Is the Bible Reliable?
Picture yourself talking with friends when the conversation turns to what you believe. Everyone shares their own view of reality, then they ask what you think. Your friends interrupt your description of your belief in the God of the Bible with skepticism, then they ask for proof of what you believe. As you begin to share some Bible texts you’ve studied, someone says, “Not the Bible, we want proof. We don’t really believe in the Bible.” Then they begin to voice their objections to trusting a book written so long ago.
Do you forge ahead with the Bible texts you’re prepared to share, or should you move the starting line back a few steps to ask whether God’s Word can be trusted? How is the Holy Bible more inspired than any other category of literature?
There are several tests that can be applied to any document to determine whether it is reliable. These focus on its historical accuracy, the transmission and preservation of the physical text, internal consistency, and confirmation from archaeology or ancient documentation and the lives of the authors and characters. For the Bible, we also look for evidence of divine authorship.
While the following list is not exhaustive, let’s take a look at some of the important evidence:
Evidence from Archaeology
Archaeologists are constantly digging among ancient ruins to literally unearth the past—and while not every detail of biblical history has been verified by modern archaeologists, not one discovery has disproved the biblical record. This confirms that the words were written during the time when these ancient places and people were still commonly known. Many Bible details have been mocked by modern critics—until archaeologists dug up the evidence that proves its accuracy. Here are a few of the many examples of what has been confirmed in the rocks:
– The Hittites, a warrior kingdom, and the Horites who appear in Esau’s genealogy have been found to match the facts of history.
– The “Pool of Bethesda” and the “Pavement,” a court where Jesus was tried, were believed to not have existed—until archaeologists uncovered the evidence.
– The travels of Abraham list and describe different locations within and around Israel. Dig sites reveal that the locations described in the book of Genesis were accurately recorded.
– Archaeology confirms that the Bible accurately identifies deities such as Baal, Asherah, and Dagon, properly associating them with the correct people groups.
– Archaeologists digging in Turkey have found that the descriptions of Paul’s travels accurately match the locations buried beneath the dirt.
– The Moabite Stone records and confirms a battle between Israel and Moab.
– The Lachish Letters confirm details of Nebuchadnezzar’s attacks on Israel.
Evidence from Prophecy
This is the credential God gives for us to evaluate Him:
“‘… For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done ….’” Isaiah 46:9–10
The prophecies recorded in the Bible are layered with complexity that further strengthens them as evidence of divine authorship. Here are a few to consider:
– The prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 accurately predict—sometimes by name—the rise and fall of world empires (Babylon, Greece, Medo-Persia, and both Pagan and Papal Rome). That is over 900 years of history all shown in advance!
– Daniel 9 predicts the time of Jesus’ birth and death 500 years in advance. The prediction was so compelling that wise men from the East, where Daniel wrote his prophecy, were waiting for His star to appear (Matthew 2:2; Numbers 24:17).
– The Old Testament reveals over 70 descriptions of Jesus as the promised Messiah—including where He would be born, the circumstances surrounding His birth, and His death. These were not constructed after the fact. The Jews talked about many of them in advance.
– Jeremiah 49:15–20 and Ezekiel 25:12–14 predicted that the land of Edom would become a dry wasteland—which was hard to believe since it was then a fertile, well-watered land at the time. Today, Edom (modern Jordan) is a dry land, confirming the accuracy of the Bible’s prediction.
– Almost 200 years in advance, Isaiah prophesied that a Persian leader named Cyrus would conquer the empire of Babylon and would then release God’s people and assist them in their return to Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1–7). News Flash: It Happened!
– Isaiah 13 foretells a dramatic fall of the Babylonian empire, and that it, and the city of Babylon, would never be rebuilt or dwelt in again. While this was seen as unlikely at the time, history has confirmed its accuracy.
– Ezekiel 26 lays out a prediction about the fall of the nation of Tyre: that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the city, that there would be many nations against it, that its debris would be thrown into the water, and that it would never be rebuilt but would become a fishing ground. History has confirmed these details.
Evidence from Agreement with Discovered History
The Bible’s agreement with discovered history gives reason to trust that its books were not made up thousands of years after they happened. Unlike the stories in Roman and Greek mythology, the Gospels claim to be the true experiences of literal people, in real times and places.
Let’s look at this example from the Gospel of Luke:
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.” Luke 3:1
Time and again, the Bible has been discounted because historical elements are not attested among modern scholars—only to discover ancient documents and evidence to uphold the accuracy of Scripture. For example:
– Luke describes a great census under Caesar Augustus. Many scholars discounted the Bible’s accuracy because no other document mentioned such a census. However, archaeological discoveries have since confirmed the Bible’s record (and remember, you heard it in the Bible first).
– Luke mentions Quirinius as governor of Syria when Jesus was born. No one believed Luke’s record—until archaeological discoveries revealed that Luke, the historian, indeed had his history right.
– Luke uses words which scholars said didn’t arise until much later. Then documentary evidence from other contemporary authors revealed that his vocabulary was used by others, as well, in the time of Christ.
– Names and lists of foreign kings are preserved in chronological order. How could these names be included at their proper time periods unless the stories they appear in really did happen?
– The Table of Nations found in Genesis 10 is the only reasonable statement of cultures recorded in ancient literature.
Evidence from the Eyewitnesses, Authors, and Community
What did people who were alive at the time say about Jesus? Were they the kind of people who appeared to be honest and trustworthy?
