Why I Believe the Bible is Credible

Old Testament Text in Hebrew

The Bible is True

Why I need to know the Bible is true and credible. If I can’t believe what I read, why do I live my life by it? What am I trusting in? Is it worth my time? As a believer in Jesus/Yeshua, it was important for me to answer these questions. I think every believer would benefit from asking themselves these questions and finding the answers. Once these questions were answered, it took my faith in God/YHVH to a whole new level. My faith was different from every other belief system in the world. Answering the questions, gave me the confidence in knowing that the Bible is the most reliable ancient text, and I can live my life by this book, and trust the stories and truths that are contained within it.

How do I know that what I am reading is the truth? How do I know if it is the word of God like so many people and the book itself claims? I realized that there must be a way to verify that the Bible is a work of history that you can trust, and I found that there was a way to substantiate its authenticity. I found it in a humble, well done Christian science curriculum called Exploring Creation with General Science by Dr. Jay L. Wile, copyright 2000. This was before I had internet, and I was trying to find a source to help me be at peace with what I believed, and through serving my family, God brought it right into my home and placed it on my table. This book for middle schoolers, helped this adult who read through it and taught it to her children, come to understand that the Bible is very trustworthy. I can believe all that is contained in it. I was reading other books and researching, but this was the one that put it to rest for me.

The Bible Passes the Tests

Science has become the buzz word for truth with some people. If science can prove it, it must be true. The problem with this statement is that science cannot prove anything. It can take observations and come up with reasonable explanations as to why something is behaving in a certain way, but it cannot prove it. It can take a hypothesis and run it through many tests, scenarios, to see if what is being observed is still cohesive with the hypothesis, but it doesn’t prove the hypothesis. It simply lends credibility to the hypothesis. The more tests are done to verify the hypothesis over a long period of time, the more credibility it has until it becomes a theory. Once this theory has been tested over generations, and it has not been shown any counterexamples, it then becomes a law. A law gives the original hypothesis a pretty solid standing and credence. Yet, it only takes one counterexample, and the law is pushed all the way back to a hypothesis that needs to be either redesigned or discarded. This has happened with laws in the past and will continue to happen as we learn more about the world in which we live.

What does that have to do with the Bible? The Bible can be put through a similar test. All ancient documents go through three tests to verify if it’s an accurate work of history. These three tests are the internal test, the external test, and the bibliographic test.

The Bible Passes the Internal Test

In comparing the 66 books of the Bible, which comprises both the Old and New Testaments, there is not a single statement that contradicts anything else said about God or the stories contained in it. There are difficult passages, the places where there seems to be a contradiction, but there is a reason why it seems to be in opposition to one another. It can usually be explained by the culture of the time, linguistic issues, as well as translating from the ancient texts into whatever tongue, language, the translator is translating into. There are also different perspectives from the many different witnesses that can seem to contradict as well, but it can be explained when examined closely. It has even been said, “The Bible has fewer ‘difficulties’ from an internal test point of view in comparison to other documents of its time.” With this in mind, it gives me confidence that the Bible, as a whole, is a solid, cohesive account of the history by those who wrote it.

Other Historical Documents

The Bible Passes the External Test

Comparing the Bible to other historical documents and archeological finds, it comes out passing the external test with flying colors. Since the Bible spans a large time period, it takes much effort to compare the Bible to other accepted historical documents. It’s also important to choose documents that don’t have a bias.

In the case of the Bible, there were non-believing historians that buttressed the historical accuracy of the Bible. Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman, who wrote very accurate histories of the First Century AD in a work known as the Annals, written C AD 116, as well as Flavius Josephus who also wrote the Jewish Antiquities written C 94 AD. He was not a Christian. In his account he writes about Jesus’ death by Pontius Pilate as well as his resurrection. There are also Thallus, who wrote in his third book of history, about an earthquake and darkness over the land. Phlegon, who wrote in Origen Against Celsus, book 2.33, mentions the darkness as well on the day that Jesus died, just as it states in the Bible.

