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Is The Bible Fact Or Fiction

Job: The Righteous And Persevering One

Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? (The Perfect Story – Pt 1)

Two other books in the Bible attest to the historicity of Job. At the time of the exile, the prophet Ezekiel denounced the wickedness of Jerusalem by comparing Job with two other historical figures, Daniel10 and Noah, as the standard of righteousness:

Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.

So, if Job is not real, then how could Noah and Daniel be in the land as real people but not Job? If Job did not exist, then why does Ezekiel use him as an example along with two other real individuals? The Bible clearly teaches that Daniel and Noah were real, historical individuals . Ezekiel clearly saw Noah, Daniel, and Job as real people.

Just as Ezekiel used Job as an example of righteousness, so also in the New Testament the apostle James speaks of Job as an example of someone who persevered under trial:

As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Did Gospel Writers Change Jesus Words

It may come as a surprise to learn that writers of New Testament books adapted Jesus sayings and stories to new situations. They did so in a number of cases.

One example is found in Jesus story of the wise and foolish builders . Matthews version spoke of building a house on rock versus sand. Perhaps writing for the Christian community in Judea, Matthew most likely preserved Jesus own words. Matthews was what we might call a literal telling of the story.

Lukes version of the wise and foolish builders was drafted for a new audience. He compared building a house on a deep foundation or without one. Luke used a thought-for-thought equivalent for Jesus original way of telling the story. He, in effect, interpreted what Jesus meant for a new audience.

New Testament critical scholar Marcus Borg says Matthews version described construction methods in Judea and Galilee. In this area, he points out, Building upon sand meant building in the middle of a dry and sandy stream bed , which in the rainy season became a raging stream. On the other hand, Luke described building with or without a foundation. He reflected building techniques used outside of the land of Israel.

Matthews version was clear in a Judean environment. Luke had to adapt the story for a broader Mediterranean audience.

Such examples show that the Gospel writers had divine license to adjust Jesus Christs original wording. This allowed readers to understand the narratives more clearly.

The Bible Does Not Serve As A Historic Record

To those who are followers of the Christian faith, the Bible does not serve as a historical record. It serves as an account of Gods expectations for humanity. Further, it shows examples of simple and complicated lives from the past which demonstrate how the laws of God were incorporated into these individuals daily lives whereas, it also demonstrates the consequences of failing to adhere to Biblical law results in grave consequences. It teaches respect and balance in life while guiding people to acts of compassion even when others fail to reciprocate. It then gives hope to the people as it ends with a prophecy looking forward to a time when all suffering will cease to exist. Moreover, the Bible provides truth while it also includes fables that help inspire leadership and social responsibility.

The lessons in the Bible need to be translated into modern terms before they can be fully applied to modern life, but the accounts in the Book are there to demonstrate how people in older worlds used faith to guide their lives. Some of the stories are fables while others are based on personal and historical events. It is unfair to call the Bible nothing more than a collection of myths and fables as there are certain events that have not been proven to be fiction.

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Is The Bible True The Life Of Jesus

The very mere fact that Jesus existed helps support the authenticity of the Bible. The eye witness accounts written in the gospels corroborates this truth that we can trust in the Bible. Also, ancient documents confirm his existence. There is also historical evidence for the Bible outside of the Bible. Josephus, a Jewish historian wrote:

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he wrought surprising feats. He was the Christ. When Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had . . . come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared restored to life. And the tribe of Christians has not disappeared.

Josephus was not a Christian, but his statement shows consistency with what has been written in the Bible. There have been many other documentation of his existent in other ancient documents as well that supports Bible history facts and give evidence for the Bible. So, can we trust the Bible? I think that the fact that outside sources support the existence of Jesus and is pretty consistent, there must be truth to whats written in the Bible.

Looking to dive more into whether or not Jesus existed? I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book, The Case For Christ or watch the movie.

Is The Bible True Documentation

The Bible: Fact or Fiction? by Douglas S. Winnail &  Living ...

Can the Bible be trusted? Is the Bible fake? Many will argue this. But, there are Bible history facts to support the authenticity of the Bible and show proof the Bible is true. The Bible doesnt just have one or two manuscript copies, there are several manuscript copies of the Bible in comparison to historical literature from persons such as Plato. With that many manuscripts available, it can be cross checked for accuracy and consistency. The following chart outlines New Testament Greek manuscripts in comparison to ancient writings.

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Chapter 2prophecy: The Bible’s Unique Dimension

Many assume that all religions are equally credible, that religious people all worship the same God and that the holy books of various religions are of equal value. Yet nothing could be further from the truth! Scholars confidently claim that no one can predict the future with assuranceand that only fools try! However, these assertions overlook or ignore the incredible phenomenon of Bible prophecy, which distinguishes the Bible from any other book that has ever been written.

