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New Studies Show, by Josh Blackmer, 1/21/18

Do you remember the first time something that had been taught in school as truth was later shown to be incorrect? Apart from evolution and other pseudo sciences, for me it was Pluto. In 1996, its status was questioned when other objects larger than Pluto were found orbiting the Sun in the same area. In 2006, the scientific definition of a planet was redefined, and Pluto was dropped from planetary status. In 2016, they talked about redefining the word again to include Pluto and 110 other objects that orbit the Sun. This was just the beginning. There continues to be a steady stream of things that are being better understood. We hear several times a month in the headlines, “New study shows...” New studies show coffee is bad, new study shows coffee is good. New study shows chocolate is bad, new studies show chocolate is good. You can seemingly find a new study that supports your idea on anything. When will it stop? When will they know for sure about anything?

I am very glad the Bible is not like that. Truth is truth. There are no surprise later revelations. There are no new studies that contradict previously established truths. The Bible talks about truth this way. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth...” (John 16:13). Luke said that he wrote the gospel account to Theophilus, “so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4). It is clear that the Bible was written as truth and was written so that it could be understood, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).

Even though it has been written as “once for all handed down” (Jude 1:3), there are people who like to approach the Bible and find something new to teach. It is often guised as a misunderstood/ misused passage, something lost in translation or a cultural norm that we have forgotten. Would it surprise you that this happened even while the apostles were alive? “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6‐7). “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17b‐18).

So, the warning is this. If you hear of some new study that teaches something other than what you have already come to understand as truth, be careful. We should always examine ourselves to make sure that we are teaching and following truth. However, we should not be so quick to loose the moorings that have held us on course for so long.

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