5 to 6 billion copies of the Bible, a compliation of 66 books, have been sold worldwide ever since it was published between 1st century BC to 1st century AD. A remarkable book indeed. It pictures the history of Christianity, the present, and the future-Revelations, from the very mouth of God. Most of the proverbs used today come from the Bible. People are transformed spiritually and mentally when they read the Bible. Yet, many people still have doubts about the reliability of the Bible.For those who do so, I feel it is an obligatory to share my views.
Is the Bible true? If the Bible is indeed what it claims to be, the implications for us are considerable. The Bible candidly claims to be "given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). Though the Bible is not the only book to claim divine inspiration, it offers substantial evidence to support its claims. It even goes to an extent that it challenges us to put it to the test, exhorting us to "Test all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Secondly,the greatest evidence that leads us to the veracity or reliability of the Bible's claims of divine inspiration is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Now, let us consider this : Have you ever met any man who can clearly and consistently forsee the future? If there is such a person on Earth, would billion-dollar gambling industry (eg. Casinos) be built in the first place? Or would natural disasters (eg. Indian Ocean Tsunami) hit the Earth without any trace of warning or prediction? If so, then we can conclude that as a man by himself is unable to forsee future events, prophecy is a reasonable indicator of supernatural divine inspiration. For example, Ezekiel's prophecies concerning God's judgment against the ancient Phoenician capital of Tyre (Ezekiel:26). The prophecy states that Tyre would first be razed by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Later, it would be utterly destroyed by a coalition of nations, flattened like the top of a rock, its ruins (and even its dust) scraped and thrown into the sea, becoming a place for fishermen to spread their nets. The surrounding nations would witness Tyre's fate and surrender without a fight. It's a rather odd prophecy. Amazingly, the conditions of Ezekiel's prophecy were fulfilled, even to the tiniest detail. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Tyre. Later, Alexander the Great led a coalition of nations against Tyre, demolished it, scraped it to bedrock and threw its ruins into the sea. The ancient site became (and remains to this day) a place for local fishermen to spread their nets to dry. -Reference from Wikipedia-
Even today, we can see Bible propechies being fulfilled before our eyes (just that certain people refuse to acknowledge). For example, consider the nation of Israel. The Jews were "the least of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7), without a homeland and without freedom, serving as slaves in Egypt. At the time, Egypt was the dominant world power. However, because of a promise God made to a man named Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob centuries earlier, God rescued the Israelites from their bondage "with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders" (Deuteronomy 26:8). God gave the Israelites a homeland of their own, made a covenant with them, and entrusted them with the Bible. Israel was a nation set apart for God -- God's testimony to a world that turned its back on the One who created them. Sadly, Israel's history, like that of the world's, was one of constant rebellion against God. Over and over, the Jewish people would rebel, suffer God's wrath, humble themselves, regret their rebellion and turn back to God, and receive God's blessing again - then start the process all over again… Finally, God sent nations upon them (like He did with ancient Tyre) and drove the Jews from their homeland. In 70 AD, Roman legions decimated Israel, dispersed the Jews throughout the world, and banned them from ever reentering their homeland. The Jews were without a homeland for 1,900 years! Nevertheless, God promised the Jews that though He would remove them from the land, they would remain an identifiable people and would return to their land again. (Leviticus 26:13-16; Nehemiah 1:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:1-5). It is a miracle in itself that the Jews have survived and remained an identifiable people without a homeland for 1,900 years. All other nations who have ever lost their homeland became assimilated into the surrounding nations and lost their identity within a few hundred years. Yet the Jews have remained and miraculously returned to Israel as their official homeland in 1948.
Thirdly, not only does the Bible miraculously foretell the future, it also recounts the distant past with great accuracy. As such, archaeology has been a source of great vindication for the Bible. For example, the biblical account of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh, Egypt's monarch, chased the Israelites with an army of chariots, cornering Israel at the Gulf of Aqaba (the Red Sea). God miraculously parted the Red Sea allowing Israel to pass through over a land bridge. The Egyptians followed in close pursuit, but after the last Israelite made it across, God released the parted water and drowned the Egyptian army.
In Josh McDowell's classic treatise on the historical evidences supporting the Bible's veracity, renowned archaeologist Nelson Glueck is quoted as saying, "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference." (McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Here's Life Publishers Inc., 1979, p. 65.) Archaeologists have discovered a number of evidences vindicating the Bible's exodus account, including chariot wheels embedded in coral along the land bridge at the bottom of the Red Sea. -Wikipedia-
Moving on, when we have doubts about the reliabilty of the Bible, let us now consider the integrity of the authors of the Bible. These are men who claimed to be inspired by God. Let us take Luke, the person who authored one-quarter of the New Testament, for example. Luke is regarded as an authoritative historian.
Dr. John McRay, Professor of New Testament and Archaeology at Wheaton University in Illinois, explains, "The general consensus of both liberal and conservative scholars is that Luke is very accurate as a historian. He's erudite, he's eloquent, his Greek approaches classical quality, he writes as an educated man, and archaeological discoveries are showing over and over again that Luke is accurate in what he has to say." And Sir William Ramsey, one of the greatest archaeologists of modern times, declared, "Luke is a historian of the first rank." -Adapted from Wikipedia-
Now, it is unquestionable that many of the Bible's writers died brutal and horrible deaths in defense of their written testimony. In fact, all but one of the New Testament's authors were executed for proclaiming and defending their testimonies. (John was spared, but forced into exile by Roman Emperor Titus.) Many people throughout history have died willingly for their beliefs but what makes the New Testament authors' martyrdom special is that these men were in a position to know the truth of their written accounts. No one knowingly dies for a lie! (Unless you're a mad guy) For example, the September 11th suicide hijackers may have sincerely believed in what they died for, but they weren't in a position to know whether their beliefs were absolutely true. The hijackers put their faith in religious traditions passed down over many generations. In contrast, the Bible's martyrs were in a position to know the truth. They were eyewitnesses to the historical events they recorded. Either they saw what they claimed to see or they didn't -- plain and simple. Nevertheless, these men clung to their testimonies, even to their brutal deaths at the hands of their persecutors, and despite being given every chance to recant their stories. Why would so many men knowingly die for a lie? They had nothing to gain for lying, but everything to lose.
For those of us who don't believe that God inspired the Bible, how do we explain it? What compelling reason do we have to reject the Bible as God's divine revelation to man? We should lay aside our philosophical disposition (because many non-believers tend to believe that moral values outweigh all aspects of life and that we should live as upright, righteous and virtuous people, nothing more), examine the evidence objectively, and try to weigh the facts for ourselves And then ask yourself : Is the Bible true? Yes, though it is right that we should live a virtuous and righteous life, but the true reason that we live is to have a unique and intimate relationshipe with God, admitting that we are sinners and believing that Jesus died for our sins and rose again to fulfill the Scriptures. Jesus has filled the gaps of our broken relationship with God, but that does not mean that we will not perish for sinning unscrupulously, rather, since Jesus had done the job for us, all we have to do is to keep the relationship going -showing our love to God by living a Christ-like life, with the aid of the Holy Spirit. That, is the true meaning of life.
