How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God?

[JimboG]

I think this is the right section to post this in......

How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God? I'm speaking more of the Old Testament than the new but I sometimes question parts of the new testament as well. From what I've studied the stories of the Old Testament were probably passed down my mouth for several hundred years before actually written down.

Even if the stories of the Old Testament started directly from God or started directly after the actual events how would they get passed down from generation to generation without details being inadvertently changed and distorted? Even today it is possible that the history of the 9/11 attacks will eventually have a few of the conspiracy theories mixed in and labeled as fact.

Also, governments and political figures are notorious for re-writing history to suit thier images. This has been happening forever and is still happening today. Who's to say someone like Constantine (or any other ruler) didn't change parts of the Gospels to suit thier own needs. If this were to happen there would probably be outcry originally but eventually forgotten over time.

I am 100% sure that God is there and has spoken to me and if the Word of God says that the Earth is 6,000 years old I'll be more than happy to embrace and defend that but I have doubts about what is legit.

 

[Peripatetic]

There are many answers to your question. To me, the most compelling endorsement of the OT is the fact that it is quoted by Jesus, Paul, and others in the NT. For example, there are many references to "the law and the prophets" in the NT.

"The Law" is the Torah, or Pentateuch, which includes the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy.

"The Prophets" are the books from Isaiah to Malachi.

You will also see many quotes from the "Books of Poetry" (Job to Song of Solomon) and references to the "Books of History" (Joshua through to Esther).

 

[JimboG]

There are many answers to your question. To me, the most compelling endorsement of the OT is the fact that it is quoted by Jesus, Paul, and others in the NT. For example, there are many references to "the law and the prophets" in the NT.

"The Law" is the Torah, or Pentateuch, which includes the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy.

"The Prophets" are the books from Isaiah to Malachi.

You will also see many quotes from the "Books of Poetry" (Job to Song of Solomon) and references to the "Books of History" (Joshua through to Esther).

Thanks for the info.

I admit, even though I've read the Bible all the way through 3 times I've never really payed a lot of attention to it. I'm due to reread it again.

This issue is one of the main reasons that I joined this forum. I attend an Evangelical Methodist Church and while the people there are usually more than helpful this is one subject that they will not even touch. Whenever I ask something along these lines all I get is stuff like "The Bible is the Word of God and we accept is as it is, in it's entirety" and that's fine with me if it is the true Word. If Jesus taught that the Torah is fact I'll believe that as well. But that brings me to question the accuracy of the New Testament.

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Now I am a big time History buff and watch a lot of TV and documentaries about history and have been reading a lot about certain events as well. One show that I watch is "The Naked Archaeologist" by Simcha Jacobovici. This show mostly covers archaeological evidence to Biblical stories. A few of the episodes really intrigued me and I looked into the "facts" that were presented. One of the more recent episodes that I looked into covered the story of David and Goliath. For the most part the show found out that most of the story could be true according to scientific evidence. The only problems it had was regarding the following taken from the New International Version:

1 Samuel 17: 4-7

"A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him."

I can overlook the fact that the Bible says Goliath was nine feet tall. This is highly unlikely but I supposed it is possible. Now the show alleged that armor like this did not appear for a hundred -two hundred years AFTER the story took place. I looked into the evidence a little and this seems to be the case. The show alleged that the writers of the book of Samuel (I really know nothing of the writers) came during the time that this type of armor would have been common.

The Bible as I read it now isn't 100% accurate when it comes to small details in this story and supposedly a few other stories. The concept doesn't change at all but non the less it's still not accurate.

 

[oi_antz]

God can speak to us through any media or situation. Since God communicates to us by spirit, the stimulus for this communication comes through action, word and thought.

The Holy Bible is divinely blessed by The Lord's Holy Spirit, which means that every time we read it, The Holy Spirit speaks to us. It is up to the reader then to be honest "what does God say when I read". If you decide not to believe what God says to you when you read The Holy Bible, you are simply disagreeing with God and agreeing with either your ego or an evil spirit (both of which are motivated by greed).

