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How do we know the Bible is a reliable source, and accurate, and true? [Spirituality & Religion]

How Do You Know The Bible Is True?

There are many books on the reliability of the Bible but Here is one article that explains how reliable it is.

Starting the Foundation

Proving whether something is true or not is called apologetics. This word is derived from the Greek word “apologia,” which means “to defend.” The entire Clarifying Christianity site is filled with apologetics—proofs and explanations for many Christian-related issues. The focus of this page is the proof supporting the accuracy of the Bible. After all, if the Bible is not true or if it is filled with errors, Christianity would only be a “blind faith”—something people believe without any evidence to support it.

However, Christianity is not a blind faith. It is the only religion that can prove itself, and a main source of that proof is the Bible. Although it is becoming less common, there are still people who tell others that they follow Christianity “because it feels right” (or use wording like that). This is unfortunate, since there is a lot of evidence supporting Christianity. The existence of all that evidence is one reason we started this site. We want people to learn about the solid evidence that supports their faith, and have a place that collected that evidence so they can show it to others.

By the way, if you would like some reference materials that are a little more portable than a computer with an Internet connection, a book we recommend is Know Why You Believe by Paul Little. This book is available in larger bookstores and most Christian bookstores. Also, the Tucson Community Church recorded a seminar called “Knowing The Facts Behind The Faith.” It is available on DVD and VHS video (NTSC format). If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can get one directly from the church that produces them at the Tucson Community Church website. They also handle international orders.

The Proof of Science

There is a great deal of scientific evidence that supports the Bible. Enough that we have a separate page to discuss this proof alone. If you would like to see our science page, click on this sentence.

The Proof of Prophecy

One of the strongest arguments for the accuracy of the Bible is its 100% accuracy in predicting the future. These future predictions are called “prophecies.” The Old Testament was written between approximately 1450 BC and 430 BC. During that time, many predictions of the future were recorded in the Bible by God’s prophets. Of the events that were to have taken place by now, every one happened just the way they predicted it would. No other “sacred writing” has such perfectly accurate predictions of the future.

One Type—The Messianic Prophecies

Of these prophecies, the most striking examples are the predictions about an “anointed one” (“Messiah” in Hebrew) who was to arrive in the future. About 4 BC, a miraculous event occurred—a boy named Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary. You can read His story in the book of Luke. Starting at age 30, Jesus fulfilled more and more of these prophecies written about the Messiah. His fulfillment of these prophecies was very spectacular: Jesus gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cured those who had leprosy, gave the deaf hearing, and raised people from the dead! These miracles and others were done many times in front of thousands of witnesses for three years. About 30 AD, Jesus was crucified (a prophecy) and died (a prophecy). Three days later he rose from the dead (another prophecy), after which He was seen by over 500 witnesses. Since these prophecies were written down at least 400 years before they happened, there is no doubt that the Bible’s writers were inspired supernaturally—by God. To examine these prophecies yourself, click on the link below.

aqua ball The Messianic Prophecies

A Second Type—Fulfilled Prophecy Dealing With Nations

There are many prophecies that can be proven through archaeology, especially prophecy dealing with entire nations. Typically, when God declared judgment on a nation, He would send a prophet to announce to the citizens why He was judging them and what He was going to do to them if they continued their evil behavior. On occasion, God would also tell the citizens how He would reward them if they started doing what was right. The book of Jonah records a case where the Assyrians stopped doing what was evil as a result of Jonah’s short prophecy. This is what God wanted, and God did not punish them as a result of their change of heart. However, most often the people would jeer at God’s prophet and continue their bad behavior—later becoming recipients of the exact punishment that God threatened.

