The Case of the Demented Daddy

(A Parable for Our Time) by William Schnoebelen Dedicated to M.A.M.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Mt. 7:11 Once upon a time, there was a Daddy. By all accounts he was a fine Daddy. He was wise and compassionate and generous with his family He was the best Daddy in the entire community, and his family loved him and he loved them. As time passed, his oldest child, a son, came to the age when automobiles loomed large in the consciousness of young men. He went to his Daddy. "Father," the son declared, "I am of an age where the young men are wont to sally forth onto the highways and byways in motor vehicles. I need to get a driver's license. Would you help me?" The Daddy, being wise and foresighted, had seen this question approaching in the future and had prepared. He arose from his easy chair and pulled a small booklet from the drawer of his desk. "My son," said he, "I have known that this day would come soon, as it is the way of young men. Against this day I have set aside this booklet." With a flourish, Daddy presented his son with the booklet. His son's eyes widened at the wisdom of his father. Across the cover of the booklet was emblazoned: "OFFICIAL DRIVER'S MANUAL OF THE STATE" It also bore the seal of the state and the seal of the department of transportation. It was most impressive. "Father, how can I ever thank you?" the son exclaimed, clutching the booklet to his chest. The Daddy smiled. "My son, I have gotten you this manual so that you may learn how to drive. I promise you that every word in this manual is true. "How you can thank me is by studying this manual diligently and thoroughly, memorizing all the rules of the road exactlyand then following those rules when you get your license and drive." "Oh, thank you Father!" The son exclaimed, dashing off to study the manual. "I will do just as you have said."

A Sinister Plot?
However, what the Daddy failed to tell his son is that although the manual appeared to be official, it was not. Though the Daddy had promised his son that the manual was reliable and perfect, it actually was not. Within the manual were changes. For example, it taught that when he came to an intersection with a red light, it meant that he should proceed through the intersection! When the son went out on the highways, many terrible things happened, and he made a wreck of his life. Now of course, the question is, "What sort of a demented Daddy would do such a thing to his child? What sort of Daddy would feed his child false information with his solemn assurance that it was absolutely true?" Only a Daddy who was either demented or wicked would deliberately give his child false, dangerous information, if it was within his power to warn the child. We would lock such a Daddy away for a good long time until his mind was better.

What We Take for Granted!

And the moral of this parable? People today do not think clearly or rationally about the Fatherhood of our Creator. Additionally, there is a growing state of denial about the Word of YHWH. Polls today tell us that more people in America believe in a Deity than ever. However, the question becomes: "Who is the God that they believe in?" Various groups like the Masons and the New Age promote a "God of our understanding" as some self-help groups promote. But what are we taking for granted? If YHWH could be understood by His creatures, he would not really be the Almighty, would he? Virtually all religions (and the Bible) agree that YHWH is so far above human comprehension that it would be like an ant trying to understand physics for us to understand Him. Therefore, if you are worshipping the God of your understanding; it might be the wrong god! The Bible warns: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19. Belief in a Creator is good, but it is not enough. How does all this apply to our parable? Think about it. Most people agree in broad terms that the Creator is very powerful and very wise. That is the Deity the Bible describes. Most people also believe YHWH is our Father.1 If this is true, then we can learn something about Him by observing fathers.

Is God Powerless?
When we read the parable, we see behavior on the part of the father that would appall most any thinking person. Yet, without thinking, many people ascribe the same behavior to YHWH. I have spoken to many intelligent people who believe in an all-wise God who loves them, and yet they believe that the Bible is all messed up. They think it is the work of men. They believe the Bible has been tampered with over the years and also has been

mistranslated. However, think about the logic behind that statement. To be certain, in the natural, it would make sense that an ancient book which had to be hand copied for centuries and which has gone through translations would be corrupted. BUT (and this is the key), we are not talking about the natural realm. Almighty YHWH has given us this Book, and has given us His promise that it is perfect. That puts an entirely different perspective on things. If YHWH is more powerful than humanity, who could corrupt what the ALMIGHTY had promised to be incorruptible? The power of YHWH moves outside the forces of nature and entropy. Thus, a divine Hand was upon the transmission of the Bible manuscripts - protecting them.

