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The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

The Claims of Christ by Chuck Smith

Bible Truth Confounds the Wise

I learned as a child that the Bible is full of wonderful stories about men and God.  David and Goliath.  Jonah and the Whale.  Noah’s Ark.  Jesus walking on water.  But before I became a born-again Christian, I had some doubts about the authenticity of these stories, and to be honest, they confounded me.  I believed there was a God, but before I believe in the Bible, or in it’s characters, content, and truths, or in Jesus, I had to go through an intellectual exercise before I thought I could believe.  Read 1 Corinthians, chapter 1.

If you are like I was, my hope is that this article will help you on your journey asking real questions.  The Bible is real, it’s stories are real, and while men wrote the Bible, each and every word was inspired by God, working through them.  

There are three tests to determine if the Bible is reliable:  1)  the bibliographical test, 2) the internal test, and 3), the external test.  

  It’s true that there are a multitude of manuscripts of the Bible which can be traced closely to the originals.  Much of the New Testament dates from only generations away from when Jesus walked the earth.  Homer’s Iliad was written, it is thought, in 9th century, B.C., but the earliest copies are from centuries later, around 400 B.C. — a gap of about 400 years!  New Testament copies have been found to date as early as a mere 50 years from when it was actually written!

For what purpose did the New Testament writers write their books?  Was it for fame, fortune, glory, or wealth, or some other personal gain?  Certainly not.  Just about every one of the apostles died for their faith.  Their books were written in a sober, methodical fashion indicating that they were serious about communicating God’s word.  The Gospel writers gave great attention to detail for their eye-witness accounts.  They told no miraculous stories about their own greatness (they actually look a bit foolish compared to Jesus), but simply pointed out the deity of Christ and accounted his signs, wonders, and miracles, as well as his sayings that are a “hard to believe,”  about sin, repentance, salvation, heaven, and hell. 

Another amazing fact about the Bible is that there were non-Christian historians who actually wrote about Jesus’ time.  Josephus actually wrote about Jesus’ followers and the resurrection!  Josephus’ writings are corroborated both by archaeological evidence and through other writers and critics of his time.  Josephus wasn’t the only one.  Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger were others.  Speaking of archaeological evidence, this is probably the most compelling of the external tests.  Archaeological evidence proves the accuracy of the scriptures —  not just the New Testaments, but the Old Testaments as well. 

Don’t just believe this article.  Examine it honestly for yourself before making a decision.  Take a look at the evidence, humbling yourself before coming to any conclusions.  If you are honest about seeking who God is, simply pray, “God, please, whoever you are, reveal yourself to me.”  He will do just that.  As an aid, take a look at the books and web sites mentioned in the sidebar.  Godspeed!