What have critics had to say about it?

I am soliciting your help in answering these questions as specifically as possible, i.e. text, source, chapter, verse and any pertinent commentary of your own. I cannot guarantee that your name and contribution to this research will ever be published, but it’s a possibility.

As further preparation for your work, you should read my own previously published article, “Reinforcing the Congruency-of-Scripture Argument.”

If you have Internet access, visit: http://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/biblecongruency.html. Otherwise, call or e-mail me and we’ll promptly send you a hard copy: 207-997-3644; dewitmer@aol.com.

The Rev. Daryl E. Witmer is founder and director of the AIIA Institute, a national apologetics ministry, and associate pastor of the Monson Community Church. He may be reached at AIIA.ChristianAnswers.Net or by e-mail at AIIAInstitute@aol.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.