Consistency of the Bible vs. other holy books

[Sketcher]

I am having a "discussion" with someone on another forum right now. He challenged my assertion that the Bible is more consistent than many other holy books out there. Unfortunately, I do not have this information organized, and Googling hasn't turned up a whole lot. I found some dirt on the Koran at CARM, but that's it really. Is there a comprehensive site or document that will show how much more consistent the Bible is vs. the other major holy books?

 

[Johnnz]

A Christian bookstore will have some good material. Scripture has several themes that intertwine to give a very complex statement about the biblical message and where Jesus fits in to that. You may need to look at different titles - fulfilled prophecy, OT statements about Jesus & their NT fulfillment, evidence for the the reasons why we can trust the biblical record are examples.

John
NZ

 

[Elijah2]

I am having a "discussion" with someone on another forum right now. He challenged my assertion that the Bible is more consistent than many other holy books out there. Unfortunately, I do not have this information organized, and Googling hasn't turned up a whole lot. I found some dirt on the Koran at CARM, but that's it really. Is there a comprehensive site or document that will show how much more consistent the Bible is vs. the other major holy books?

What major holy books are you talking about?

 

[Sketcher]

What major holy books are you talking about?

Any of them, really. Koran, Vedas, whatever the Bhuddists read, Book of Mormon . . .

 

[Solidlyhere]

The OP wonders, if "the Bible is more consistent than many other holy books out there."

What kind of consistency are you referring to?
Do you mean "WITHOUT contradicting itself"?
Or, do you mean, repeating the Main Theme over and over?
Or, do you mean something else?

As far as NOT contradicting itself, it depends on what you consider "contradiction."
This would be original Buddhist writings from the Buddha.

As far as repetitiousness, I think the Koran would win.

The problem with determining consistency is: Defining what is INconsistency?
Certainly the Bible has MANY possible inconsistencies in it.
The Old Testament claims 100s of things, which become less-important in the New Testament. A person COULD determine (in their mind) that each of those things is an inconsistency.

So, OP, the issue you consider pretty simple, is actually a MOST COMPLEX one.
Then, JUDGING the results is another Complex issue.

So, please re-define your issue.

 

[Rowan]

I don't think there's a point to the discussion. Most orally passed along legends are less consistent than the Bible. We know the Bible contradicts itself in some areas...so?

Other holy books cannot be comparable to the Bible in first place. They are fundamentally different.

The Vedas can or cannot be taken literally (mostly not by modern standards) and are often interpreted to address contemporary issues through a separate medium. This is also the case with the Quran, The Dharmmapada (Buddhist), the writings of Confucius, and so forth. So, like the Bible, what is and isn't a contradiction is often debated. I don't think your opponent understands this.

I think you might be asking (and answering) the wrong questions that are too concerned with one-upping other traditions, and not enough about Christ fulfilling all of them and more.

 

[pete56]

twistedsketch

If you are going in to a debate about the veracity of the Holy Books of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hindi and others you really are wasting your energy!

The truth is Christianity (although based upon the teachings of the bible) is not based upon the Book! We are followers of Jesus! And we believe in Him because we have a personal relationship with Him (or at least I do!), this is not ALL about what the bible says vs what the Qu'ran says or whether we have the original text in the original language - it is about whether we have met and fallen in love with a person - Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!

That is what sets us apart from the other Book based religions!

Pete

 

[Elijah2]

Any of them, really. Koran, Vedas, whatever the Bhuddists read, Book of Mormon . . .

Hi Ts,

Why would you want to debate those other relgion's books? All it can do is cause doubt and confusion and possibly a lose of purpose and understanding who our Lord Jesus Christ is.

It's all about Jesus, mate, and not about the false teaching of other religions, including false religions.

Your task is to get His Word into your heart, soul, and mind.

So as a warning, keep away from debates of other holy books, because they are not holy, but unholy.

 

[w00dy]

for inconsistances in the bible 'my weaknesses are stronger than mans strength'. god's well clever (all knowing i think most people put it, lol) and as it says in the nt somewhere 'all scripture is god breathed and usefull for teaching' (or something v similar). so it must have been at some point in time, even if it sounds a bit daft to our culture now. to me women covering thier heads or not speaking in church sounds daft, but i bet it has served his purpose well for peace in another time (i reckon in harder times when peoples hearts were more like rocky ground or beds of thorns, and societal discipline as a whole was needed.) i think its unfair to look at the bible purely from the point of view of our generation, does it not say 'like a brusied reed he will bend, but not break'? how can he do that with just 'law' and no grace

 

[texastig]

The Bible was written over many centuries by more than 20 authors from different walks of life in different settings. If you get more than 20 people in a room and tell the first person a story and tell them to pass it on, it will be different when it gets to the end. But this isn't so with the Bible. We have manuscripts from way back that matches what we have today.
God went through great lengths to keep His Word sure. The scribes used blue snail ink, every letter written had to be exact in spacing. If the King came in while the scribes were writing, they were not to get up because the Word of God was more important The text was checked and rechecked and rechecked again. When the text got old they disposed of it and wrote up new ones. The Bible is prophetically, historically and scientifically true. Other books don't even come close. Just the prophecies in the Bible blow out other books. As for Jesus, there are over 16 secular sources that He walked the earth and did miracles. You don't even have to use the Bible to know that He was here on the earth.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
TT

 

[salida]

The Bible is the only book in the world that has hundreds of prophesies in it that has come true and more will be fulfilled in the future. None of these other books do this - they don't have prophesies at all that predict 1000's to hundreds of years in advance before it happens.

