An Appeal To The Bible Is Not Arbitrary
The Bible repeatedly claims to be Gods Word, the ultimate source of all truth, and it rejects all other claimants . The Bible offers no neutral ground, which is the only reasonable demand from a source that claims to be the truth above all others.
The Scripture also says it was inspired by a God who sees everything, knows everything, communicates perfectly, and always tells the truth. In fact, He strongly desires to share the truth . So choosing such an ultimate standard is not arbitrary!
The Bible is also consistent with itself, as any correct standard must be . Furthermore, it provides a robust foundation for correctly interpreting the world around us . Despite centuries of merciless attacks upon its accuracy, the Bible has consistently proven to be true .
The Bible Is In The Crosshairs At School And In The Media Can You Be Sure It’s Inspired
Can you prove the Bible is true? If you can, it could dramatically change the outcome of your life!
Nearly 50 years ago, two out of three Americans asked by the Gallup polling organization said they believed “the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.” Then several years ago Gallup polls showed that only one in three believed the same thingan alarming drop! And the percentage of people in other countries who believe the Bible is the Word of God is generally much lower.
What’s going on? Associated Press religious writer Richard Ostling points out part of the problem: “Liberal-minded university and seminary professors have labored long to lure Americans away from reading their Bible as strictly literal history. They sometimes complain that few pay heed. But Gallup Poll data suggest the professors have indeed had an impact” .
Also, most movies and TV programs about the Bible have quite a liberal slant that casts doubt on its validity.
If someone challenged you to prove that the Bible is true, could you do it? Here’s an easy way. Just use UNITY as an acronym for five clear proofs that the Bible is true .
Third The Bible Isand Must Beits Own Ultimate Proof
Jesus indicated that the Bible gives enough information so thateveryone can know the truth.
Jesus indicated that the Bible gives enough information so that everyone can know the truth and no other resource is better. If they do not hear Moses and the prophets
, Jesus told His Jewish listeners, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead
. Even though Jesus was not addressing Gentiles, His words are based on a universal truth: the Bible isand should beour most persuasive tool.
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The Ancient Pool Of Siloam: How Archaeologists Discovered Site
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The Bible is venerated by billions of Christians as an account of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, and the life and death of Jesus Christ. And though most consider the Bible to be a spiritual document, many experts study the Bible’s chapters as a historical record of the Middle East. Professor Tom Meyer, a Professor of Bible and Theology from Shasta Bible College and Graduate School in California, US, believes there is ample archaeological evidence to support the Bible’s historical track record.
There Are Logical Reasons To Accept The Existence Of A Divine Creator Apart From Relying On The Authenticity Of Scripture
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Proving the existence of God is the beginning of having faith in God, so it is one of the most important goals to establish in our lives. It answers whether we are alone or not as a human race and whether or not our existence has purpose.
Can we logically prove the existence of God without going to the Bible? If by “God” we mean a Creator of the universe, then the answer is certainly yes.
Let’s explore five key proofs of God’s existence with clear illustrations to back them up. To make it easier to remember, we’ll use the acronym GODLY.
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Second Rely On Gods Spirit And Gods Word To Convince Hearers
Modern intellectuals are no different from the proud Greeks of Pauls day, who lived in the futility of their thinking. They were darkened in their understanding . . . because of the blindness of their heart
.
How do you break through the darkness? Its not enough to demolish their wrong beliefs by cold, hard logic. Blind men cannot see the truth except with new sight given by the Holy Spirit .
Thankfully, Gods Spirit is already at work convicting sinners of their unbelief, using His Word as His primary tool. By relying on the Scriptures own claims, rather than your wisdom or clever arguments, God empowers His words to convict hearts and point them to Christ .
Knowing this, the apostle Paul did not rely on persuasive words of human wisdom to overwhelm his listeners with intellectual arguments, which they might not even grasp . Instead, Paul spoke plainly to sinners in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that their faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God .
Yet God does not demand blind faith. Our faith is reasonable. In fact, it is the only logical and reasonable choice available to mankind. And explaining that simple fact is the secret to a biblical defense of the Bible.
Giving Up Sugar Tasting God’s Goodness
As a latchkey kid, Wendy Speake turned to sugar for comfort. Every Friday, she would pedal to the candy show and use her allowance to fill her bag with candy. And one day, when she was older and a mom of three young boys, she came to realize that she was still pedaling away from her stress and using sugar as comfort, instead of turning to Jesus. She was joyless, worn out, tired, and in need of a change. In this interview, Wendy will challenge Christians to take 40 days to focus on fasting from something they turn to instead of Jesus for comfort. She invited people to break free from a dependence on sugar and taste the goodness of God.
