I have complete faith that the Bible is the absolute Word of God. However my faith is not blind, which seems to be how many unbelievers think of faith. For instance, The Devil's Dictionary contains this definition of faith: belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge of things without parallel.
I initially was persuaded that the Bible is all that it claims to be by studying the writings of men who attacked the Bible—those who presented what they thought was proof that the Bible could not be true.
After trusting in Christ as my Savior in 1953, I was faced with a dilemma. My new Christian friends taught that the Bible stresses that one's salvation does not depend upon anything he is or anything he does. Salvation, they said, was the gift of God. It was not of works or effort of any kind. A popular cult, on the other hand, taught me that there were several duties a person would have to perform to eventually qualify for entrance into God's kingdom.
I knew that either my Christian friends were right and the cultists were wrong, or the cult members were right and my friends were wrong; or they were both wrong! I had to find out, so I checked out as many books as I could from the local library that were written by agnostics, infidels and atheists. I didn't want to read books written by Christians because they may, perhaps unknowingly, keep something from me that would demonstrate that the Bible is not the Word of God. Instead, I would study those who were the most vehemently opposed to the Bible and its teachings. I knew they would really give it to me straight.
What I discovered took me by complete surprise, and I almost felt disappointed. I thought the arguments against the Bible would be devastating, coming as they were from such stalwart free thinkers as Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason) Voltaire (French writer, historian, and antireligious thinker), Robert G. Ingersoll (A Few Reasons for Doubting the Inspiration of the Bible), Bertrand Russell (British philosopher and mathematician, and author of Why I Am Not A Christian), and many others.
I discovered that most of these men were actually writing against religion, and not so much against the Bible itself. Those who did attack the Bible head on (Paine, Ingersoll) usually made the grave mistake of "proving" the Bible contradicted itself by taking verses out of context. I knew enough to know that virtually any book studied in that way could be shown to be “contradictory."
That was over 60 years ago. Since then I have continued to read and listen to those who are opposed to the Bible. I think I have done so with an open mind. Throughout the years I have also read through the Bible numerous times and taught it in homes, churches, and schools, including more than 35 years on a college level. What follows is a very simple presentation of why I believe the Bible to be true and trustworthy.
The Bible Claims to Be from God
More than 2,000 times the Hebrew prophets stated, "Thus says the LORD" when they spoke or wrote. Then there are direct statements declaring that God is the author of the Scripture.
The apostle Paul wrote this to Timothy:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The Apostle Peter adds:
“For prophecy [of Scripture, verse 20] never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved [borne along] by the Holy Spirit.”
Dozens of other Bible verses also claim Divine inspiration for itself. But in addition to its claims —
The Bible Appears to Be from God
The Bible speaks with authority on every conceivable subject — from man's origin, to angels, to heaven and hell, to Satan and demons. It discusses eternity past and eternity future, and it contains a mountain of information concerning God Himself. It delves into history, geography, astronomy, and a multitude of other topics, none of which it discusses in a theoretical manner.
On a more personal level, the peace that the Bible promises to those who believe it and live by it cannot be lightly brushed aside. It is true that there are philosophies and religions that can and do give a sense of peace to the adherents of such beliefs, but it is also true that the Bible promises such peace. Therefore, such peace would have to be experienced by the faithful followers of Christ. If not, then that fact alone would cast doubt as to its divine origin. However, moving on from what appears to be to what is, long ago I came to the firm conviction that –
The Bible Proves to Be from God
If the Bible is God's Word, there ought to be, indeed there must be, things about it that are unexplainable apart from God’s authorship. That is exactly the case in at least three crucial areas: fulfilled prophecy, scientific truths found in the Bible, and what the Bible does not contain.
Fulfilled Prophecy
There are more than 450 specific prophecies in the Old Testament that reveal how to recognize the Messiah when He comes. Here are just three that must be taken seriously by anyone interested in the truth of the matter:
His Birth Place is prophesied in Micah 5:2, giving the town (Bethlehem), the area — similar to a county in the U.S. (Ephrathah), the state (Judah), and the country (Israel). It was literally fulfilled as recorded in Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4–16.
His Virgin Birth was foretold in Isaiah 7:14 and literally fulfilled in Matthew 1:18–24 and Luke 1:26–38.
His Crucifixion was prophesied in Psalm 22:16–18 and fulfilled in John 19:23–24. It is important to remember that crucifixion was a Roman custom, not a Jewish one. In practicing capital punishment, the Jews stoned people; they did not crucify them. Yet that is exactly how God said the Messiah would die.
Scientific Truths
Though the Bible is not a science book, and is not intended to be, there are a number of scientifically true statements in Scripture that would be impossible for the human writers to know apart from God revealing these things to them. Here are just four:
The Life of the Flesh is in the Blood: Leviticus 17:11. Contrast this to the blood letting practice in the early history of our own country, including the real possibility that such a practice may have contributed to the death of our first President, George Washington.
Not All Flesh is the Same: 1 Corinthians 15:39. Only in the 20th century did science discover a way to distinguish between the flesh of various animals and humans.
All Men are of One Blood: Acts 17:24–26. If the blood type is the same, I can safely receive blood from any other human being, regardless of race or skin color.
The Earth is Suspended in Space (supporting the gravitational influence of the planets, etc.): Job 26:7.
I could go on listing and elaborating upon the scientifically accurate statements found in the Bible. They are truly astounding, and they give good reason to believe that what is recorded in the Bible is far beyond man's grasp, wisdom, or intellectual prowess.
What the Bible Does Not Contain
Personally, I consider this to be the most convincing evidence that the Bible is of divine rather than human origin: God used about 40 human authors to write the Bible over roughly 1,600 years. Many of these men never knew one another or were even contemporaries. They ranged from kings to shepherds, from lawyers to fishermen, and from doctors to tax collectors. They came from all kinds of cultural backgrounds, with varying degrees of education or lack of it. Some were national leaders while others were virtually unknown. They wrote about the known and unknown, from nature and farming to angels and demons. Yet, when all the writings of these 40 men are brought together, there is not a single contradiction between them; the 66 books that make up the Bible form one complete, harmonious, and organized whole!
If the human writers of the Bible had simply written down what they thought to be true at the time about God, life, the afterlife, or any other topic, they obviously would have written many things thought to have been true in their time, but which would have been proven untrue by succeeding generations. It would have been mathematically and humanly impossible to compile that many books, by so many authors, on the many subjects treated in the Bible over 1,600 years, and not include hundreds of false statements believed by those generations. But there is not a single incidence of such statements in Scripture.
I have to conclude one thing: the mind that moved the men who wrote the Bible was far greater than any human mind or collection of human minds could ever be. After all, 40 men living today couldn't even write a paper on the best way to get rid of crab grass and agree perfectly on it. The very thought that the human authors of the Bible wrote from their own initiative and ability over 1,600 years, is too far-fetched for my mind to grasp. The only alternative is that God is the author of the Holy Scriptures.
