In the Beginning was Information

easonable words (Acts 26:25) in human language, and not ininexpressible heavenly terms (2 Corinthians 12:4). We will nowconsider the various aspects of information with respect to theBible:1. Statistics: The only value of statistical analyses of the Bible isfor storage purposes (see Appendix A1.2.1 and Figure 35). In addition,word counts may be of use in certain investigations.2. Syntax: God’s thoughts are available to us, encoded in humanlanguage, originally mostly in Hebrew and Greek. This messagecan in principle be translated into any other natural language. Allover the world many missionaries perform the blessed service oftranslation, so that the gospel can be proclaimed in all living languages.They thus fulfil Christ’s prophetic promise that all nationswill have heard the gospel message before his second coming(Matthew 24:14).3. Semantics: The contents of the Bible make it a unique bookwhich cannot be compared with any other book. The Bible providesanswers to all vital questions on earth, and it is also the onlysure compass able to guide us to eternity. In thousands of booksphilosophers, founders of religions, and all kinds of scientists havetried to solve the great puzzles like: What is the origin of the earthand of life? What is man? Who is God? Is there life after death?Nobody is able to make final and true statements about these questions;only the Bible can do this on the authority and by the truth ofthe living God. For the purpose of understanding the semantics ofthe Bible, some fundamental differences which distinguish it fromother books, are now considered:Scientific results: It is useful to employ linguistic findings as wellas historical background information for a better understanding ofthe text. But even with the best erudition it might still happen thatthe essence of the message remains hidden. We wish to emphasisethat the so-called “historical-critical method” is not a suitableapproach for understanding the Bible.Spiritual understanding: The Bible is a spiritual book which wasformulated under the supervision of the Holy Spirit. In the same143