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The Bible Has Been Faithfully Passed Down
A common objection to the accuracy of the Bible is, Isnt the Bible just a copy of a copy? The scribes who copied Scripture took great care in their work. Accuracy was ensured by a number of safeguards, including the counting of letters in a line and on a page. Minor variations exist between certain manuscripts, but thanks to the abundance of early texts and fragments, we can ascertain the original wording in nearly every case.
Watch Tim Chaffeys video below to learn more:
How Do We Choose The Correct Ultimate Standard
Since we must appeal to some ultimate standard, the next question is how to determine the right one.
Oneand only onelogical solution is available. The standard itself must be self-attesting and self-authenticating. In other words, it must speak for itself and defend itself in such a way that it passes all its own standards of truth and gives a foundation for successfully interpreting all other claims to truth.
Even before modern logicians recognized this limitation to every logical argument, Gods Word had already acknowledged and solved it.
Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, said, I am the truth
Gods word is truth
. Jesus claimed to define what truth is, and He said Gods Word is the ultimate judge of truth . No truth exists apart from Him. As the Bible explains it, In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
. So the Bible clearly claims an exalted position as the ultimate authority.
Moreover, Gods Word concludes that all other standards outside of Christ must be empty because they depend on the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ
. For the Bible to appeal to any other authority would be to deny its own place as the ultimate standard.
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Ultimately We Must Taste And See For Ourselves
A person can know the Bible is Gods Word by first examining the claims of Scripture, considering the evidence for those claims and then personally accepting the challenge of Scripture to taste and see if these things are true. The psalmist gave the following challenge:
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
The New Revised Standard Version says:
O taste and see that the LORD is good happy are those who take refuge in him.
Ultimately, a person must individually experience the truth of Gods Word for themselves. This occurs by coming to God in faith and then believing in His promises.
There Are Two Basic Approaches To This Question
There are two different approaches that are taken when it comes to arguing for the Bible being the Word of God. First, there are those who believe that the Scripture is self-authenticating. The Bible is true because it says it is true, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to this truth. No other argument is necessary.
A second approach believes that the claims of Scripture have sufficient evidence to back them up. Those who hold this view believe there is overwhelming evidence to convince anyone that the Bible is what it claims to bethe Word of God. People, therefore, need to check out the evidence not merely blindly believe the claims of Scripture.
We can summarize the two approaches as follows:
Approach 1: the Bible Is Self-Authenticating
To many people, the issue of the Bibles authority is something that should not be debated. The authority of the Bible must be believed because the Scripture says so. This is usually argued in the following ways:
1. The Bible Claims to Be Gods Word: No Other Testimony Is Necessary
There is something else. The problem with providing evidence for the Bible is that human beings are both sinful and finite. They must still evaluate any evidence offered for the truthfulness of the Christian faith. Again, it places some sort of human standard as the final authority. Evidence gathered from other sources may be useful, but it has nothing convincing to say about the truth of Christianity.
2. The Bible Should Be Able to Testify on Its Own Behalf
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Two Questions And An Illustration
To help us see the force of this argument about ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ forms of internal evidence, it is helpful to make a distinction between two questions and it is vital to see that they should not necessarily be answered in the same way:
1. Why do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?
2. What evidence is there for believing that the Bible is the Word of God?
To see that these questions are different, consider the following illustration. If you were to ask me why I believe my wife loves me, I might reply either that I just know she does or that I know it because she says she does. Neither would be an inadequate answer and neither would call into question the reality of my wife’s love, even though I have not given any substantial or material evidence beyond the testimony of her own word.
The reason why we believe that the Bible is the Word of God is not in the first instance because of all the material evidence for the Bible being the Word of God. We might answer this question first by stating that we know the Bible is the Word of God because the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to grasp by faith that it is true or that because of faith we accept that the Bible is the Word of God because God says it is. This is internal, testimony evidence of the narrower kind outlined above. It is sufficient to warrant certainty, because the Spirit’s work has brought us into a relationship with the living God whereby we are sure, by faith, that certain articles of faith are true.
