Biblical Hermeneutics. Chapter 2 Summary: The Bible and Other Sacred Books

It is said that a lifelong friend of Patrick Henry told the story of a neighbor who going to see Henry found him holding up a Bible and said, “This book is worth all the books that were ever printed.” Whether the statement can truly be attributed to Henry, its sentiment rings true. A simple perusal of the sacred literature of the most predominate religions of the ancient and modern world make plain the uniqueness of the Bible among bibles. It is in holding up the greater light of Scripture to the lesser lights of the writings of the Egyptians, Persians, Hindus, Chinese, Muslims, and others that it becomes clear that the Bible is truly the Book of books. The differences are so striking that a comparison alone may well persuade the honest inquirer of the Bible’s divine origin. Add to this the immense diversity while being in possession of perfect unity would seem to set the divine seal upon its pages.

The Zend-Avesta of the ancient Iranian Zoroastrian religion has suffered much through the passage of time. Zoroaster himself appears on the pages of history as little more than a mythological figure. The sacred records of the Assyrians in their cuneiform monuments have passed to us large amounts of literature, history, poetry, science and religion. These writings lightly touch on Accad, mentioned in Genesis 10:10, in reference to two races which settled on the plains of the Euphrates and Tigris. The Chaldean creation account is of interest to Bible students as it references a seventh day of rest, as well as the Deluge and the Tower of Babel. Yet a careful study of these cuneiform writings betrays legend and tradition in contradistinction to the clear narratives found in the Bible. We find similar observations in what can be drawn from the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist canon, or the sacred books of the Chinese.

While each of the sacred books of the nations should be studied in their entirety to gain a full comprehension of their respective worldview and philosophy, the Old and New Testaments held up to them must stands in a class of its own as entirely unique. Unlike the sacred texts of the nations that have scarcely reached beyond the people from which they sprung and some of which lay dormant fit mostly for the scholars interest, the Bible stands as the timeless Book for the nations not returning void to the One who sent it into the world to accomplish all His will.