Answers

The Bible is the most important document in existence for those who follow the Christian faith, but how can we be sure that its content is true and that it has been reliably preserved over the years?

The Old Testament
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 provided conclusive proof that the Old Testament has been reliably and accurately preserved over the many centuries of its existence. Prior to discovering these scrolls, which themselves are over 2,000 years old, the oldest available manuscript was produced in the seventh century. A comparison of current biblical texts with the newly discovered original scrolls shows only minor differences. We can, therefore, be confident that the Old Testament has been accurately transmitted over the years.

The New Testament
Studies of the provenance of the New Testament writings demonstrate that all 27 books were written within 60 years of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Furthermore, we have more than ten times the number of NT original documents than those which exist for any other major ancient literary work, such as Homer’s Iliad. The oldest copy of Homer was produced 500 years after the original authorship, but we have copies of the New Testament books that were generated within 100 years of authorship. 1

The multiplicity of evidence leads us to be confident that the Bible as a whole has been accurately maintained over the 2 – 3 millennia of its existence. But how do we know the content is true? Here also, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence from many diverse sources in different fields of study that demonstrate the truth contained within the Bible. Here is an overview of that evidence.

Physical (worldly) evidence of truth within the Bible

• Historical evidence – non-biblical historical sources, such as Roman historian Tacitus. 2
• Archeological evidence – discoveries supporting biblical texts. There is so much archeological evidence that archeologists now use the Bible to plan future excavations. 3
• Geographical evidence – site/city locations. Tourists can visit the locations described in the Bible.
• Literary evidence – when written, textual analysis, historical accuracy. Modern techniques support accurate dating of authorship. 4

Supernatural evidence of truth within the Bible

• Scientific evidence – revelation of scientific facts centuries before physical discovery. Job wrote of the Earth floating in space (Job 26:7). Isaiah wrote of the earth being round (Isaiah 40:22). 5 Both were written about 3,000 years ago, well before science came to similar conclusions.
• Supernatural evidence (knowledge of the future) – fulfilled prophecy, inspired authorship, fidelity over time. There are around 2,000 prophecies in the Bible. All but 200 or so have been fulfilled and proven correct. 6 The remainder refer to future happenings connected with the Second coming of Jesus.

The cumulative evidence pointing towards the Truth of the Bible is broad and convincing. Jim Warner Wallace, a career cold-case detective now a Christian author, states, “When a large quantity of evidence points to the same suspect, the cumulative impact of this evidence can be powerful. Many of the individual facts and evidences may seem unimportant or trivial on their own, but when assembled as a set, their collective weight becomes unbearable. All my cold-cases are built in this way.” 7

We can depend upon the Truth in the Bible, which is still by far the best-selling book of all time. It is our only source of absolute truth and informs us of all we need to know about our lives on earth and afterward into eternity.


Sources: 
1 Matt Slick, Manuscript evidence for superior New Testament Reliability, Christian Apologetics Research Ministry, 2008, https://carm.org/about-the-bible/manuscript-evidence-for-superior-new-testament-reliability/
2  Bryan Windle, Top Ten Historical References to Jesus Outside of the Bible, 2022, https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2022/11/18/top-ten-historical-references-to-jesus-outside-of-the-bible/
3  Joel Kramer, The Bible As a Tool in Archeology, Associates for Biblical Research, 2015, https://www.biblearchaeology.org/research/founder-s-corner/3767-the-bible-as-a-tool-in-archaeology.
4 J. Warner Wallace, How early Are the Biblical Accounts of Jesus?, 2020, Cold Case Christianity, https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-early-are-the-biblical-accounts-of-jesus/
5 Ray Comfort, Scientific Facts in the Bible, Living Waters, 2019, https://livingwaters.com/scientific-facts-in-the-bible/
6 Hugh Ross, Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible, Reasons to Believe, 2024, https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/todays-new-reason-to-believe/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible
7 J. Warner Wallace, The Cumulative Case for Christianity: Death by A 1,000 Paper Cuts, Cold Case Christianity, 2021, https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/the-cumulative-case-for-christianity-death-by-a-1000-paper-cuts/

Our Creator God speaks to us in two distinct ways: by general revelation, or through nature, and by special revelation, where He communicates directly with mankind, usually through prophets and, more notably, through His Son Jesus Christ.

