{"id":97,"date":"2007-07-05T03:01:50","date_gmt":"2007-07-05T03:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/all-truth-is-gods-truth.html"},"modified":"2007-07-05T03:01:50","modified_gmt":"2007-07-05T03:01:50","slug":"all-truth-is-gods-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/all-truth-is-gods-truth.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAll Truth Is God\u2019s Truth\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post, as well as several posts to come, are excerpts from my new book, Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John<\/em><\/a>.
\nWhen I was a freshman in college and was struggling with my first New Testament class, I wondered if faith and reason simply didn\u2019t fit together. I feared that if I wanted to be a confident Christian, I would have to avoid thinking carefully and critically about my faith, especially the Bible. Discovering the variations among the Gospels unsettled my confidence in their reliability. I couldn\u2019t deny the facts of these differences among \u00a0the Gospels; but I couldn\u2019t figure out how to reconcile them with what I had previously believed about their trustworthiness. For this reason, and others like it, I entered an extended season of doubting the veracity of the Gospels. I described this in more detail in chapter 1.
\nIn the midst of my intellectual turmoil, John R. W. Stott visited the Harvard campus. A highly respected Christian thinker and expert in the New Testament, Dr. Stott attended an informal dessert gathering hosted by a friend of mine. Here was my chance to talk with someone who might understand my dilemma<\/em>, I thought. Maybe I can get some help from him<\/em>. When another student finished a conversation, I seized my chance. \u201cDr. Stott,\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m taking a New Testament class. Much of what I\u2019m being taught contradicts what I believe about the Bible. I\u2019m beginning to wonder if it\u2019s unwise to study Scripture in an academic way. I\u2019d like to take more classes in New Testament, yet I\u2019m afraid that what I learn will undermine my faith. What should I do?\u201d
\n\u201cI can understand your conflict and your fear,\u201d Dr. Stott began, \u201cbecause I\u2019ve felt them myself. Many of the popular theories in New Testament scholarship do challenge orthodox Christianity.\u201d
\n\u201cBut,\u201d he continued, \u201cyou don\u2019t have to be afraid. Let me tell you something that will give you confidence as you study: All truth is God\u2019s truth<\/em>. There isn\u2019t anything true about the Bible that God doesn\u2019t already know. You don\u2019t have to fear that if you dig too deeply you\u2019ll undermine genuine Christian faith. You may indeed discover that some of your beliefs aren\u2019t correct. In fact, I hope you do make this discovery, many times over. That\u2019s what happens when you live under biblical authority. But you never have to be afraid of seeking the genuine truth because all truth is God\u2019s truth.\u201d
\nThis was a watershed moment in my life. On the one hand, it pointed me in the direction of biblical scholarship, a path I have followed for the last thirty years and which has enabled me to write this book. On the other hand, though Dr. Stott didn\u2019t have time to deal with my specific struggles, the fact that he knew what I was going through and had managed to maintain a solid faith in biblical authority encouraged me to keep on seeking the truth about the Bible.
\nI expect that some readers of my book will be unsettled by part of what I\u2019m saying about the Gospels. So far I\u2019ve questioned whether or not John wrote the fourth Gospel and I\u2019ve noted that Matthew and Mark use slightly different words for God\u2019s proclamation when Jesus was baptized. This may be unsettling for some folks, maybe even for you. My encouragement is to keep on pressing for what is true. Don\u2019t take my word for it. Don\u2019t settle for believing things about the Gospels that are not true. And don\u2019t fear that some undiscovered truth out there will overturn your trust in the Gospels. John Stott was right: \u201cThere isn\u2019t anything true about the Bible that God doesn\u2019t already know.\u201d Indeed, \u201call truth is <\/em>God\u2019s truth.\u201d
\nBefore I leave this story, I want to make another point. I have told you about my encounter with Dr. Stott to the very best of my memory. I\u2019m quite sure that I have the main facts correct. It was Dr. Stott with whom I spoke, not C. S. Lewis. The conversation did happen during the spring semester of my freshman year. And Dr. Stott did encourage me to keep on looking for truth. I\u2019m almost positive he said, \u201cAll truth is God\u2019s truth.\u201d (I found out later that Dr. Stott was quoting from the Christian theologian St. Augustine.) But I don\u2019t have a tape recording of that conversation. And I didn\u2019t rush back to my dorm to write down exactly what Dr. Stott had said. In telling this story, I have made up words and put them in Dr. Stott\u2019s mouth. Though I\u2019m confident I have his ipsissima vox<\/em>, I don\u2019t have his ipsissima verba<\/em>, except for \u201cAll truth is God\u2019s truth.\u201d Moreover, I\u2019ve told this story before in print\u2014in my book Dare to Be True<\/em>\u2014using slightly different words. Therefore, what I\u2019ve done in telling this story is similar in many ways to what Hellenistic historians and biographers\u2014including the evangelists\u2014used to do.
\nDoes my admission surprise you? I doubt it. Though you may not have considered this as you read, I expect you sensed that I was telling the story from memory, using my own words, even as I \u201cquoted\u201d Dr. Stott. You knew from the kind of narrative I was offering that I was not using a tape or transcript. Moreover, now that you have my confession, do you doubt the truthfulness of my story? I doubt this too. You probably believe that, though I may not have gotten every jot and tittle absolutely right, I have related my conversation with Dr. Stott in a trustworthy manner. (At least I hope you believe this! And if you don\u2019t believe that I\u2019m usually a truthful person, you probably shouldn\u2019t bother reading this book!)
\nIs it possible to trust a biographical or historical writing that offers the ipsissima vox <\/em>rather than the ipsissima verba<\/em>? I believe it is. Of course this depends on your evaluation of the overall trustworthiness of the writer and the sources at his or her disposal. I\u2019ve already talked about the sources used by the evangelists and how they contribute to the historicity of the Gospels. I\u2019ll have much more to say about their general trustworthiness in the rest of this book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post, as well as several posts to come, are excerpts from my new book, Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When I was a freshman in college and was struggling with my first New Testament class, I wondered if faith and reason simply didn\u2019t fit together.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-can-we-trust-the-gospels"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cAll Truth Is God\u2019s Truth\u201d - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}