Evidence
Worm's blood, donkey's dung, heal of Abyssinian Greyhound, urine of cattle, head of stork, live mice (skinned and consumed whole by children)...
No, this isn't a sorcerer's spell. These are some of the remedies prescribed by an ancient Egyptian medical community in the Papyrus Ebers, a document written in the days of Moses. I learned this and a number of other fascinating facts of antiquity from a recent book (1988) written by Kenny Barfield, minister of the Serrod Avenue Church of Christ in Florence, Alabama. Barfield's book is called Why The Bible Is Number One: The World's Sacred Writings in Light of Science. It is "a comprehensive review of the general knowledge and practices of ancient peoples in the areas of medicine, astronomy, and earth science." It examines nonbiblical sacred writings (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Zoroastrian, Shinto, and Islamic) and reveals that they are riddled with serious shortcomings in their primitive insights into science. It demonstrates how only the Bible has avoided errors common to the cultures and nonbiblical sacred writings of its day. The book presents compelling evidence for accepting the Bible as the inspired word of God.
While I have used this line of reasoning before to help people come to belief that the Bible is inspired, until brother Barfield's extensively footnoted and annotated book, I hadn't had such comprehensive information. I have recently used the material in the book for a series of Sunday evening sermons on Christian Evidences. The members (even the young people) are fascinated. I heartily recommend it.
Dave Redick
Dave Redick is the Pulpit Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon. He may be reached at dave@preacherstudy.com .