Those of us having a relationship with Jesus can identify truth and lie according to what God says, so someone giving the wrong explanation of a biblical verse are obviously lying while those explaining in truth cannot be argued with. It all comes down to honesty - being honest with each other "what does God say when I read this verse".

If you scrutinize The Bible against historical research then you're misusing one or the other, they deal with completely different means of intent. Historical research exists for scientific advancement while The Holy Bible exists to develop our relationship with God.

Remember that one only needs to believe that God is correct (which isn't so hard - He has been alive since even before the beginning of time while any human can hope to ripen at 70 on average), so the battle going on about "is God real" really comes down to a bunch of vocal people who live in a constant state of denial - they have found something in The Bible which they can't believe (denial) and so they begin to feel more and more anti-God (athiest). I don't think they really know what they are doing by this, it does make the world much more hostile toward certain people who are seeking God. I think this is the purpose of Hell that the perpetrators of disillusionment may atone their sins without having Christ for their saviour..

 

[SkyWriting]

I think this is the right section to post this in......

How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God? I'm speaking more of the Old Testament than the new but I sometimes question parts of the new testament as well. From what I've studied the stories of the Old Testament were probably passed down my mouth for several hundred years before actually written down. ...

The Bible CLAIMS to be the Word of God.
If you don't accept that part then the rest is just nice stories.
.......except they don't make for "nice" reading.....so....I would wonder what the purpose was If it isn't actually "God Breathed".

The old testament stories may not have ever been passed down by word of mouth. They may have been in print through 100% of their history.

 

[crossnote]

I think this is the right section to post this in......

How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God? .

What Jesus said about His doctrine also apllies to the teaching of the bible...soooo...


If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
(Joh 7:17)

 

[salida]

I suggest you research the credibility of the bible concerning overwhelming evidence which is very high even though it’s a spiritual decision first.
Visit: www.TheBibleProofBook.com, (you will need acrobat reader for this), read The Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell (its overwhelming circumstantial evidence of bible) and Examine the Evidence by Muncaster a former athiest/The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel a former athiest. Christiananswers.net, www.equip.org (articles), http://www.gotquestions.org/

The attributes of the bible conclude it could only be written by God.

***They didn't do it to suit their needs because its the most historically accurate book in the world-look under historical info compared to others: (look in red below). Plus, there are other characeristics.

Internal Evidence (prophesies confirmed within bible)
Life of Christ
The Tribe of Judah, Gen 49:10 - Luke 3:23-28
(Genesis was written 4004 BC to 1689 BC)
(Lukes time period 60-70 AD)
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Royal Line of David, Jer 23:5 - Matt 1:1
(Jeremiah 760 to 698 BC)/(Matthew 60 - 70 AD)
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Born of a Virgin, Isaiah 7:14 - Matt 1:18-23
(Isaiah 760 to 698 BC)/(Matthew 60 - 70 AD)
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Rise of Empires
In the book of Daniel, Chapter 2 - four kingdoms are described in the interpretation of a dream of
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek - Daniel 8:21, 10:20/and the fourth
great kingdom to follow- part iron and clay-which is the Roman Empire. During this empire Christ came and his church was established.
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Historical Accuracy
The bible is loaded with historical statements concerning events hundreds of years ago and has not been proven incorrect in any.
(Bible compared to other ancient documents):
New Testament starts - at 25 years between original and first surviving copies
Homer - starts at 500 years
Demosthenes - at 1400 years
Plato - at 1200 years
Caesar - at 1000 years
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Number of Manuscript Copies-New Testament - 5,686/Homer - 643/Demosthenes - 200/
Plato - 7/Caesar -10
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Consistency/Written by God
Written by at least 40 men over a period of time exceeding 1400 years and has no internal inconsistencies.
It claims to be spoken by God, 2 Timothy 3:16-17. No other religious book makes such claim.
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External Evidences (prophesies outside bible)
These cities were prophesied to be destroyed and never built again.
Nineveh - Nahum 1:10, 3:7,15, Zephaniah 2:13-14
Babylon - Isaiah 13:1-22
Tyre - Ezekiel 26:1-28
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Bible before Science- He hangs the earth on nothing-Job 26:7/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
(Job was written at least 1000 years ago; some scholars think 3000 years ago)
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Documents that Prove Bible is True
Gilgamesh Epic, The Sumerian King List, Mari Tablets, Babylonian Chronicles
Archeological Finds
Excavations of Ur, Location of Zoar, Ziggurats and the foundation of Tower of Babel

 

[heymikey80]

I think this is the right section to post this in......

