Don't Trust Anyone Over 2000

While talking with a friend recently, she brought up an interesting point. She said it was difficult for her to fully accept, believe, or even like scripture since it was written so long ago, by people who held such different viewpoints. For example: slavery, women’s roles in society and other topics involving, what we would now call, human rights violations. I got to thinking about her apprehensions, and they certainly seemed valid. Then God reminded me of what we used to say in college, “Don’t trust anyone over 30”. Sounds pretty crazy now, but back then it made perfect sense. All those “old” people couldn’t possibly relate to me, because they were from an outdated generation that didn’t understand mine. It opened my eyes to the fact that, yes, customs and cultures were wildly different when the Bible was penned, but so too was the society that my parents and grandparents were reared in. Does that mean I couldn’t learn valuable life lessons from them? Of course not! The spiritual and physical needs of people, then and now, remain unchanged. Culture aside, mankind was as much in need of a Savior in 40AD as they are in 2012. What we consider horrible wrongs now, were socially acceptable then. In the not so distant future, the same will be said of our “modern” customs and mores. Let’s face it, every passing generation is a dinosaur to the next. It wasn’t so long ago that we too allowed slavery, women weren’t allowed to vote, and young children worked in sweat shops, but we didn’t throw out the books that were written from that era. God’s word stands above the cultures and traditions of man. Rest assured that the Bible is without error, sound, fresh and as relevant now as it was then. “Every Scripture passage is inspired by God. All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God's approval.” 2 Timothy 3:16.