Why The Bible Can Be Trusted

Here are some facts as to why the Bible can be trusted to be the word of God:

1)  The "Divine Design"


The Bible consists of 66 books (originally scrolls), which was written by over 40 authors (all of different occupations and education levels) over a timespan of 1500 years.  Most of the writers, especially ones of the Old Testament, did not know each other.  The Bible was written in three different languages (Old Testament:  Hebrew & Aramaic, New Testament: Greek) and on three different continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia).

These facts on their own may not be very impressive but when you take into consideration that all the writers were consistent with the message in their writings, it becomes almost unthinkable that it flows together perfectly.  So unthinkable that maybe there was divine intervention ...

2)  The Bible is Historically Accurate

Minor characters in the Bible such as Herod the Great, Pontius Pilate, and King Agrippa are all confirmed by Roman records and archeology.  Even non-believing scholars agree that other people, such as King David and King Solomon, and cities, such as Ephesus and Thessalonica, are real.  

3)  The Bible has fulfilled Prophecies


Forgetting Jesus' deity and whether you believe it or not for one second, let me list three prophecies:

      i) 2 Samuel 7: 12-16 - In these verses, God is promising King David that the messiah will come from his bloodline.
     ii)  Micah 5:2 - This verse predicts that the messiah will be born in the town of Bethlehem.
    iii)  Daniel 9: 24-27 - This verse predicts that the messiah will have had to have lived and died before the Jewish temple is destroyed.

*Remember, Daniel was the last of these prophecies that was written....900 years before the birth of Jesus!*

Jesus came from the bloodline of King David (Matthew chapter 1), was born in the town of Bethlehem, and was crucified around 32AD.  The Jewish temple was destroyed in 70AD.  The odds that someone would fulfill one of these prophecies is very small so the odds that someone would fulfill three of them is even smaller.

Fulfilling prophecies did not stop with Jesus.  Prophecies are still being fulfilled today, including the uprisings in the Middle East and the path toward a one-world government.

4)  The writers of the books suffered great persecution

Think about this:  if you wrote a book that you KNEW was false, would you die in order to prove its truthfulness?  If the writers of the Bible had any indication that what they were writing was false, would they have died for its cause?  Here are some of the writers and the ways they were persecuted:
  
     Matthew:  Killed by sword in Ethiopia
     Mark:  killed by being dragged through the streets of Alexandria
     Luke:  hung from and olive tree
     John:  banished to island of Patmos after a plan to boil him in oil did not work
     Peter:  crucified upside down (did not feel worthy to die a death like Jesus)
     Paul:  beheaded in Rome

The first five of these authors were actual disciples of Jesus and were killed because of their faith in Jesus.  If their writings were false and they truly did not believe what they were writing, why would they die for its cause?