You will often hear that the Bible is just one way to get to know God and that there are many other “inspired” writings that can help you grow more spiritual or enlightened. In fact, the secular media loves to do stories on the so-called “Gnostic gospels.” These are books that were written by cultists making fantastical, contradictory claims about Jesus, but which were written longer after the time of Jesus and the Apostles. The secular media loves these stories because they hope to undermine Christianity.
So, how can you know whether the Bible is the only authority or if there are other inspired writings as well? One really simple way to measure a text is to ask this question: Does the text contradict the Bible in any way? Being omniscient, God cannot contradict Himself.
Here’s one quick example. The Bible is really big on monogamous, heterosexual marriage between one man and one woman. If you’re reading something from another faith tradition and it glorifies adultery, polygamy, homosexuality or any other sinful behavior, well, it cannot be an inspired writing. God doesn’t contradict Himself because He is unchanging.
Pastor Allen Parr takes a look at five ways you can tell whether another writing is “inspired” in the following video. It’s a great lesson in discernment and a good refresher course for any Christian who hasn’t looked at this question in a while. Watch the video for some great Scripture lessons on the inspiration of the Bible versus other texts.
