True! But so is every book that has ever been written. That does not disqualify the Bible from being true.
It is a collection of true stories by authors handpicked by God to tell his story. This is no different than an autobiographer writing their first hand account or a biographer writing the account of a person's life as it is being relayed to them by that person.
This has always been an interesting topic for me because all books are written by man but only the Bible's integrity is questioned on the basis of this reasoning. We take science books, history books, documentaries at face value. Other religious text are also written by man but their integrity isn't questioned in this basis either.
So why else do I think the Bible is true?
1) The story follows the children of Israel. The same Jewish descendants that exist today. They are the only group of people who have consistently witnessed and been an integral part of world history.
2) It has survived generations of exiles, captivity, hostile takeovers, book burnings, nomadic lifestyle, beheadings, imprisionments and cover-ups.
3) It explicitly states not to add or take away from the Bible (Revelation 22:18-19 MSG). With all the different authors, time periods, generations, and centuries this book spans to have that in the text shows me that there was someone along the way handpicking the stories to be included.
4) Other texts in history validate its contents mainly Jewish history.
5) Some of the authors of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, referenced things they didn't experience but came to pass.
But there are so many versions? People say.
It is a collection of true stories by authors handpicked by God to tell his story. This is no different than an autobiographer writing their first hand account or a biographer writing the account of a person's life as it is being relayed to them by that person.
This has always been an interesting topic for me because all books are written by man but only the Bible's integrity is questioned on the basis of this reasoning. We take science books, history books, documentaries at face value. Other religious text are also written by man but their integrity isn't questioned in this basis either.
So why else do I think the Bible is true?
1) The story follows the children of Israel. The same Jewish descendants that exist today. They are the only group of people who have consistently witnessed and been an integral part of world history.
2) It has survived generations of exiles, captivity, hostile takeovers, book burnings, nomadic lifestyle, beheadings, imprisionments and cover-ups.
3) It explicitly states not to add or take away from the Bible (Revelation 22:18-19 MSG). With all the different authors, time periods, generations, and centuries this book spans to have that in the text shows me that there was someone along the way handpicking the stories to be included.
4) Other texts in history validate its contents mainly Jewish history.
5) Some of the authors of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, referenced things they didn't experience but came to pass.
But there are so many versions? People say.
My response is that versions in this case is synonymous with translations. The Bible was originally in Aramaic & Hebrew. That makes sense because all the writers are Jewish. Then it was translated to Greek. That follows the progression of history with the height of the Greek state. Then as it made its way through world power transitions it was translated to Latin during the Roman Empire and then when it made its way to England under King James it was translated to the King's English. This is the King James Version. And other iterations are the same text just in words that can help the common man understand it. It's in almost every world language. So, it's Not different versions just different translations.
In Summary: Yes men physically wrote the Bible. But God picked the writers and He inspired the stories they told.
Even after all this people will still question the validity of the book and that is fine. God does not need to explain Himself to us. Those who want to know the truth are the folks He wants to reach anyway. And those who seek it will find it (Matthew 7:7–8).
In Summary: Yes men physically wrote the Bible. But God picked the writers and He inspired the stories they told.
Even after all this people will still question the validity of the book and that is fine. God does not need to explain Himself to us. Those who want to know the truth are the folks He wants to reach anyway. And those who seek it will find it (Matthew 7:7–8).
The Unlikely Missionary
DHW
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