I have, also, found that archeology continues to come up with new finds that substantiate the Bible’s historical accuracy. The stone with Pontius Pilate’s inscription mentioning him. Archeological finds verifying the takeover of Jerusalem by Babylon and others.

The Bible Passes the Bibliographic Test

This test is compiled of testimonies from anyone who saw an event, firsthand, as well as those who documented the event from those who saw the event firsthand. There needs to be a relatively short amount of time between the copy and the original and there must be several copies made by different people.

To give some idea how well the Bible passes this test, Cornelius Tacitus’s work, which is considered very accurate, recorded the events which took place during the Roman Empire. There are 20 copies of his work called the Annals and just one copy of his minor works. The earliest copy of his major work was 1000 years after the original copy, and there was 900 years from the original to the copy with his minor works. Pliny the Younger, who recorded events in the 1st century, in his work called the History, had 7 different copies, and they were 750 years after the original copy. The numbers in these two examples are typical for documents with accurate historical records of past events received by the academic community in the disciplines of historical science.

Compare that with the New Testament portion of the Bible. It is supported by over 24,000 different copies with 25 years between the original and the copy. That is a short period of time, and there are minor differences between he copies, which considering they were all written by hand, is a phenomenal feat in faithfulness by those who copied it. It attests to the reliable account of what was both seen and recorded. The New Testament passes the bibliographic test better than any other work of its time.

When considering the Old Testament, though much older, it passes better than any other document of its time as well. Before 1945 the only other ancient document that could be compared to parts of the Hebrew Old Testament was the Cairo Codex that was written about 895 AD. The last events of the Old Testament happened about 450 BC which represented quite a large time span from the original document to the first available copy, until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This contained parts of over 500 ancient books, but also the entire book of Isaiah. The scroll dated at 150 BC, and it was word for word identical to the Old Testament Hebrew, Isaiah, in 95% of the text. The other 5% had to do with either a different way to spell a word or a slip of the pen. This document attests to the fact that the Old Testament was copied faithfully, and that the Old Testament, also, passes the bibliographic test. With these witnesses, I can be assured that the Old Testament passes the bibliographic test better than any other ancient historical work.

It's a Matter of Faith

My friends, at the end of the day, it all boils down to faith as defined in the Bible. Just like science can’t prove anything, it can only lend evidence to what one thinks is happening. Faith is similar. No matter how much evidence is presented and exists, or the Bible shows the way, it takes believing in what this book has to say to make it your own. God gives each person a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). It is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). God’s promises are in the Bible, and it is faith that gives me hope for the future because it saves me. Jesus/Yeshua is coming back, and those who believe his word have the promises contained therein. His kingdom reign and the new heaven and new earth for eternity. So, this book’s reliability is paramount to those promises. I believe God has kept this book through HIS people since the dawn of time in the beginning (Genesis 1).

You Can’t Teach What You Do Not Know

As a believer in all that the Bible teaches, I would encourage you to study to show yourself approved as stated in 2 Timothy 2:15. Not only will it give you the ability to divide the word of God properly at stated in this verse, but you will find ways to simplify it so that a child can understand these deep spiritual concepts. You will be able to answer why you have a hope within you (1 Peter 3:15-16). The more you understand the better equipped you will be to present the Biblical truths in different ways because of the depth of the well from which you pull your knowledge from as you are led by the Holy Spirit.

Confidence in My Faith

Taking time to understand why the Bible is a reliable source, gives me the strength that is needed to stand in the storms of life by faith. It helps me to see that not only will I face trials and tribulations, but that in this world, it is to be expected. Not only that, but it also gives me a hope beyond this life which makes this life worth living. I can pray and believe that the creator of the universe, who loved me so much that he came to earth to carry my sins to the cross so that I may live with him, hears my prayers and is walking beside me. I am not left as an orphan. Jesus/Yeshua is coming back, and I can know that one day all that I see and know will pass, and I will enter an age of peace with The Prince of Peace leading the way. Amen.