Doug Armstrong- Senate chaplain

What I Learned in Graduate School” 

By Douglas Armstrong 

Speech delivered at Moody Theological Seminary Commencement Breakfast, Chicago IL 5/18/2019 

As the oldest student in my cohort, perhaps I viewed the idea of a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies differently than others. After all, I had no occupational aspirations. Instead, it was a series of life events that drove me to question my faith and test its foundation. I reasoned that if I was going to spend the remainder of my life ‘believing in something’ then it must be founded on historical truth and objective reality. I truly dislike delusion. So, for me, the 2-year journey was more important than the destination. 

Graduate school helped me see why the Bible is the most unique and best-selling book in the history of the world. This year alone, over 100-million copies will be printed worldwide. The Bible is really more like a small library; made up of dozens of separate books, penned by 40 different writers, written over a period of 1,500 years, spanning 50 generations, originating from 3 continents, and in 3 different languages. Its authentic historicity is anchored by early manuscripts that number in the thousands. Moreover, it contains diverse literary genres including law, history, wisdom, poetry, narrative, songs, epistles, and prophecy. And yet, from this ‘stew’ of diversity, the Bible voices one single unified, seamless, and beautifully integrated “story of God” from beginning to end. How is this perfect unity possible? It’s akin to a large symphony orchestra with diverse musical instruments, yet the conductor blends diversity into harmony. I see why the Bible is more than ink-on-paper, and how it delivers divinely-inspired answers to questions like: Who is God? Why am I here? What is wrong with this world? How can things be made right? 

To be clear, we do not worship the Bible. Rather, we exalt the person whom the Bible reveals: the Lord Jesus Christ. There are nearly 300 scriptural references to over 60 prophecies of a promised “Messiah” that were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The odds of one person fulfilling all these prophecies is beyond all mathematical possibility. Beyond this, the disciples of Jesus witnessed the first Easter, and this miraculous experience emboldened them to spread the good news. Even under the constant threat of prison and death, the disciples’ devotion to what they knew to be true literally changed the world. 

Saint Augustine said this about the Bible, “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.” Charles Dickens said, “It is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.” President Theodore Roosevelt said, “No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.” And, D.L. Moody, the namesake of this university said, “The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” 

My transformation is due to biblical beauty, goodness, and truth. After questioning my faith and testing its foundation, I was led back into the loving arms of Jesus Christ. 

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