Check out CRI - Christian Research Institute that is online. I would go to the Index.

A couple books is Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell (it would stand up in court)/Examine the Evidence by Muncaster (a former atheist)/ and Major Bible Prophecies by John F. Walvoord (37 Crucial Prophecies That Affect You Today).

Internal Evidences-Prophesies that are confirmed with Bible;

mentioning only a few – but there are hundreds.

Life of Christ
The Tribe of Judah, Gen. 49:10, Luke 3:23-28
(Genesis was written 4004 BC to 1689 BC)
(Luke’s time period is 60-70 AD)

Royal Line of David, Jer 23:5, Matt 1:1
(Jeremiah 760 to 698 BC)/(Matthew 60-70 AD)

Born of a Virgin, Isaiah 7:14/Matt 1:18-23
(Isaiah 760 to 698 BC)/(60-70 AD)

Rise of Empires
In the book of Daniel, Chapter 2 – four kingdoms are described in the interpretation
of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek – Daniel 8:21, 10:20/ and a fourth great kingdom to follow which was part iron and clay – which is the
Roman Empire – during this empire, Christ came and the church was established – Daniel 2:44.

Historical Accuracy

The Bible is loaded with historical statements concerning events of hundreds of years ago, yet
none of them has been proven to be incorrect.
(Bible compared to other ancient documents)
New Testament – starts at 25 years – between the original and surviving copies
Homer- starts at 500 years/Demosthenes – at 1400 years/Plato – at 1200 years/
Caesar – at 1000 years

Number of Manuscript Copies

New Testament – 5,686/Homer – 643/Demosthenes – 200/Plato – 7/Caesar – 10

Consistency – Written by 40 men over a period of time exceeding 1400 years, and has no
Internal inconsistencies.



Claim of Inspiration- It claims to be spoken by God, 2 Tim 3:16-17). No other religious book makes such claims.


External Evidences

(Prophesies Outside the Bible)
These cities were prophesied to be destroyed and never to be built again- and they haven’t.
Niveveh – Nahum 1:10, 3:7, 15, Zephaniah 2:13-14
Babylon – Isaiah 13:1-22
Tyre -Ezekiel 26:1-28

Bible before Science

He hangs the earth on nothing – Job 26:7
(Job was written at least 1000 years ago – some scholars think it could have been even 3000
years ago)
Note: Man only knew the above for 350 years.
Earth is a sphere – Isaiah 40:22/Air has weight – Job 28:25/
Gravity – Job 26:7, Job 38: 31-33/Winds blow in cyclones, Eccl 1:6

Documents that Prove Bible is True

Gilgamesh Epic, The Sumerian King List, Mari Tablets, Babylonian Chronicles

Archealogical Evidence (Still adding to this list today- it hasn’t stopped)
Excavations of Ur, Location of Zoar, Ziggurats and the foundation of Tower of Babel

 

[texastig]

I forgot to talk about the archealogical proof that the Bible has. They just found the Wall of Nehemiah.
That proves the Bible true also.
Thanks,
TT

 

[w00dy]

^nice post

did you know that you can find (what some scientists think are) the same chemical reactions in the heart of the sun as you can blasting a jar of aceatone with sound wave? freaky eh? how loud must gods voice be (if you believe in the big bang theory, so loud you can still hear its echo in the static of an untuned tv or radio station (thats radiation btw))

 

[alatir]

Good stuff Salida!

This is pretty interesting

as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
2 Peter 3:12 (New International Version)

It has been proven that in extremely high tempeture all elements will melt into plasm.

 

[pete56]

All of this research and great evidence is wonderful, but I am sure that any Islamic scholar worth his salt can come up with similar evidence to support the Qu'ran.

The OP asked how to convince one of them that the bible is more scholarly than the other books, so we need also to come up with evidence that the other books are not reliable.

Does anyone have any ideas on that?

 

[alatir]

All of this research and great evidence is wonderful, but I am sure that any Islamic scholar worth his salt can come up with similar evidence to support the Qu'ran.

The OP asked how to convince one of them that the bible is more scholarly than the other books, so we need also to come up with evidence that the other books are not reliable.

Does anyone have any ideas on that?

Well, the Qu'ran has so called satanic verses in which Mohammed praises three pagan goddesses worshipped by Meccans.