Think about It!

If you were the Creator, and all-powerful, would you allow a book to be out there with your name on it that claimed to be perfect and authoritative that was not? I am an author myself. I would never allow a book to go out to the public with my name on it that I KNEW had errors in it. Yet we always miss a little, something. That is because we are only human. However, God never misses anything. We are told that He has the very hairs of our heads numbered. (Luke 12:7) Most great religions agree that YHWH is loving. Would a loving father give His children a defective book that could cost them their immortal souls and NOT warn them? Yet people believe this. They say, "I believe in God, but I don't think the Bible is true." Without realizing it, they are saying that they believe in a God who is either an idiot or a fiend!

Who Wrote It?

People say, "Well, men wrote the Bible, not God." Yes ...and no. The Holy Spirit tells us "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."-2Pet. 1:21 It is as if the Spirit was the author, and the men who wrote down the words were secretaries. If an executive dictates a letter, who wrote it? Not the secretary. Now any decent executive would make certain that his letters were correctly transcribed and typed before sending them out. Yet people expect that our Creator is such a blithering idiot that He would not be certain His "letter" to us was the way He wanted it. Again, the Holy Spirit tells us that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"-2Tim. 3:16. We all understand what it means to be inspired in a limited sense. But the word in Greek there for inspiration is THEOPNEUSTOS, which means "God breathed." Just as when we speak, the force of our breath brings the words out; so YHWHs breath (the Holy Spirit) brought His words clearly to the ears of those who wrote the Bible.

But It's Been Tampered With!

You may agree it was written down accurately, but how about its transmission down the ages? Many say that during the Dark Ages the Bible was censored. There are two problems with that. First is common sense. IF YHWH is all powerful and IF He promised us a perfect Book, then would He let some gnat of a human being tamper with it?? As an author, I certainly would do everything in my power to keep later editions of my book accurate. Yahshua (the Hebrew name of Jesus) promised, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."Matt. 5: 18. Yahshua also promised: "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."Luke 21:33. In the Psalms we read,

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, 0 LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."Ps. 12:6-7 These are just a handful of the verses that promise that the Almightys every word would be kept safe. Would an all-powerful Creator make a promise He would not keep? More to the point, would He allow mere men to make such a promise in His name, without His permission? Then we have the history of how the Bible manuscripts (mss.) were transmitted to us. We cannot go into detail here, but suffice it to say that we have mss from before the time of Yahshua for the Tenakh (Old Testament) and that we have New Testament fragments from before 150 A.D., and that they are miraculously identical to today's Bible.2 In fact, experts admit that the Old and New Testament documents are the best attested of all ancient literature. Why? Because it is YHWHs Book, and He promised He would preserve it. And He is not a "demented daddy!" The reason most of us choose to deny the truth of the Bible is that we are stubborn and do not want to submit to the Word of YHWH. If YHWH speaks authoritatively, then we must listen. But if His commands are muffled by the centuries, then we have an excuse. Like the child called for dinner who fails to come, we can say "I didn't hear you" and think we can get away with it. However, YHWHs message rings down through the ages. Yahshua tells us clearly: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."John 14:6. All of this does not begin to touch the issue of the hundreds of Bible prophecies which have come true exactly.' These prove with mathematical, scientific certainty that the Bible is unlike any other "holy book."

The Bottom Line?

If there is a compassionate, loving Creator, one would assume such a Being would want

to communicate with His creation. If He did communicate, it is logical that He would take measures to ensure that His words were not distorted. The Almighty Being who set the galaxies in motion, can certainly keep humanity's grubby little hands off His Book! He is calling to you, saying accept the gift of eternal life that Yahshua is offering you through His death on the cross. Ps. 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Endnotes:

1.) In the fullest sense of the term, YHWH is only the Father of Christians (see John 1:12 men and women are not naturally His children, they must be adopted into His family through the New Birth, see Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6). 2.) For more on the issue of the transmission of mss. and concerning the amazing accuracy of Bible prophecies, read Evidence Which Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell (vols. I & II - Here's Life Publishers, 1972, 1979) If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the author through:

With One Accord Ministries 3500 Dodge Street Suite 7-290 Dubuque, IA 52003

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