The Bible – Is it Reliable

The reliability of the Bible has been questioned for centuries.  No other book has be attacked and challenged like the Bible, yet year after year is a best seller.  Is the Bible reliable? Is the Bible true?  Is the Bible accurate? Today the internet gives us access to an unlimited amount of information. It’s absolutely amazing! It wasn’t that long ago that most of us were limited to an outdated set of encyclopedia’s. The availability and continual growth of the internet puts at the fingertips of practically everyone a mind-boggling amount of information on any topic.

One of the incredible resources on the internet is “Wikipedia”—a free online encyclopedia compiled by contributions from its users. It can be very helpful and enlightening, but some of the information can be questionable. I’m always cautious and sometimes skeptical to rely on that information. After all who wants to make their primary source of authority information that’s been complied from various people contributing their view or take on some topic. I know I don’t.

So, what’s that have to do with the reliability of the Bible? I find many view the Bible as if it were compiled like a Wikipedia article. They are skeptical about more than forty different contributing writers spanning several centuries, compiling them into one book – they say, there is no way it can be completely accurate. They are hesitate to put their trust in what they think is unreliable. Maybe you’re one of those people that have questions about the Bible. If you are, I want to help build your confidence and trust in the Bible.

The Bible unlike Wikipedia has only ONE author. 2 Peter 2:21 says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” In other words, the Bible is not a compilation of the opinions and thoughts of mere men. Rather, the words of the Bible come directly from God as men were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is nothing like Wikipedia. The Bible is the Word of God and is trustworthy and reliable.

Is the Bible Reliable?  Here are 4 proofs

There are many reasons to believe and trust the Bible. Here are just a 4 proofs of it’s reliability;

1. LITERARY CONSISTENCY

One of the greatest proofs of the Bible’s reliability is its incredible unity, clarity, and continuity from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible in fact has sixty-six books penned by more than forty writers from several different centuries, yet it is as if one person wrote it. That’s because there is only one author – God!

Is the Bible reliable? Some claim that the Bible is full of contradictions, however that’s just isn’t true. There are only a few apparent contradictions and when you consider the size and scope of the Bible, that in it’s self is remarkable and actually further evidence of its reliability.

2. MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE

Is the Bible reliable.  Many question the Bible’s accuracy because of its age and many years of translations. Yet, they accept other books older than the Bible like Homer’s Iliad (written about 750 BC) or writings of Plato and Aristotle ( from around 350BC) as reliable. Manuscript evidence is key to validating any book of antiquity. It’s interesting to note that the Bible has more manuscripts than any other book of antiquity. For the New Testament there are over 24,000 available manuscripts. There were over 700 Old Testament manuscripts until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. That discovery added several hundred more Old Testament manuscripts to prove the validity of the Bible. It is perhaps the greatest archaeological find of our time. They contain at least fragments of every book in the Old Testament except the book of Esther. In comparison the second most available ancient manuscripts are from Homer’s Iliad, for which there are 643 manuscript copies, every other accepted book of antiquity including Plato and Aristotle have fewer than 25 existing copies. Yes, you can rely on the reliability of the Bible.

3. ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS

Archaeology discoveries, contrary to the thought of many, have confirmed countless passages, events, cities, places, cultures, and events referred to in the Bible. The more discoveries they unearth the more it confirms the Bible. Here’s a list of the top 10 discoveries – CLICK HERE.

4. FULFILLED PROPHECIES

The Bible accurately predicts specific events years before they ever occur, it is called prophecy. In fact there are over 2500 prophecies in the Bible of which 2000 of them have already been fulfilled to the letter. Over 300 of those prophecies were fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This alone should be enough to convince anyone that the Bible has to be from God and provides undeniable proof of the accuracy and reliability of the Bible.

If want someone’s opinion or perspective on some issue or event Wikipedia might be helpful. But, if you’re looking for meaning and purpose and the answers for life the only reliable resource is God’s Word, the Bible. It is true, accurate and reliable. You can have confidence and trust in it. I hope this helps you become more confident about the reliability of the Bible.  To help develop your trust in the Bible I have written several articles on “Growing Spiritually.  You can read them by CLICKING HERE.