The God of the Bible claims that He can predict the future and bring it to pass! The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies that have come true, and are confirmed by history. The Bible also contains dozens of prophecies that are coming alive today! Bible prophecies explain the real significance of global events making headlines today. Bible prophecies also reveal what is ahead for major nations of our modern worldand for the human race! No other book, religious or secular, does this with such accuracy and detail! Prophecy is clearly the Bible’s most striking feature!

The Bible: Fact Or Fiction

By | Submitted On October 08, 2005

How many times have you heard someone comment on whether the Bible is fact or fiction? One too many I’ll bet. But the real question is whether or not it matters.

Some of you may already be pounding your monitor and crying “Blasphemy!” but bear with me. Let me make a few obvious comparisons and then you can draw your own conclusions.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time for one very simple and inescapable reason. The Bible has outsold all other books and been translated into more languages than you can count because it’s a fantastic read.

That’s right! The Bible is a fantastic read. And just like any other great book, no matter how many times you read it, you realize or learn something entirely new. And like any other great book, there’s something in it for everyone.

Consider a great work of fiction: There’s interesting characters and relationships between those characters. There’s social and political tension and unrest. There’s a great story-line and wonderful sub-plots. There are wars and famines, and great men and generals all playing on the same stage.

Consider an outstanding non-fiction book: History is being made or repeated. Great events are being played out on a global scale. Tragedy and triumph weave their way through the lives of kings and peasants alike.

Bert terHart is the creator of numerous online learning systems, including basic and advanced bible study tools.

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Similarities To Other Stories

The similarities between the stories and characters in the Bible and those from previous mythologies are both undeniable and well-documented. This would be obvious if it werent for early indoctrination of these beliefs into children, which usually makes them unassailable as adults.

In this short piece Ill attempt to show extraordinary similarities with regard to two of the most important Biblical narratives: the Genesis story and the character of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament Preserved

Is the Bible Fact or Fiction?

The reliability of the New Testament rests on a wealth of material that is available. Scholars readily acknowledge, “There are earlier and more manuscripts of the New Testament than of any other book in the ancient world” . These manuscripts clearly reveal that the New Testament “has been transmitted to us with no, or next to no, variation” .

More than 24,000 manuscript copies of the New Testament in Greek, Latin and other languages provide evidence about the text. The earliest New Testament manuscripts date within a few decades or a few centuries of the apostolic writers. By comparison, there are only 643 manuscripts of Homer’s Iliad , and the earliest copy in existence today dates from about 400bcsome 500 years after it was composed. Only 1020 copies of writings of Julius Caesar, the Roman historian Tacitus, and the Greek historian Herodotus exist today, with the oldest manuscripts copied 1,000 years after the originals were composed . Compared against the New Testament, no other document from the ancient world has left such a wealth of material documenting the reliable transmission of its text. In addition to the many available manuscripts, early Christian writers quoted the New Testament so extensively that almost the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from other sources.

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Is The Bible Real Archaeology

Is everything in the Bible true? Can we trust Gods word? I adore scavenger hunts! For those that are unfamiliar with scavenger hunts, persons are given a set of clues and everybody races off in different directions in an attempt to unravel the clues and claim the grand prize. Oh, the wave of excitement and sense of accomplishment you feel once you have uncovered the jackpot. Thats precisely how I feel about archaeology. Archaeology is the study of history through the analysis of artifacts. There have been several Biblical Arachaelogy discoveries over the years which show proof of the Bible. If like me, you are intrigued about Archaeology and are looking for Archaeological evidence of the Bible, you can consider getting yourself an Archaeology Study Bible. An Archaeology Study Bible can add another context to your bible study routine. Included in the Archaeology Study Bible are diagrams, maps and photographs of archaeology discoveries related to the Bible.

The Archaeology Study Bible includes notes an articles reinforcing the accuracy of the Bible to history. Copies of the manuscripts have also been found. When compared to each other, there were only minor spelling differences. The closer a manuscript is to the original, the lesser the chance of error. There were manuscripts of the Bible that showed up within 40 years of the time they were written compared to popular Greek and Roman history manuscripts showing up hundreds of years later.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Bible: The Bible: Truth Or Fiction

Is the Bible the truth of God or merely composed of human ideas?

In January 1989, John Shelby Spong, the Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey, raised some disturbing questions about the Bibles truthfulness. He disputed it during a televised debate with fundamentalist minister Jerry Falwell. Millions of Americans were watching the network news show as they ate breakfast.

