Three Questions About the Bible & the Answers

Is the Bible Unique? Is it fundamentally different from other literature?

A.  The Bible is unique in composition. It is composed of 66 books written over a
1600-year span by 40 different authors, from 40 different generations, from
numerous walks of life, in various moods, in different literary forms, on 3
different continents, in 3 different languages, yet as a whole the Bible has
remarkable continuity and unity on a myriad of subjects. How does one explain
this?

B.  The Bible is unique in circulation. It has sold billions of copies more than any
other book. It has been a best seller for 200 years.

C.  The Bible is unique in translation. It is more translated than any other book in
history. It has been translated into over 2400 languages. It has been translated
into every national language in the world except the Maldives (an island off of
India where most of the inhabitants speak English).

D.  The Bible is unique in durability. It has survived burnings, bans, and critics. It
cannot be destroyed.

E.  The Bible is unique in its impact on lives. People all over the world live and die
claiming it has transformed their lives, values, and relationships. People read it
over and over claiming they are changed with each reading. (Other books are
read and discarded). Millions of people all over the world will meet this week in
groups to study the Bible and long to do it next week.

 

Is the Bible Accurate?

A.  Historical accuracy. The Bible passes all the tests of historical accuracy.
Whenever archaeology contends there are contradictions between the Biblical
record and science, archaeological discoveries always support the Biblical record.
There are countless examples of science proving the Bible as historically
accurate. The Jewish archaeological expert Nelson Gluck states, "It may be
categorically stated that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted
Biblical reference."

Contrast that with the Book of Mormon. It is the story of a vast civilization in the
America's between 600 BC and 400 AD. There is not one historical reference to
back up the Mormon story. That is blind faith. Our faith in the Bible is based on
historical reality.

B.  Manuscript evidence. When you go to college and read Aristotle and Plato, no
one ever questions the accuracy of the message or the validity of the
manuscripts. The manuscripts are taken at face value for accuracy. They have
had a huge influence on Western thought. The number of manuscripts we have
for both philosophers- is less than 10. The number of manuscript copies that are
preserved for the Bible- 14,000. The Bible is by far the best-documented ancient
manuscript ever. There are 184,590 words in the New Testament and only 400
words are on the disputable list. None of those words affect the meaning of any
text. Each scribe would read each word and it would be copied and checked by
another scribe to assure accuracy. The Bible is incredibly accurate.

 

C.  Miracles, We believe that our God is the eternal, all-powerful God who can do
anything He desires including miracles. The Bible is written by God and is about
God. When written, every event was a contemporary event with public
eyewitnesses. If any recorded event did not actually happen or was inaccurately
recorded, there would have been a public outcry by society. They would have
demanded retractions, corrections, and restatement Of fact- Every miracle was in
fact recorded as accurate with no public outcry, and many of the miracles were
corroborated by secular historians of the day.

 

D.  Human nature. The Bible is painfully accurate in what it says about me. It speaks
accurately about the root issues in my life, relationships, values, motives, ethics,
behaviors, and fears. It speaks the truth about sin, forgiveness, pain, heaven, hell,
eternity, reality; consequences, and righteousness.

 

Is the Bible Inspired?

 

A. Here are three verses that record what the Bible says about itself- 2 Timothy
3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Hebrews 4:12. The Bible claims to be the inspired Word
of God. But is there any evidence?

 

B. The proof is in prophecy. There are 332 references to the coming Messiah in the
Old Testament, 61 of which Jesus directly fulfilled. Accidental? Maybe once but
not 332 or even 61 times. These are prophecies written hundreds of years before
Jesus was born; prophecies about His lineage, where He was born, His ministry,
His death and resurrection. The prophecies were very specific and were fulfilled
in specific detail. Peter Stoner took the mathematical probabilities and applied
them to fulfill prophecy. The odds of only 9 of the prophecies being fulfilled is
Ix10^13 or 1x 100 billion trillion.

 

C. Jesus claimed the Bible was the inspired Word of God. No one challenged Him or
refuted His claim, The evidence points to the fact that the Bible is indeed the
inspired Word of God. We have faith in the Word based on both reason and
evidence.

 

Here is an amazing FREE Bible Study Guide.

You can compare versions, and take notes and it includes a Bible Dictionary.

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