This is a great place to get answers if you're a new Christian, yes.

How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God? I'm speaking more of the Old Testament than the new but I sometimes question parts of the new testament as well.

I'm going to leave others to this. Josh MacDowell does a good job of explaining a whole lot of the information in a fairly reasonable way.

The ways that I thought were least credible (human testimony) I've discovered as I go on living, are actually more relevant. Mostly because they confirm my own experiences. To me, it doesn't matter for practical purposes that the Bible as-assembled is infallible (though I think it is). It turns out it's much more relevant to my life to start recognizing: the Bible is better at the truth than my opinions are. That's something that takes some experience to really come to terms with it. Y'hafta try it out.

From what I've studied the stories of the Old Testament were probably passed down my mouth for several hundred years before actually written down.

There are a lot of different viewpoints on different scrolls of the Old Testament. I can't tell you how we got each one. But I can tell you many were contemporary with the events they recorded. And many were known to have been accepted as God's words in the First Century.

Even if the stories of the Old Testament started directly from God or started directly after the actual events how would they get passed down from generation to generation without details being inadvertently changed and distorted? Even today it is possible that the history of the 9/11 attacks will eventually have a few of the conspiracy theories mixed in and labeled as fact.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are substantially the same as the Old Testament we look at in Bibles. That's over 2000 years.

Jesus also appears to accept Old Testament Scripture, as "the Scripture cannot be broken".

Also, governments and political figures are notorious for re-writing history to suit thier images. This has been happening forever and is still happening today. Who's to say someone like Constantine (or any other ruler) didn't change parts of the Gospels to suit thier own needs. If this were to happen there would probably be outcry originally but eventually forgotten over time.

Well, as far as the New Testament is concerned, there's quite a bit to argue against revisionism. For a few:

• Examples exist of pre-Constantinian versions of New Testament documents.
• Constantine didn't control the entirety of places where the New Testament existed and was used. Christianity extended into the Parthian empire and into Africa. Their texts of the New Testament (while some preserve additional texts) are virtually identical to ours.
• We actually have a lot of fragments of Christian writings from the second century onward. So the New Testament writings were codified, and readily identified, by about 150 AD at least: centuries before Constantine. In fact the badly-fragmented Oxyrhincus papyrii attest to this fact. With just a few tiny phrases arranged on either side of little bits of papyrus, scholars are able to identify many examples of the Greek of the New Testament among literally hundreds of other texts. They're pretty-well standardized already.

I am 100% sure that God is there and has spoken to me and if the Word of God says that the Earth is 6,000 years old I'll be more than happy to embrace and defend that but I have doubts about what is legit.

Well, I'm not responding as to what they say (I'm Klinean on the account of creation). I'm simply saying there are reasonable arguments that Scripture is legitimately the words of God.

 

[DancingDuck117]

This is an interesting question that I'm having trouble with myself. It seems that for the most part, when the question "How do we know the Bible is the word of God" is asked, the answer is "Because the Bible says so".. and well, that's just flawed.

I do like the explanation that God speaks to us while reading the Bible and it is up to us to listen to what He is saying to us. I've never heard it said like that before.

 

[oi_antz]

This is an interesting question that I'm having trouble with myself. It seems that for the most part, when the question "How do we know the Bible is the word of God" is asked, the answer is "Because the Bible says so".. and well, that's just flawed.

I do like the explanation that God speaks to us while reading the Bible and it is up to us to listen to what He is saying to us. I've never heard it said like that before.

The first verse in John says a lot about it:

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Let's break this down:

In the beginning was the Word

What is the Word today? The Bible.

The Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made

I think this is cross-referencing the "spirit" of God from Genesis 1:1, that the Word is a spirit in this sense, by the act of God simply speaking His will, everything was made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men

I love this verse, it shows that those born of the Holy spirit are shining lights in a world of darkness (being born of The Holy Spirit, the spirit we contain and express through our words).

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

How many people do we speak to each day who do not comprehend the words we speak? It is the same for God, each day there may be thousands of people who read The Bible but cannot comprehend the Word of God due to the hardening of their hearts.

For a person to accept the Word of God and know the truth it carries as we Christians do, first there must be a change in the heart of that person that their stumbling blocks are identified and crucified that they can lay down their sins and accept what God says.

Usually there will be just one verse in The Bible which they have argued against, and that small hurdle is the mountain between them coming to Jesus. However, Jesus said with faith as small as mustard seed we can move mountains, so for the Christians who have the light in their hearts, we are told to "feed the sheep", "sow the seed", and "harvest".

John 5:38
nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent

This shows us clearly that if you believe in Jesus and have been born of The Holy Spirit, His Word dwells within us. So the Word of God is also The Spirit of God and Jesus Christ and God The Father. All these "definitions of God" are different angles we may take a view of God. So The Bible is the seed that by learning from it, we get to know God personally in spirit.

Luke 8:11
"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

 

[DancingDuck117]

But that's kind of my point exactly.. When proving that the Bible is the word of God, you quote the Bible.

I do believe in it, I just think it's flawed logic to say the Bible is God's word just because it says so. I could write something on a piece of paper saying that God told me, too. How do we know the Bible is actually true?

 

[SkyWriting]

But that's kind of my point exactly.. When proving that the Bible is the word of God, you quote the Bible.

I do believe in it, I just think it's flawed logic to say the Bible is God's word just because it says so. I could write something on a piece of paper saying that God told me, too. How do we know the Bible is actually true?

It's flawed logic to accept some parts and throw the rest out.
I don't mind if you toss scripture.
But one should be consistent, and accept the teachings of Jesus, as well as the scripture that comes with it.
Don't say your a Christian and ignore the Christian Bible parts you don't like.

Just say your spiritual and searching.

 

[oi_antz]

When proving that the Bible is the word of God, you quote the Bible.

Makes me laugh! Why would I re-type something I can quote hehe.. great question!

 

[DancingDuck117]

Makes me laugh! Why would I re-type something I can quote hehe.. great question!

Why does this make you laugh?

I feel as if it is a valid question. I'm a bit frustrated by it because this is my biggest struggle in my converting. I just wish there was some way to show the Bible is the word of God without using the Bible itself.

 

[oi_antz]

Why does this make you laugh?

I feel as if it is a valid question. I'm a bit frustrated by it because this is my biggest struggle in my converting. I just wish there was some way to show the Bible is the word of God without using the Bible itself.

Ignore my sense of humour. God is infinite and everlasting, in fact any image you might have of Him wouldn't show you Him completely, I don't think the human can possibly comprehend God completely.

What happens to a soul in a place where there is no death (eternity), when it has one chance to live on earth, where would you get your answers from God's point of view? You do need something to gage your perception of God, He has given us His word as answers to all our questions of Him, and He also gave us His son and a story of what happened in the world transpiring to current and future events (The Bible).

If you ever need to know something from God you can pray and read the word and He will answer you in spirit. It is about a person bringing that spiritual relationship to the front of their lives, that they cut their sins loose and stay close to Jesus.

I could type all I like about it, you're never going to comprehend what I do because of individuated life experience. When we read The Bible however, we all know what it says and means. So I like to say God's word is the most supreme form of word on earth and when we speak, we are all corrupted images of God who either share our word in truth or lie. So The Holy God is the God of word, who never lies. Whatever verse you struggle to accept as truth, don't hold it against God but entertain it until you understand.

Likewise, you should skim-read and look for passages which just leap out and go "New Information!". It is great to know the spirit of Jesus, who we always hear when we read The Bible.

 

[chilehed]

...How do we know that the Bible is actually the Word of God?...

