Written by: A New Me

2 Timothy 3:16-17: The number one rebuttal I get when speaking to a non-believer regarding the Bible is that they can’t believe in it because it was written by man. Now I can easily combat this from a Christian perspective. There are numerous scriptures in the Bible that refer to the Word of God being infallible and inspired by God, but to the non-believer that is not proof. The Lord has recently laid it on my heart to do an in-depth study on the evidence, both historically and scientifically, regarding the proof of the Bible’s reliability. I am confident that whether you believe in God or not, that this article will shed light on the truth that God’s Holy Word is real.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

One of the biggest arguments from the non-believer is that science can’t prove the Bible. Not only is this not accurate, but the reality is science can’t prove anything that is not able to be recreated. I mean, can science prove that George Washington was the first president or that Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist? The answer is no, science can only prove what can be recreated in a controlled environment. When we refer to history and historical events, we must look at written and oral evidence. It’s fair to say that most of us know who Napoleon is or what Christopher Columbus is known for, but this is not because science proved it; rather, because historical evidence has shown this to be factual. The Bible is the most widely researched, studied and documented piece of literature in all of antiquity. There is no other “book” that has attempted to be discredited more than the Bible, and when you think about it, in the over 2000 years since the Bible has been in circulation, no one has been able to disprove it. In fact, more than 80% of the Bible’s people, places and stories have been historically and archeologically proven.

Nelson Glueck, a respected Jewish archaeologist, claims, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical reference.” Thousands of religious leaders, scientists and historians have made attempts at discrediting the Bible to no avail, and what used to be arguments regarding the inaccuracies of the Bible, modern science ironically enough has proven otherwise.

The completed Bible and all of its 66 books took more than 1500 years to complete. It was written by 40 different authors on 3 different continents in 3 different languages. However, the continuity of the message has been unparalleled and unwavering: “God’s redemption of mankind.” This in itself speaks of a divine Creator, a higher power that inspired these individuals, who more often than not did not know of each other or the message they were spreading. There is no other piece of literature in all of history that has this type of continuity of message or hand in creation. Ancient manuscripts of both the Old and New Testaments continue to be unearthed, and when we compare the number of ancient manuscripts from the Bible to any other piece of literature in history, the results are overwhelming.

Although it was first written on perishable materials, and had to be copied and recopied for hundreds of years before the invention of the printing press, the Scriptures have never

diminished in style or accuracy, nor have they ever faced extinction. The evidence of its reliability is based on the number of ancient manuscripts which have been located, and the comparisons from the original to the current texts. It is the comparison of the original writings to the ones which have continued to be passed down through the years that proves it to be an accurate document. Below is a breakdown of some popular historical events and the number of manuscripts we have on them:

· Caesar’s Gallic Wars- 10

· Tactius’ Annals- 20

· Homer’s Illiad- 643

· Williams Shakespeare’s work- 420

Compare those numbers to that of the total number of New Testament manuscripts collected from archeology and antiquity – 24,970 (and counting). One may ask, “Why does the Bible have so many manuscripts?” and the reason can easily be explained in the book of Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Another major aspect of the Bible’s authenticity is the element of predictive prophesies. The Bible is the only religious book that contains prophecy that has proven to become true. Approximately 70% of biblical prophecy has been fulfilled to date. Give history enough time, and it will catch up to the Bible. Here’s a list of some specifically fulfilled prophecies:

· Obadiah 1:4- Destruction of Edom

· Isaiah 11:11- Israel re-gathered to the promised land

· 1 Kings 13:2- Man named Josiah would rule from Judah and destroy pagan altars (300 years before he was born)

· Isaiah 44:28- Man named Cyrus would overcome Babylon (150 years before he was born)

Then we have Messianic prophesies (which are more than 300):

· Timing of His coming- Daniel 9:25

· Birthplace- Micah 5:2

· Virgin Birth- Isaiah 7:14

· Betrayal- Psalm 41:9

· Crucifixion- Psalm 22:16 (centuries before crucifixion was ever practiced)

The statistical probability of one man fulfilling only 8 of these prophecies are 10^117 power (a 10 followed by 17 zeros). To give you an example, that is like filling the entire state of Texas with silver dollars 2 feet deep and marking one of them with an “X.” Then you would blindfold a man, and tell him to pick up one silver dollar, and have him pick (on his first try) the marked coin. Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophesies; conversely, the Muslim’s Koran, Hindu’s Vedas, Buddhist’s Tripitaka, and all other “religious books” lack any prophetic element. Only God can do that!

Lastly, although the Bible never claims to be a scientific textbook, it makes scientific statements that predate official discoveries by several centuries:

· Earth is a sphere- Isaiah 40:22 (not proven until 1600 years later)

· Water cycle keeps land watered- Job 36:27-28 (2500 year gap)

· Earth is suspended in space- Job 26:7- (3600 year gap)

· Ocean currents flow through the sea- Psalms 8:8 (2800 year gap)

· Earth’s crust rests upon a foundation- Job 38:4 (4000 year gap)

When you look at all the evidence, both historically and scientifically, it is impossible to deny that the Bible was created with divine inspiration. It was the Holy Spirit which led these men to create the Bible in order to convey the message of redemption to man, and I trust that this evidence will open your eyes to see that. Truth can stand examination. Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is out Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!”

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