Was the Bible Inspired by Poppy Seeds?

The Bible is the greatest literary work known to mankind. Yet my professor thinks it was written by a bunch of men who were higher than a kite.

Every now and then something is said that just floors you. There was simply no way that you could have prepared yourself for such a thing, and when it comes you are taken by complete surprise. I’m sure that we all know the feeling.

Well, I had the opportunity, if that’s what you want to call it, to experience that feeling not too long ago. In one of my college courses the professor was telling us about different drugs and their effects on the human brain.

When he got to the hallucinogens, the drugs that make you see funny things, he said, “Every time I read about one of the prophets in the Bible, I can’t help but wonder if he’d had too many poppy seeds or something.”

Beg your pardon?

Thankfully, there are over 400 students in that class and I don’t sit in the front few rows, because when he said that, the expression on my face must have been something else. The Bible—the greatest book that man has ever known—written by a bunch of men who had gotten high on poppy seeds? That’s like saying Thomas Jefferson was dead drunk while writing the Declaration of Independence—except a good bit more important.

Yet there are many who doubt—many who don’t fully realize quite what those visions in the Bible reveal. In the society of today, people tend to mock the Bible first and worry about the details never.

And then I started to think about how such a statement affected me—as a Christian who has devoted his life to living by what the Bible says. I knew that the professor was wrong—college degree or not—but a little bit of proof couldn’t hurt. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should prove to myself that the Bible wasn’t inspired by poppy seeds.

In Christianity, few elements are as vital as faith, which is listed with hope and love as essential qualities (1 Corinthians 13:13). A stupid idea planted in my mind now might become a doubt later—something that undermines faith and gives Satan the grip he needs. Doubt was why Peter sank into the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:31). It removes the shield against Satan’s thoughts (Ephesians 6:16).

Visions like no other

There are many powerful proofs of the authority and inspiration of the Bible. Here are a couple things that I thought about that helped confirm to me that the Bible was written by people in their right mind. You might come up with many different points, and we’ll give you a link for further information at the end.

A consistent vision

My first reason for believing the Bible was not inspired by drugs is the fact that the Bible is unified. Its message is consistent even though it was recorded by different people over more than a thousand years.

One example of this that helps me is how three prophets addressed a similar theme. Consider these three verses: Joel 3:10; Isaiah 2:4; and Micah 4:3.

The prophet Joel may have preached at the end of the ninth century B.C. One of his prophecies says that the plowshares and pruning hooks, regular farming equipment, will be turned into weapons such as spears and swords. This will be a prelude to a terrible end-time battle that will nearly destroy the earth.

Then, several decades after Joel, two other men recorded prophecies that also mentioned swords and plowshares. In fact, these two men gave exactly the same prophecy. Both Isaiah and Micah saw a terrific world where world peace will actually be achieved and weapons of war will be turned into farming equipment. These two prophets prophesied a future time when the exact opposite of what Joel prophesied would happen.

What are the chances of something like this being inspired by poppy seeds—or any other drugs?

Another thing that convinces me that poppy seeds are not behind prophecies in the Bible is the greatness of the visions. The Bible is full of many wonderful, beautifully written prophecies.

Consider this one from Isaiah 11:6-9: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

This is a vision recorded by the prophet Isaiah showing the coming time of world peace. Can you imagine someone on drugs making up such a beautiful description? I know I can’t.

Also consider that if someone did have drug-induced visions, the sober-minded people who knew the prophet would not have given his prophecies credence. They would have been discredited and not preserved as sacred Scripture. There are many frauds and nonbiblical writings, but those have been excluded from the canon of Scripture—from the Holy Bible.

What it boils down to

This is only a quick glance at a couple reasons I believe the prophecies in the Bible weren’t inspired by poppy seeds. Others could probably argue these points until Christ returns. My professor probably would if he ever read this blog.

But more information is available. For a deeper examination of the inspiration of the Bible, see the articles in the “Is the Bible True?” section of the LifeHopeandTruth.com website. Prove it to yourself.

Your personal response matters. Do you believe what the Bible says—that it was inspired by the God of the universe (2 Timothy 3:16)? Or do you believe that its writers were inspired by a bunch of poppy seeds? In the end, it all boils down to one thing: faith—confidence that God is behind the Bible.

Joshua Travers is a college freshman double majoring in Spanish and integrated social studies education at Ohio University. He attends the Athens, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.