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The Word's Eye View is a newspaper column written by The Cornerstone of Liberty John Adams, that great American patriot, said, “So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.” Another great American, Horace Greeley, stated: “It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.” It seems to me that a significant number of our citizens do not share the sentiments of these respected men. This is frequently demonstrated by a series of clever maneuvers to escape the moral and spiritual authority of the Scriptures. The king of this checkerboard mind game is: “I have my own philosophy about that.” This is a strategic move to avoid a direct confrontation with the words of God. In the name of intellectual honesty, it seems fair to subject all personal viewpoints to the same scrutiny that the Bible has endured. The Bible consistently claims its inspiration, preservation and authority comes from God. (II Peter 1:20,21) In reality, modern man wants to be his own final authority; consequently, he elevates himself to the level of a god. Longevity needs to be considered. The individual mental meanderings of mankind are short-lived and disappear as vapors in the wind, “but the word of the Lord endureth forever.” I Peter 1:25 If every major university in the land marched out battalions of scholars and aimed all of its intellectual artillery at a chosen philosophy, would it stand the barrage or wither and die? If the major media used every opportunity to criticize a personal position on life and death, would it survive or crumble? The Bible has sustained all of this and more. America has reached success in areas of prosperity and liberty that have been unparalleled---why? Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty…I have always said, I will always say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.” If your approach to life is one of honesty, sustained moral values, being kind and considerate of others, you have simply borrowed from an existing format – it’s called the Word of God. The alleged “personal philosophies” need to be evaluated in the light of their ability to answer the hard questions of life. Some examples: A. Why do the righteous suffer? B. Is eternity real? C. Is there such a thing as sin and if so, are there consequences? D. Can heaven be assured? So many of these personal beliefs generate a myriad of unrequited questions but answer few. The acid test is how does one’s beliefs serve one in the emergency room or the graveside? When news is grim and the tears flow, a person needs a cornerstone with substance. May I recommend the Book that has withstood the test of time and human experience.
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