There was no mistaking the seriousness of Bishop Spongs challenge to the Bible. Shortly before the debate, he had faulted many of the Bibles passages, saying they reflected facts and attitudes todays Christians simply do not believe. It was a controversial view, making for lively television drama. As Bishop Spong put it, We clearly had touched a vital nerve in the religious soul of this nation.

Bishop Spong continued firing public volleys against the Bible. In the fall of 1989, he and John Ankerberg, a fundamentalist evangelist, debated the Bible on American cable television in six 30-minute segments. The issue was the Bibles truthfulness and relevance.

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Is The Bible Fact Or Fiction This Question Has Been Debated For Centuries So Far No Definitive Answer Has Been Given

Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? The question has been debated for centuries by archaeologists, religious scholars and historians. So far, no definitive answer has been given. Science and archaeological discoveries have supported the Bible in some instances while refuting many of its most popular tales.

Read on to discover some of the more contentious issues in the Bible that may or may not stand up to historic and scientific scrutiny.

Camels play a central role in Genesis and are mentioned as pack animals in the biblical stories of Abraham, Joseph and Jacob. But according to newly published research by Tel Aviv University based on radiocarbon dating and evidence unearthed in excavations, camels were not domesticated in the Land of Israel until the 10th century BC — several centuries after the time they appear in the Bible.

“In addition to challenging the Bible’s historicity, this anachronism is direct proof that the text was compiled well after the events it describes,” the university said in a statement.

However, several scholars believe the study, by archaeologists Erez Ben-Yosef and Lidar Sapir-Hen, adds little to our knowledge.

Eisenman contends that many of these materials are based on oral tradition.

“So, though they might have been put into writing later, that doesn’t mean they were not originally created much earlier,” he said.

Is The Bible Real Changed Lives

Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? (The Perfect Story

How can we trust the Bible? Growing up, I have come across countless stories of persons lives who have been transferred after an encounter with God through reading the bible. Persons who were drug dealers, murderers, their lives all did a complete 180 after an encounter with God. Only God can change you from a lifestyle of mere destruction to one that is charting towards the kingdom.

C.S Lewis is a well-known Christian apologist. He grew up as a Christian but when his mother died from Cancer, he became a full-blown atheist, as he didnt understand why God didnt heal his mother. With the death of his mother his trust in the Bible faded away and he didnt see any reasons to trust the Bible. After much research and debate, he returned to his Christian roots after determining that faith was in deed reasonable.

How about John Newton, a slave ship master who later converted to Christianity and eventually wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. You may not be familiar with his name, but you have likely come across the hymn Amazing Grace.

A few months ago, I featured the story of Jessie where she struggled with her faith and loving the things of the world. After an encounter with Jesus, she found her way back to the Lord. Like Jessie there are hundreds of stories where persons lives have changed after a personal relationship with the Lord.

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What About Apocryphal Books

Just what are the apocryphal books? Why were they an issue of controversy in the early Church? Are they relevant today? The “Apocrypha” refers to books that neither the Jews nor the early Church ever accepted as inspired or as part of the canon . Most apocryphal books date to the inter-testamental period, and were written by anonymous authors or under the name of a person or a place named in Scripture. These books do not claim to be inspired. They contain no predictive prophecies, but instead contain historical and geographical errors and promote fanciful ideas and false doctrines that contradict canonical Scripture. Jesus and the New Testament writers never acknowledged the Apocrypha as Scripture. “No canonic list or church council accepted the Apocrypha for nearly the first four centuries” .

Although some apocryphal books were published along with canonical books in the Septuagint , this translation was not supervised by scribes of the Judaic tradition, who had their centers in Tiberias and Babylon.

The Bible Isn’t The History You Think It Is

Some stories in the Bible were meant to be history, others fiction. But modernity has obscured the original distinction between the two kinds of biblical writing, depriving readers of the depth of the text.

Perhaps surprisingly, this confusion lies at the heart of the History Channel’s miniseries “The Bible,” which continues the pattern of blurring history and fiction, and thereby misrepresenting the nature of the Bible to its viewers.

One way to understand the difference between history and fiction in the Bible is through the Old Testament’s natural division into three parts:

  • The world and its nature .
  • The Israelites and their purpose .
  • The Kingdom of Israel and life in Jerusalem .
  • Even a cursory look reveals a clear and significant pattern.

    In the first section, characters live many hundreds of years, and in the second, well into their second century. Only in the third section do biblical figures tend to live biologically reasonable lives.

    For example, Adam, in the first section, lives to the symbolic age of 930, and Noah lives even twenty years longer than that. Abraham, from the second section, lives to be 175, his son Issac to 180, and Jacob “dies young” at the age of 147. But the lifespans from King David onward, in the third section, are in line with generally accepted human biology.

    Furthermore, historians mostly agree that only the third section represents actual history.

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