The Bible is Awesome, but is it Complete?
Why do Bible believers need the Book of Mormon? Is the Bible perfect and complete? From blogger, Greg Trimble:
“The Bible is a pretty awesome book…as long as you see it for what it is and what it is not. The Bible is certainly not ‘infallible’ and it’s definitely not ‘complete’. Anyone who tells you that just doesn’t understand where the Bible came from and what it went through in order to reach us.”
In Day of Defense, I echo this sentiment: “In Christ’s day they did not have a “Bible,” nor did Christ, his apostles, or even the Bible testify of what the canon consists of…The Bible does not claim to be a complete and closed compilation of God’s word because it speaks of these other books; in reality, it was built upon generations of inspired prophets and teachers to record God’s dealings with his children” (Day of Defense, p32).
Table from Day of Defense that lists some of lost books of the Bible:
In other words, the Bible as a compilation of books points believers to an established pattern to identify God’s true faith: one with revelation, additional scripture, and with living apostles and prophets. This Biblical pattern contrasts with the Evangelical and mainstream Christian belief that the Bible is above all human authority.
Without prophets among mainstream Christianity and so many different versions of the Bible in print, it is not difficult to imagine why divisiveness reigns as the norm among the whole body of Bible believers. For more on this issue, read here.
The Book of Mormon compliments and strengthens the case for Christ amidst an increasingly secular world where the idea that all religions are equally valid, a slippery slope that has led to many questioning the very idea of God’s existence.
Scott Thormaehlen received his Master’s in History in 2016 and taught U.S. History in the Lone Star College system in Houston, Texas and for Alvin Community College. His writings have appeared in Accuracy in Academia, the Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies at Sam Houston State University, LDS Living, Meridian Magazine, and East Texas History – a project by Sam Houston State University.
The bible is somewhat complete; however, the real question is that of clarity. Think of it this way: there was a time when black and white TV was great, but then along came color TV and we were all watching the SAME thing, but those who had color TV were seeing more details than those viewing in black and white. And then later along came high definition TV and once again we are all watching the SAME thing but those with high definition TV are seeing shows with greater clarity than those with regular TV. What that leads us to is this: the Bible gives us all we need in the gospel of Jesus Christ to develop faith in in the Savior toward salvation and eternal life. however, when the bible is joined with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price it becomes “high definition gospel” in which everything is now presented in great clarity and detail. Having seen both sides there is no comparison – I want to continue to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in high definition.
I agree 100% with you Eric. In so many ways, especially after reading the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, I feel I can almost put them away and continue to only read solely from the Bible. I feel as though the Restoration scriptures bring us this “Hi-definintion” perspective that you describe, and forever adds to what Biblical scripture teaches. It is kind of a paradox to say the Bible is incomplete, yet I believe every LDS teachings has their roots in the Bible. It is the “hi-def” teachings that our critics dismiss while embracing that God gave man the “Bible” as having authority above all “human authority.” If anything, the Bible points to the human authority of prophets and apostles which we see only in the LDS Church and their equivalents in Catholic Popes and Cardinals. Evangelicals make a claim about the Bible that is unsupported by the very text itself, and while the text also mentions books that are missing. I think that is the most interesting point for Evangelicals to consider.