Well, I think the contexts are a little different here. In Acts Paul was teaching the Jews, who honored scripture as the word of God.
HIH,
I agree. However, the Gospel proclaimed by Paul to the Jews still involved his '
speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29
He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews' (Acts 9:28b-29).
You can't talk and debate about nothing. He spoke about content and not a leap of faith.
Vince on the other hand is an Atheist and does not. In order for him to come to the place where the word of God witnesses to Him as any form of "proof," he will have to believe in the word itself as being from God first. Hence, faith first, then the "proofs" of it.
I disagree. What comes first is belief in the existence of God:
- 'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him' (Heb 11:6 NIV).
Of course faith in Jesus Christ is needed but it is not a leap of faith into the unknown.
No human requirement for the kinds of proofs for God's existence will do. God has told us where to find the evidence:
- '18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse' (Rom 1:18-20 NIV).
Where is the 'plain' evidence for God's existence? God's invisible qualities (i.e. his attributes) of eternal power and divine nature are 'clearly seen' in what God 'has made' (in the universe).
The fine tuning of the universe, the intricate way a human being lives, breathes and then dies, etc, are all evidence of God's existence.
God needs to provide no more proofs. All people who do not pursue God will stand before him '
without excuse' because he has provided all the evidence they need to know He exists.
Then they ask the question: 'Where do I find information about God's way of salvation?' In the Scriptures!
The Bible claims it is the unequivocal Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17); it is God’s truth (John 17:17); and Scripture comes from God (2 Peter 1:20-21).
While God used human beings to write down Scripture, its author is God Himself.
Btw, the NIV use of "proving" for συμβιβάζων in Acts 9:22 is a bit dubious. "Demonstrating" would avoid all ambiguity. Nobody ever really "proves" anything to unbelievers, LoL.
What does
sumbibazwn mean in Acts 9:22? It is the present, active participle of
sumbibazw which is an old verb meaning 'to make go together, to coalesce, to knit together'. In Acts 16:10 the same verb is used for the Troas vision of Paul. 'Here Saul took the various items in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and found in them the proof that he was in reality "the Messiah"' (A T Robertson 1930, Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol 3: Acts, p. 123).
I think thou protesteth too much regarding the translation of
sumbibazwn because the BAG Greek Lexicon gives the meaning in Acts 9:22 as 'demonstrate, prove' (1957:885). So the NIV 'proving' is perfectly OK as a translation.
Delling (1971, vol 7, p. 764) in Kittel & Friedrich's word studies provides the meaning for
sumbibazw as 'to hold together', 'to unite' (Col 2:2, 19; Eph 4:16). As for Acts 9:22, '"to prove conclusively" ... with reference to the scriptural proof of the Messiahship of Jesus by Paul, who throws the Jews in Damascus into complete confusion. In the Jewish mission this proof has the character of a compelling demonstration; it presupposes, of course, a belief in the authority of Scripture and in the continuity of God's saving work'.
Oz