You may be one who is convinced the Bible isn’t really God’s word but really just the words of the men who wrote it and the words of those who have changed it since it was originally written.   You may be convinced the Bible is similar to the Islam’s Koran or the “holy” books of other religions.  That is, it’s a good book with some wise sayings, but it isn’t unique and doesn’t have authority any more than those books do.

     I have been challenged by those same ideas and have investigated the evidence available to us in this age of information.  You may be surprised to learn that the more I have “dug” into the evidence, the more convinced I have become that the Bible is a unique book and, more than that, that those who wrote it down must have been directed by God.  I’ll briefly share with you some highlights of what I’ve learned and encourage you to “dig deeper” for yourself.  Why? Because, if the Bible is trustworthy, it tells us how we got here, why we’re here, and what will happen to us when this earthly life ends (see Good News page).  Who isn’t interested in the answers to those questions – especially the last one.

     Let’s start with the 2nd half of the Bible, the New Testament.  It gives accounts of Jesus’ life and the writings of His disciples.  A careful study of historical documents outside the Bible provides amazing and convincing evidence for the validity of the Biblical accounts.  Some argue that Jesus is completely mythical and didn't even exist; however, without reading the Bible (i.e. from historical documents outside the Bible), we can establish that Jesus was a Jewish teacher, was believed by some to have performed miracles, was believed by some to be Israel’s Messiah, was opposed by the Jewish religious leaders, was put to death by crucifixion by Pontius Pilate during the reign of the Roman emporer Tiberius, had followers who told people all over the Roman empire that he had risen from the dead, and had followers from of all classes throughout the Roman empire who worshipped him as God.   I recommend that you read the book “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel to learn more about this (see especially chapter 4).

     Many archaeological discoveries have shown the historical accuracy of the New Testament.  Many details of this are available in Josh McDowell’s book “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict”.  Even liberal scholars agree the New Testament’s books were written no later than 70 years after Jesus’ death.  Given this, inaccuracies or dishonesty in these writings, had there been any, would have been quickly refuted by other living eyewitnesses.  The fact that such refuting writings do not exist is tremendous evidence for the historical accuracy of the New Testament.  You may have read of many other "gospels" (accounts of Jesus' life) which supposedly contradict the accounts of included in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John).  I have studied information on these and learned that they were written between 150-200 years after the time of Jesus by unknown authors and were never accepted as authoritative accounts when they were written.  One example which has received recent attention is the so-called "Gospel of Judas".  It dates from around 200AD (that is 170 years after Jesus' death).   Clearly it could not have been written by the real Judas even if he had not killed himself as the Bible says.  Having read a translation of the document, I can tell you it does not begin to compare with the credible accounts of the four actual gospels contained in the Bible.   You may have also seen and/or read "The DaVinci Code" and become convinced that the Bible is no more than a book assembled to achieve political power.  I have studied many of the "facts" this book presents and found they are not facts at all.  I encourage you to learn more about this at "Jesus & DaVinci".

     The bottom line?  The New Testament, when studied honestly, shows itself to be historically accurate.  The New Testament's most important event is the resurrection of Jesus from death to life.  You may be convinced this is simply a myth.  A number of people have set out to show, once and for all, that the resurrection can easily be explained away.   Amazingly, in the process, they have become convinced by the evidence, that the resurrection did occur.  In reality, if the resurrection is only a myth, the Christian faith is a joke.  The Bible itself makes this point (1 Corinthians 15:14).  A number of theories have been put forward as alternatives to Christ actually rising from the dead.  Though some seem reasonable at "first glance", each falls apart under closer investigation.  One is that the disciples of Jesus stole His body and then claimed he rose from the dead.  This theory breaks down quickly when we realize that the Roman guard at Jesus' tomb was under threat of death if they failed at keeping the tomb secure.  To believe that a ragtag group of Galilean fisherman could overpower the guards stretches credibility.  However, if we grant this point, we must admit these disciples knew Jesus hadn't really risen.  Some have argued these disciples had a motive in that they could become rich by "selling" this story.  The historical facts show this to be false.  Though some later church leaders may have used their positions to become rich, the disciples ended up as paupers and 10 of 11 gave their lives for what they were teaching.  It is true that people will tell a lie if it benefits them, but when confronted with death or admitting the lie, they will admit the lie.  The fact that the disciples were willing to die shows they could not have stolen the body.  Each of the other theories which claims to explain away the resurrection falls apart under similar investigation.  I encourage you to read chapter 9 of Josh McDowell’s book “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict” to learn more of these details.  The end result is that the resurrection is one of the best, if not the best, supported event in history.  This allows us to accept the Good News with complete confidence that it is firmly grounded in historical fact.