– The Bible records numerous eyewitness statements about Jesus. These do not claim to be fiction or hearsay (see 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1–3; Luke 1:1–3; Acts 1:1–3; 1 Corinthians 15:6–8; John 20:30–31; Acts 10:39–42; 1 Peter 5:1; Acts 1:9).
– The Bible writers didn’t just appeal to Christians. They made it known that outside witnesses saw all that happened as well (Acts 2:22, and 26:24–28), and no one objected to the truth of the apostles’ claims.
– There is not a single documented record of anyone in that time period ever discounting the story of Jesus’ Resurrection. If it wasn’t true, someone would have said something. But no one did, not even the enemies of the growing Christian Church.
– The Bible does not portray a flawless picture of the Church. Instead, it honestly reveals that it was disordered and experienced problems. The Bible writers do not exaggerate their greatness nor hide their flaws. They admit they were simple, ignorant peasants who struggled to believe, and who abandoned Jesus when He went to the Cross.
– The characters and writers of the Bible appear to be honest people who do not have the usual signs of conspiracy makers. They were simple laborers without a worldly education.
– The eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus were universally willing to die for what they saw. The only result that came from holding to the story was to be tortured. Why would they die for a lie? Some gave up faith, but no one ever confessed it was not true.
– The many evidences for Jesus’ Resurrection have led numerous honest critics over the centuries to follow the evidence and become believers in the truth of the Gospels.
Evidence from the Bible’s Power and Perseverance
No book has had a greater influence on people, nations, or culture. The Bible has had a unique influence on history. Nothing else has inspired such a change in people throughout the world. It is still the most sought after, most sacrificed for, most widely circulated, and most read book of all time.
The Bible’s worldview covers the major questions humanity faces, both comprehensively and cohesively. It explains evil, reveals origins, explains morality, gives the purpose of life, and shows what happens after death.
The Bible covers history more accurately and broadly than any other book—beginning before human existence, tracing world history from its beginning, and accurately predicting the future.
No other book has been so scrutinized, dissected, argued, and opposed by those who would have it destroyed. Yet the power of the Bible has continued through every conflict.
Despite being written on material that perishes, it has survived through time against extraordinary odds. No other ancient book has been preserved with such care, using methods of copying that have preserved its integrity.
No other book makes claims like what we find in the Bible about Jesus—His pre-existence, divinity, unity with God, power to forgive sins, and authority to judge. These claims are supported with something no other Scripture claims: the resurrection of a real person, Jesus Christ.
The Bible has an obvious and describable influence on real people, in their actual lives, where principles are lived out. Without conspiring to unify their stories, people in different eras, locations, and languages claim the same experience from accepting the message of the Bible. This testifies to an objective reality to the Bible’s claims and power.
Evidence from the Manuscripts
The manuscripts of the Scriptures testify that God’s Word has not changed over time. If we doubt the reliability of the Bible because its manuscripts are old, we will have to throw out every other ancient writing that scholars put faith in, because the manuscript support for the Bible is superior to that of any other ancient document.
The Scriptures were copied and recopied in many different parts of the world under different conditions. Despite this, the manuscripts that have been found are in nearly identical agreement.
There are over 24,000 different manuscripts of the New Testament texts, some dating from within 50 years of the writing of the New Testament.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, provide Old Testament manuscripts over 1,000 years older than the oldest manuscripts of that time. They reveal that the teachings of the Bible have not changed.
While there are some variations (called “variants”) between some of the manuscripts of the Bible, almost 90 percent of those variants are trivialities, like spelling, or punctuation. More importantly, the small number of variants that are more significant do not change the truths taught in God’s Word.
Through all the copying and translating, proper names and foreign terms were retained and transmitted with accuracy. How could that be possible if the stories were myths? They would only be retained if they were understood to be objective facts.
The Early Church writers quote the Bible so often that almost the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from their writings. This shows that the Bible books we read today are the same that Christians read in the earliest years of Christianity.
No other group of writers, even if they lived together in the same century, would be in agreement on a single issue. Yet the forty-plus Bible writers present a unified picture, though writing in different languages, continents, time periods, and on controversial subjects.
Linguistic scholars confirm the truth of the Bible’s story about the origin of languages—that a few families of languages were established from a single common origin.
The whole world uses the system of a seven-day week. The hour and minute can be traced to human astrology, and the day, year, and month can be derived from movements of heavenly and earthly bodies. But the seven-day cycle originates in only one place—from the book of Genesis in the Bible.
Even authors outside the Bible attest to the New Testament story. For example: Eusebius (130 A. D), Irenaeus (180 A.D.), Clement of Rome (95 A.D.), Ignatius (70–110 A.D.), Polycarp, a disciple of John (70–156 A.D.).
Discoveries in the world of geology reveal much evidence of a flood disaster that destroyed life and covered the Earth with water—which is in agreement with the Bible’s account.
When compared to other ancient or modern literature, God’s Word stands alone. We must trust in it by faith, but we are not taking a blind leap of faith. That step of faith is taken from a solid foundation of good evidence. God has given us enough to place our faith in. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please Him. And while the evidence for the Bible is adequate, it will never be sufficient to convince someone who refuses to consider the possibility of the truth of God’s Word.
Therefore, the real questions are these: Can the Bible actually affect our lives? And will we choose to both read it and allow God to change our lives and our characters through what we find there?