Hello friends! If you are just now jumping in, I recommend that you go check out the previous blog post which sets the foundation on what the Bible is, and just how incredibly popular it has been throughout the ages.
This time, let’s take a look at the second question: why do Christians believe the Bible is true? I think many of us believers would say that we have been touched by the Holy Spirit so we just know in our hearts that it is true. Besides, the words are so wise, especially those of the book of Proverbs, so it naturally points to something greater than what man alone can produce.
But what about non-Christians? I could see how what I mentioned above would not provide satisfactory explanation. So let’s dig into what we know historically. :)
The Bible was written by at least 40 men over a period of 1,600 years — authors ranging from kings, philosophers, fishermen, doctors, scholars, poets, statesmen, prophets, rich and poor. Furthermore, the authors lived in various geographic locations and countries within the Middle East.
Yet, even though they lived in distinct places during different times, the writings all come together and point to one person: Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior. (I will cover in another post what it is that we need saving from).
Even more remarkable, there are some 2,500 prophecies written in the entire Bible. For those who are not sure what a prophecy is, it is essentially the accurate foretelling of a specific event many years and sometimes centuries before it actually occurs.
Now you might think that it could just be a coincidence or luck, but remember that the books of the Bible were written over many years by many authors. Considering the technology of the time (or lack thereof) it is virtually impossible for this to be a thoughtfully orchestrated scheme to fool the world for centuries after. Additionally, the research says it all: it is generally accepted that roughly 2,000 of the prophecies have already been fulfilled to the letter. That means there are about 500 are still unfulfilled.
It is widely accepted that the Bible is by all accounts a truly unique work of literature. But how is it possible that a book written by humans is jam-packed with so much knowledge about the past, present and even future?
The apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all scripture is inspired by God” [NLT], that it is “God-Breathed” [NIV]. In other words, God is the true author of the Bible, and he used humans to make it come together. An analogy I’ve heard before is that God would be the architect of a building, while the writers would be its construction workers.
Why do Christians believe this? Author and priest Nicky Gumbel says “it claims to be true, seems to be true, and proves to be true.”
It claims to be true since the Bible itself says “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” [John 8:32]. It seems to be true upon reading it, as many people have come to accept it’s wisdom and truth upon simply reading through the pages of the Gospel. And finally, it proves to be true through the thousands of prophecies mentioned previously, and through the transformative power it has had on billions of human lives — myself included. :)
If you are looking for a more technical view on why so many hold the writings in the Bible as reliable even though it was written so long ago, look no further. There is a science called “textual criticism” that helps provide evidence that New Testament wasn’t changed throughout the ages (this science was used even before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947).
Textual criticism examines the number of copies of an early text available to us, and looks at the time gaps between the original document and earliest copy that we have. The more copies we have and the earlier they were obtained , the more confident we are that they will be identical to the original copy.
This is a science that is widely accepted in Academia, and Universities use certain historical books – such as Tacitus, Caesar's Gallic War, and Livy’s Roman History – as references in higher education courses. The table below shows a few facts associated with those books compared to the New Testament:
You read that right! There were more than 5,000 copies of the New Testament found, far outnumbering any other books that are considered as trusted sources in Academia.
I know when I first saw this, it was a bit of a shock (in a good way), but considering there were 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus rise to the sky during the ascension, it would make sense that people could not stop themselves from writing and sharing what they saw.
Thanks to textual criticism, which shows such a short timeframe between the writing of the books and when the events took place, we can be pretty confident of the accuracy, authenticity, and integrity of the New Testament.
I hope you enjoyed learning more about the reason why there are billions of people around the world, including scientists, who believe the Bible to be true. :)
P.S.: the best way to stay in touch and be in the know about new blog posts is to subscribe to my email list! (I promise I won’t spam you)
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