Here is #25 of 31 Questions in 31 Days! To learn more about this 31 Day series, just search “31 Questions” in the search bar above or click here!
Q #25: Why put any trust that the Bible is anything more than made up stories?
A: There are a number of reasons, beyond the internal affirmations of scripture, that Christians trust the stories of the Bible as historically accurate. Here are a few of them:
Archaeological correspondence.
Time and time again, the Bible is proven right by the discoveries of archaeologists. The cities, peoples, names, cultural customs of the Bible are found to be accurate time and time again. Often, the Bible has had facts that were lost to history, like the name of the high priest when Jesus was crucified or the existence of the Hittite peoples. Archaeologists have found proof corresponding to these details again and again. In fact, there has never been an archaeological discovery controverting any claim of fact in the Bible. These accuracies bring increasing evidence that the Bible was written in a way that is meant to be taken as literal history.
Theological and philosophical correspondence.
The Bible was written by about 40 different people over 1600 years in three languages and on three continents. It concerns itself with an emerging worldview that touches on morality and spirituality and yet it agrees with itself. If you approached three different random people from a small town in America about the nature of God or the afterlife or sexuality, you would hear at least three different answers. The self-agreement of the Bible adds weight to its credibility.
Jesus Christ trusted the Bible.
If Jesus is risen from the dead, a fact he predicted numerous times before his crucifixion, we should hold to his vision of the Bible. Jesus embraces the Old Testament as we have it and put trust in the very words of the Bible as inspired. If he is the Son of God and has proved such through his resurrection from the dead, than Christians think this is a reason to believe the Bible.
Scrupulously copied texts indicate that we have what was written at first from original authors. No other book in antiquity or in time has been subject to the same amount of examination, criticism and investigation as the Bible. We know from hundreds of copies that what has been translated is the same as far back as we can go. No works of Plato or Aristotle or Homer come close to the number of ancient copies of scripture that we have. The self-agreement of these texts (deviations account for less than .1%) adds weight for thinking person to recognize that the claims of the Bible are what were written at the time they appear to have been composed.
So, think again! Belief in the Bible is not merely a worship of a book, but is rooted in reasons that are internally consistent. No other book has been translated into as many other languages, and no other sacred book is as widely read in as many languages and cultural contexts as the Bible. It’s still changing lives and shaping the future–pick it up today!
Check out more posts from the 31 Questions series on subjects as varied as marijuana, infidelity, 666, the eternal destiny of children who die, dealing with discouragement, cremation, co-habitation, baptism, suicide, prayer, the origins of scripture, hell, work, the third heaven, tithing, Old Testament salvation, giving in the Old Testament, reading Proverbs, recovering from failure, taking the Bible literally, understanding the parables, universalism, and even speaking in tongues!
This coming Sunday at First Assembly Community Ministries, we will be changing the regular format for our service to accommodate questions from the congregation! I can’t wait. Join us there on Sunday, February 1 for a morning of discovery on what we call Q Sunday for two unique services 9 and 11 AM.