Like other prophecy recorded in the Bible, these predictions support the supernatural inspiration of the Bible. The prophecies recorded in the Bible came true in such a detailed way that they could not have been predicted by chance. Further, archaeologists have evidence that these prophecies were written down many years before they were fulfilled, proving that they were not falsified documents claiming to be prophecies that came true. (The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls stopped the majority of that talk.) Although an entire web site could be filled with this information, we will provide one example—the foretelling of the destruction of Edom and its capital city of Petra.

aqua ball Click here for an example of fulfilled prophecy dealing with nations

The Proof of Textual Evidence

Both the Old and New Testaments are strongly supported by manuscript evidence (the evidence of early hand written copies). The famous Dead Sea Scrolls are one example of the Old Testament evidence. These documents came from the “library” of a settlement founded at Qumran before 150 B.C. and abandoned about 68 A.D. Some of the manuscript copies were made during that period, and some were written earlier (third century BC) and brought to the settlement. Ignoring spelling-oriented (orthographic) changes and similar small differences, the Dead Sea Scrolls match the Hebrew text behind today’s Old Testament, in spite of the passage of over 2,000 years (where one would expect errors to creep in).

Over 20,000 known manuscripts document the New Testament text. This makes the New Testament the most reliable document of antiquity (a document written before the printing press). These manuscripts vary in size from a part of a page to an entire Bible (Old and New Testaments). The earliest New Testament manuscripts date from the second century (100-199) AD These manuscript copies were written in different languages by people of different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. In spite of all those differences between them, the New Testament texts all agree. (That is, those differences that we do observe between these hand written documents are occasional changes in the spelling of names or isolated cases of missing or changed words. Still, since we have so many copies, it is obvious to anyone but the hardened skeptic can that they all represent the same text.)

Note: Those minor differences that do exist between the Old and New Testament manuscripts are interesting for academic reasons. They are the topic of a future “in depth” Clarifying Christianity page. (It is currently about 10,000 words long and still under construction—stay tuned.)



The Proof of People Living at the Time of Christ

Special proof exists for the New Testament, since Christians were strongly persecuted by both the Jews and the Roman government. If the New Testament writings were false, these two groups would have produced a great deal of evidence to stop the growth of this “sect.” None exists. Further, the New Testament writings (before they were assembled into the “book” we call the New Testament) circulated during the lifetimes of thousands of people who had actually seen Jesus’ miracles and other historic events. No one ever refuted the New Testament writings as “fairy tales.”

The Proof of Historians

Secular history supports the Bible. For example, in The Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3 the famous historian Flavius Josephus writes:

“Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”



In 115 AD, P. Cornelius Tacitus wrote the following passage that refers to Jesus (called “Christus,” which means “The Messiah”) in book 15, chapter 44 of The Annals:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

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Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2005 by Clarifying Christianity (SM).
Printed copies of this article may be circulated if it is reproduced in its entirety, along with this copyright notice. You may not charge for, request a donation for, or seek reimbursement from anyone for such copies. Links are OK. All rights reserved.

All information contained in Clarifying Christianity is a resource for questions dealing with Christian issues. It is not to be taken as Christian counseling. Seek a qualified Christian counselor for help with all such issues. If you choose to work with a Christian counselor, it is your responsibility to ask pertinent questions before you begin, to assure yourself of their qualities and abilities.
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in10RjFox · M
Its just a play .. scripted Nd documented systematically.. no different from the work of shakesphere..

We can do a similar one now and excavate it 100 years later and fool the next generation to beleive in it.

To beleive something that can't be proven now.. is blind faith..
JaggedLittlePill · 46-50, F
@Emosaur It is easy to turn things into what you want them to be to serve a purpose. That is called manipulation.

You are also wrong....



[quote]The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, contains references to more than fifty people and events also found in the Bible. While the stories told in each book are generally comparable, important differences sometimes emerge. The versions written in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament predate the Quran's versions. As such, Christians regard the Quran's versions as being derived directly or indirectly from the earlier materials. [/quote]
Budwick · 70-79, M
@Emosaur Out making more friends, Emo?
Carazaa · F
@in10RjFox 🤗
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
No:
[b]http://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/cd0_prophesy.htm[/b]

[quote]
Vaticinia ex eventu — retrospective prophecy — is an ancient technique for gaining credibility. It involves generating a prediction that appears to predate the event that it foretells. The event therefore appears to confirm the miraculous prediction. The trick can be done in several ways. [b][c=#BF0000]One way is to fabricate a document purportedly written in the past that foretells later events. Biblical scholars generally accept that the Old Testament book of Daniel is an example of this type[/c][/b], written centuries after it was purported to have been written. Another way is to take a genuine old text and look for passages that can be interpreted as foretelling aspects of later times, tweaking facts about later times, up to the present, as require [/quote]
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@kingkyri Actually I edited to share a snippet just in case. I know the author of the site didn't mind information being put out as long as there's credit.
This comment is hidden. Show Comment
Carazaa · F
@SatanBurger

Please realize that it is impossible to have predicted with such accuracy all the thousands of prophecies that have come true.