Does Our View Of The Bible Matter
Liberal theologians sometimes point out that our view of the Bible doesnt really matter. So long as we gain strength and insights from it, they say, that is enough. Following this line of reasoning, they remove many miracles of the Bible or simply treat them as myths. This is a mistake, particularly when it comes to the Resurrection of Christ. Our view of the Bible matters immensely, especially if what it claims is indeed true. If it is, as we have argued, then our eternal destiny hinges on how we will respond to Christ and His calling. Will we reject Him or accept Him?
There is much more that could be said on the matter of truth and the Bible. Learn more by checking out some of our other articles on the Christian Worldview.
Steve Green, Chairman of the Board for the Museum of the Bible, discusses the immeasurable influence the Bible has had on society and the amazing biblical artifacts that are part of a huge collection that are on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
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Earth Is Suspended In Space
Biblical teaching on the Earths positioning in space:
In the Book of Job, we learn of the Earths positioning in space: He spreads out the northern skies over empty space he suspends the earth over nothing . Scholars believe that the Book of Job was written as early as the 2nd millennium BC or later between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.
Whatever the precise dating, this verse in Job demonstrates that God told us before the time of Christ that our planet is held up in space by no visible means of support.
Scientific acceptance of the Earths positioning in space:
Throughout history, humanity has espoused different theories as to the Earths placement. In Ancient Greece, Aristotle noted in the 4th century BC that the oldest theory about the Earths positioning was that the Earth rested on water.
Other ancient cultural traditions believed that the Earth was held up by a sea turtle. For example, indigenous Native Americans such as the Lenape and Iroquois of North America handed down creation stories in which the Earth was formed on the back of a turtle. In fact, many indigenous tribes in North America still refer to the Earth or to the North American continent itself as Turtle Island. Likewise, according to Hindu mythology, the Earth rests on the backs of four elephants who, in turn, stand on the back of a turtle.
This scientific finding proves the veracity of Scriptures teaching on the Earths suspended position in space.
Examples Of Old Testament Contradictions
The contradictions start in the opening chapters of the Bible, where inconsistent creation stories are told. Genesis chapter 1 says the first man and woman were made at the same time, and after the animals. But Genesis chapter 2 gives a different order of creation: man, then the animals, and then woman.
Genesis chapter 1 lists six days of creation, whereas chapter 2 refers to the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Genesis 1:2-3 claims that God created light and divided it from darkness on the first day but Genesis 1:14-19 tells us the sun, moon, and stars werent made until the fourth day.
Chapter 1 reports that the fruit trees were created before the man, while chapter 2 indicates they were made after him. Genesis 1:20 says the fowl were created out of the waters Genesis 2:19 alleges they were formed from the ground.
Contradictions are also seen in the biblical story of a worldwide flood. According to Genesis 6:19-22, God ordered Noah to bring of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort . . . into the ark. Nevertheless, Genesis 7:2-3 relates that the Lord ordered Noah to take into the ark the clean beasts and the birds by sevens, and only the unclean beasts by twos.
Genesis 8:4 reports that, as the waters of the flood receded, Noahs ark rested on the mountains of Ararat in the seventh month. The very next verse, however, says the mountaintops could not be seen until the tenth month.
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Faith In His Blood Org
THE TOP 10 REASONS THE BIBLE IS TRUE!Top 10 Reasons the Bible is True. 1. Manuscript Evidence. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?2. Archaeological EvidenceThe New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology3. Eyewitness AccountsInstitutes of the Christian Religion.4. Corroborating AccountsThe New Bible Dictionary5. Literary ConsistencyUnderstanding the Bible6. Prophetic ConsistencyNow Thats a Good Question7. Expert Scrutiny8. Leader AcceptanceAbraham Lincoln9. Global InfluenceChristian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith10. Changed LivesThe Case for the BibleEmail this PostOTHER REASONS WE KNOW THE KING JAMES HOLY BIBLE IS TRUE No man would have created the Bible even if it were possible, because the King James Bible is most unflattering of mankind. It exposes every evil deed, every vile thought, and all mankinds vain ambitions. The King James Bible has a built-in numeric system that is impossible to duplicate or break. Gods favorite number, the number seven, has been divinely woven throughout the text of the King James Bible as if God Himself left behind His Own Signature in it. The Jews. The Jews are living proof that the King James Bible is true. The Jews should have been wiped out a long time ago, yet here they are! Why? Because thousands of years ago God said it would be so. The Jews and their history correspond with the record of the King James Bible.THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE!Colossians 4:6