General Revelation
The wonder and glory of God’s Creation are on permanent display. We can all see and appreciate the beauty built into so much of His creation. The complete, immaculate nature of His design, however, has only recently been made accessible to human eyes. Modern developments in microscopic viewing technology now enable us to view life’s processes at the molecular level. We now find that, in addition to DNA, the complex base-4 digital code embedded into most human cells and which holds more information than thousands of printed volumes, every living cell contains an army of ‘molecular machines” that work non-stop to enable the cell to function. In all forms of life, the scale, the complexity, and the quality of design proclaim the power and nature of God to all those who care to listen or have “ears to hear.”1

Our loving, personal God created beauty in nature and also gave mankind the ability to recognize and appreciate this beauty. He created an atmosphere on earth that can transmit sound and gave us a sound-receiving device, the ear, with around 16,000 receptors capable of receiving multiple sound frequencies simultaneously. So we don’t just hear noise; we can appreciate the beauty of complex sounds, such as a philharmonic orchestra playing a Beethoven concerto or the harmony of a church choir singing His praises. He created light – with so many different colors to support beauty in nature, such as a glorious sunset or the sweeping vista of a mountain range. Then, He also created mankind with a complex eye mechanism, with about 125 million sensors in the retina of each eye, to enable us to see and appreciate this beauty.

Just as God speaks to us through nature, so nature faithfully reveals to us some of the qualities of our Creator God. The sheer size of the universe speaks of the limitless power of God. The fine-tuning of so many aspects of our environment to support intelligent life demonstrates His attention to detail and His love for mankind.

Special Revelation
The Bible records Special Revelation, where God communicates directly to mankind by miraculous means. This amazing book was inspired by God and physically written by approximately forty men of widely diverse backgrounds over a period of around 1,500 years. It includes 340,000 cross-references and zero contradictions.2 A work of this scale and accuracy would be impossible for human hands. The Bible is inspired by God and is, therefore, our primary source of truth.

Scripture emphasizes that God cannot lie, as in Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. As described in Scripture and evidenced by the many accurately fulfilled prophecies in the Bible, He also lives outside of time and hence knows the end from before the beginning.

Physical and Spiritual
Our existence on Earth is not purely physical, as many naturalists would have us believe. We also have a spiritual component – soul and spirit – that is our link to the hidden world of the spiritual realm. During our earthly lives, we “see through a glass darkly” as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12. When seeking to understand more of the true nature of our existence, we should use a source of information that draws from both physical and spiritual realms. Human sources, limited to that which is physical, can only speak of the physical realm. The Bible, uniquely and comprehensively inspired by God, speaks of both physical and spiritual realms and is our only qualifying source of truth for the whole of our existence.


Sources:  1: https://www.gotquestions.org/he-who-has-ears-to-hear.html,  2: https://viz.bible/340,000-bible-cross-references-gallery/

When you make decisions, do you make sure you have reliable, accurate information on which to base your decision?

How about when you visit the doctor? A visit to your doctor to diagnose an ailment is accompanied by a range of tests that provide information to doctor and patient. The truth of these test results plays a vital role in identifying the correct course of treatment, and possibly the course of your life thereafter. 

In this modern age we are not short of things to do or activities to fill each day. The ubiquitous smartphone provides a compelling and ever-present link to friends, family, and acquaintances, and even to those we do not know. It also serves up personalized, pre-selected sources of information that constantly interrupt, inform and seize control of our consciousnesses. 

With on-demand access to all of this information and advice, together with the accumulated historical experiences of several millennia, it might reasonably be expected that people today would be better informed, better prepared, and closer to understanding real Truth than any generation that came before them.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. As technology ensured that access and choices expanded exponentially, so discernment, or understanding how to make a correct decision, has appeared to diminish. It seems that increased choice does not lead towards better understanding of the Truth, but towards an entitlement to choose whatever you feel serves you well. But, as with the doctor and the test results, Truth is the only quality that serves you well. 

And this is what is happening in the world of faith; many people want to choose a type of faith that fits their lifestyle, with little regard for the truth, or lack of it, behind the claims. Even Christians frequently opt for a “cafeteria” relationship with God, where they can pick and choose the parts of the Bible they wish to follow, and reject the rest.

When you visit your doctor, your physical health depends upon the accuracy and truthfulness of test results to identify the way forward. Identifying the Truth within claims of faith is even more important; the choices you make will lead either to a blissful eternity in Heaven with Jesus your Lord and Savior, or to an eternity of dark separation from Him.

And eternity is a much, much longer period of time than our brief lives on Earth.