-So God said in Ezekiel that he wanted to divorce Israel (Jews) because they had forgotten Him and worshipped other Gods and he would scatter them among the nations and they would be hated among the peoples of the world and have no land of their own until one day he would give them back their homeland again and people would surround Israel but the land would be theirs right before the end.

God said [b]I will destroy Damascus that came against Israel and "I will make it a pile of rubble"

[/b]Jesus said [b]There will be increased earthquakes and pestilences in the end, faith will decrease, and mens hearts grow cold because of iniquity abounding, increased knowledge, and increased mockings of God and his people in the last days.


[/b]
And they just found proof of Israels King David.
And the cities are all found in the Bible with accuracy
And the Jews are a testimony even if they don't know their Bible.
Success · 26-30, F
Sorry, but the person that wrote this is wholly unfamiliar with how something is proved. Christianity is definitely not a proven true religion and it has no support within the findings of science.
Carazaa · F
@in10RjFox
🌷11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Disciples and the World
🌷
13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

🌷 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
🌷
JBird · F
@in10RjFox ah, I see you're also in for the old atheism vs Christianity discussion. How nice. 😂😂😂
in10RjFox · M
@JBird you can understand the plight of my unemployment ... 😂😂😂😂
saintsong · 41-45, F
I wrote out all of the scriptures on the world and sanctification and God told me that my destiny was already mapped out an that I was going to Heaven and am I going alone or not? Now I can hear Angels sing!
saintsong · 41-45, F
@Carazaa [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfgu6tW8Lg8]
Carazaa · F
@saintsong Thank you!🤗
saintsong · 41-45, F
I don’t know if I want it to stop completely when I hear the Angels sing or if I want to stay alive to make sure all of my children nieces and nephews and family and friends become born again Christians@Carazaa
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
[quote]There is a great deal of scientific evidence that supports the Bible[/quote]

Show me
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Kwek00 Oh, I just found their ‘evolution’ page! I’ll definitely put that on the list for tomorrow
Kwek00 · 41-45, M
@newjaninev2
[quote]The bible includes [b]reasonably complete descriptions[/b] of the hydrologic cycle.
[...]
[b][u]Jeremiah 10:13[/u][/b]
[i]When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.[/i][/quote]

He, does a lot of stuff here in the "[b]reasonably complete description[/b]" of the hydrologic cycle. I wonder when He needs maintenance and a change of oil.

Making "lightning" from the "rain".

🤣
Carazaa · F
@newjaninev2

If all the prophecies have come true, then it is evidently true, not false. The Bible is an account of the entire human existence from the first day to the last day. All has come true except the last day. It is an account of human history. A true account. The Jews are a living testimony, we all are! They are continuoesly finding the towns and artifacts the Bible talked about 5000 years ago. And people who trust in Jesus have their whole lives changed. They are free for the first time, and walk with God and love people all of a sudden like they never did before.🤗
Budwick · 70-79, M
Here's a few good references -
https://www.everystudent.com/features/bible.html
JBird · F
You don't need any complicated scientific proofs to know if Christianity is of blind faith or not. Common sense is enough.
in10RjFox · M
@JBird that is abduction ..which happens everywhere.. and they just want to maintain their population... but these are allowed to happen so as to collect taxes and propel economy ..
JBird · F
@in10RjFox that's not abduction if the victims are willing.
in10RjFox · M
@JBird will check on this and revert..
MasterLee · 56-60, M
And yet it cannot be corroborated and the science in it much can be disproven.
Carazaa · F
@MasterLee Nothing has been disproven, but ALL the prophesies have come true.
MasterLee · 56-60, M
@Carazaa lol we all know it is the will of cthulu and if you don't kiss hank's ass you can't get the million when you leave town.
Carazaa · F
@MasterLee 🤗
Beatbox34 · 31-35, M
The Bible is a guide as to how you need to follow the word of God and the way of life.
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