First, examine the texts as if they are any other historical record. By the rules of historical evidence they are found to be reliable records of actual historical events.
As reliable records, they demonstrate that Jesus was cricified, died, and rose from the dead, and from this we conclude that he is God.
As reliable records, they also demonstrate that he established a Church and promised that it would teach true doctrine always and forever, and that it would never teach false doctrine.
And that Church holds as doctrine that the Sacred Scriptues have God as their author, and without error teach that truth which he wished to see confided to them.

 

[Sketcher]

In short, the Bible is too good to be a product of mere human thought. It is too varied, with its many authors across time and social class to be something that people just got together and wrote, but at the same time it is too unified in its message and its accounts to reasonably believe that it all came together by chance. The documents that we have, with the sheer number of copies across the centuries which match up so very well rather than contradicting each other (you won't find that sort of consistency among other accepted writings of antiquity) also points to a greater mind behind the authors, which ties it all together. And if that's not enough, the more archeological finds which are made relevant to the Bible, the more its accounts have been confirmed.

As for the Constantine thing that's very weak. Constantine had recently succeeded Galerius, who ruled only a short time after the death of Diocletian, who was the worst Roman persecutor of Christians up to that time (and it is said that Galerius moved Diocletian to persecute the church). Christians had been persecuted on and off by other emperors as well as local authorities. As a result, the church had developed a culture of martyrdom. The bishops who were at Nicaea were veterans of persecution. Among them were "confessors," which means they were persecuted but did not die. We're talking about people who were beaten and maimed. Their friends and family members had died. And these guys were radical enough to do it all again if it meant preserving the truth. If Constantine had decided to overtly change the Bible to suit his own needs, they never would have accepted it. Since they came into the faith, they had been trained to die for it, and some were even chomping at the bit to do just that (which is how monasticism got big - if the emperor wasn't going to make them suffer, they were going to go out and suffer themselves). Many Christians would have stood up to the emperor, as had been their previous tradition, and gladly bore up the consequences. And the scope of that would have been huge - The Council of Nicaea was to address the Arian controversy, which had been voted a heresy, and all but 3 out of 300 bishops from all over the Empire voted to condemn it.

 

[SkyWriting]

...I am 100% sure that God is there and has spoken to me and if the Word of God says that the Earth is 6,000 years old I'll be more than happy to embrace and defend that but I have doubts about what is legit.

The Word of God does not say "the Earth is 6,000 years old." Biblical scholars have estimated that Adam was created at that time based on a number of references. The Genesis story does not give an age for Adam but he could walk and talk.

So the right from the very beginning, we see that God created things that are "old."
There is no reason to believe (scripturally or scientifically) that the Cosmos was not created "old" as well.

 

[insurchoftruth]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Throughout all the centuries, there have been always true believers, who kept the Word of God in its originality, because they appreciated it and also feared God.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]God cares enough for his Word, to make sure that it is kept in its originality.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Jeremiah 1:12, Isaiah 55:10, 11, [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Acts – 5:38, 39, 1 Corinthians 15:5, 6, 30, 31, Romans 1:19, 20, 2:14, 15, Luke 1:1-4, 2:1-3, Revelation 22:18, 19, Matthew 7:16-20, 12:33, 12:40-42, Luke 6:43, 44, Ezra 1:4, Hebrews 2:3,4, Acts 2:22, 14:3, 16:26-30, Mark 16:17, 20, John 2:11,23, 3:2, 4:48, 6:2, 10:25, 38, 11:45, 14:11, 20:30,31, Luke 10:13, Deuteronomy 28:64, Ezekiel 36:24, Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 53:1-12, John 7:38, 39, Romans 8:16, John 3:5-8, Romans 5:5, 9:15,17,25,27, 1 John 2:27, 3:9, 24, 4:13, 1 Corinthians 2:4,5[/FONT]

 

[SkyWriting]

Why does this make you laugh?

I feel as if it is a valid question. I'm a bit frustrated by it because this is my biggest struggle in my converting. I just wish there was some way to show the Bible is the word of God without using the Bible itself.

You would want to look for outside confirmation.
The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict - Part One