     A careful study of the Bible’s Old Testament, the part of the Bible written before Jesus’ birth, shows many predictions or prophecies about a coming Messiah (one who would serve, suffer & save).  Many of the prophecies are very specific.  For example, Micah 5:2 says this coming one will be born in Bethlehem, Isaiah 7:14 says this one will be born of a virgin, Daniel 9:24-27 says this one will die a certain number of years after the rebuilding of Jerusalem – the date matches, amazingly, with the year Jesus was crucified, 33AD.  These are just three of the many specific prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus.  There are more at "Old Testament Prophecies".  Though some have argued Jesus fulfilled these prophecies intentionally so he could claim to be God, a careful study shows many were beyond His ability to control – unless He truly is God.  So, the fulfillment of these prophecies by Jesus leaves us with two possible explanations.  Either God told those prophets what to write (because simple statistics show it is impossible anyone could get them all right by luck) or maybe they were written down after Jesus lived (so they’re not really prophecies but a retelling of what had already happened).  The second option is eliminated when we learn there is excellent historical and archaeological evidence that the whole Old Testament was translated from Hebrew, its original language, to Greek around 250BC.  This shows the prophecies were written at least 250 years before Jesus’ birth (see note 1).

     Another area that causes some people to conclude the Bible can not be trusted is what it says about the creation of the world.  Most TV programs and school books tell us the universe is billions of years old and that all life is the result random chance processes acting over hundreds of millions of years (evolution).  If that is true, the Bible is wrong and should not be trusted.  The good news is that there is a better interpretation of the universe's evidence which fits very well with what the Bible says.  In more than twenty years of studying, I have found that, if one starts with the truths provided in the Bible, a set of interpretations emerges which makes excellent sense of the physical world.  Is this set of interpretations perfect?  No; however, I have found it has far fewer “holes” than the “billions of year/evolution” set of interpretations.  I have no doubt that, as we learn more about the universe, those “holes” will be “filled”.  I have provided a number of resources below which you can checkout to learn more about this important topic.    .

     At this point, we are left with tremendous evidence the Bible is reliable and, more importantly, from God.  We still have the question, “So what?”  What difference does the Bible make to me 2000 years after it was written?  Here is where the Good News comes in.

Notes
1. For more information on this you can read Josh McDowell’s book “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict” Chapter 8.
2. I have a list of many more Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus at "Old Testament Prophecies"

Creation, Evolution, Age of the Earth Resources
There are excellent articles on many of the following questions at each of the following sites:
www.answersInGenesis.org     www.icr.org     www.creationOnTheWeb.com

If the earth is only 6000 years old, how can we see light from galaxies billions of light years distant?
Starlight & Time – Dr Russell Humphries

Isn’t the Bible’s account of the flood filled with impossibilities?
Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study – John Woodmorappe

Haven’t scientists proven dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago?
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? – Ken Ham

Haven’t the earth’s oldest rocks been dated to 4 billions years old?
Radioisotopes & the Age of the Earth – Dr Steve Austin

The development of life by natural processes has been proven hasn’t it?  The Origin of Life…
Dr. Mark Eastman & Chuck Missler

Can’t we see evolution happening today?
Has evolution really been observed?

Doesn’t all the evidence say a Big Bang occurred 14-17 billion years ago?
Dismantling the Big Bang – Alex Williams & Dr. John Hartnett

Doesn’t comparison of the human genome with other creature’s genomes prove we descended from a common ancestor?  Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome – Dr John Sanford
 

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