"The Bible was written by men with agendas. It's not God's word; it's human propaganda."
How it sounds in your head: He's learned about the Council of Nicaea, the canonization process, textual variants, politically motivated edits. It all sounds less like divine revelation and more like powerful men curating a narrative to control people. How can he trust it?
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
-- 2 Peter 1:20-21Enemy: undermines the authority of Scripture by focusing on human agency while erasing divine inspiration and preservation.
He's seen the documentaries showing which books almost didn't make the canon, the councils that debated what to include. If humans decided what's in the Bible, how is it different from any other religious text?
Isaiah wrote a detailed description of Jesus' crucifixion 700 YEARS before crucifixion was invented by the Romans—pierced for transgressions, wounded for iniquities, by His stripes we are healed. No human agenda could prophecy that. Divine authorship.
I REFUSE the lie that the Bible is merely human propaganda. IT IS WRITTEN: holy men spoke as they were MOVED by the Holy Spirit—40 authors, 1,500 years, one unified story. Isaiah described Jesus' crucifixion 700 years before Rome invented crucifixion—no human could script that. IT IS WRITTEN: 'All Scripture is God-breathed'—inspired, not invented. I am Abraham's seed, the BARAK blessing includes access to God's revealed word. The same Spirit who inspired Scripture lives in me to illuminate it. I'm not trusting the Council of Nicaea—I'm trusting the Spirit who preserved His word through empires and councils and agendas. God's word stands forever, regardless of who tried to edit it.
The Father didn't leave you a corrupted message like a game of telephone. He breathed His word through human authors and preserved it through human history because He's powerful enough to get His message to you intact, councils and all.