Biblical authenticity?

Q:  I am troubled by many things I've heard lately and it came out in a discussion with my mother-in-law.  She thinks that the Bible was put together by people, not by God.  I was raised to believe that the Bible is the Holy Word of God, so this would change a lot of things for me.  I am a Sunday School teacher, 21 years old.  What do you think about this?  K. A.

A:  One of the greatest revelations when I attended Bible School after high school came through a class called "The Canonization of the Scriptures."  There I learned, to my astonishment, that the books selected for the "Holy Bible" were decided in meetings in Nicea and Constantinople during the 4th century a.d.  Like Paul, none of the men who decided the books to be included in the Bible had known Jesus.  There was controversy among those who attended these meetings.  I came away from that class with the impression that the canon of the scriptures was decided by argument and with politics as a motivating factor.

More than this, I noticed certain scriptures, which themselves advocate reliance on the Spirit within, which is the Comforter, rather than on any written words.  For instance, II Cor. 3:6 tells us that "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."  John 14:26 tells us that the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, "shall teach you all things."

Know that just about any belief can be confirmed by scripture.  Honor it for what it is, while you know that the witness within yourself is what inspires you and gives you life.  Don't give up your Sunday School class; it is a good place for you to explore the scriptures as they express the Spirit within, and to teach your pupils to listen to the Witness within.