Crossroads by Cathy Bryant Book Blast (Guest Post)

Is the Bible Really True?

Guest Devotional Post by Cathy Bryant

Every one of the Miller's Creek novels (Christian romance and romantic suspense) took root in my head because of a spiritual theme. The latest book CROSSROADS took on even more importance because of its theme of winning back those who have defected from the faith.

We all know someone--maybe a friend, co-worker, or even a family member--who has turned away from the faith in Christ they once professed.

During the course of the story, I tried to examine their objections to the faith as well as the tough questions we're often asked by unbelievers. This devotional guest post attempts to answer one of the most frequent questions: Is the Bible really true?

Not at all for the sake of argument, I hope instead that my research on this topic provides each of us with answers we need to "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter 3:15).

The Bible - The Facts

So let's look at the facts that I believe prove the accuracy and truth of the Bible:

• The Bible was penned by forty men from various occupations and educational levels on three continents in three languages over a 1,500-year time span. In spite of this diversity, the message of God's redemption is a consistent thread from one book to another. Though some may argue that a great collusion took place in order for the Bible to be so consistent, we must remember that not all of the writers would have had access to the earlier books. In addition, the Bible was written in a time when there weren't conference calls, Skype, e-mail, etc.
• Biblical prophecies, often given with great detail, have been fulfilled with startling accuracy. Statisticians will tell you that the chance of just eight of the 300+ prophecies dealing with Christ's birth taking place are 1 x 10 to the twenty-eighth power. Here's what that looks like written out: 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.  Yet all of the prophesies regarding the birth of Jesus were fulfilled.

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“The very dimension of the sheer fulfillment of prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures should be enough to convince anyone that we are dealing with a supernatural piece of literature….God has himself planted within the scriptures an internal consistency that bears witness that this is His Word.” -R.C. Sproul, Now That’s a Good Question.

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• The historical events chronicled in the Bible are accurate and substantiated by other historical records. The Babylonian invasion, the Assyrian invasion, the Pharoahs and pyramid-building of Egypt, the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, etc.
• Archaeological finds--as well as places and events recorded in the Bible--have confirmed the accuracy of the Bible. As an example, the walls of Jericho were found in a position that matches what the Bible says happened. In addition we have thousands of manuscript copies of the New Testament (compared to The Iliad which has less than 700 copies and the works of Aristotle, of which there are only a handful, neither of which are disputed). And the New Testament itself, along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and other manuscripts, corroborate the accuracy of the Old Testament. The Bible has been hand-recorded through various scribes over a large period of time, with astonishing accuracy. There are no serious contradictions or errors, and in places where there are minor discrepancies, the content meaning does not change.
• What we now know to be scientific fact was recorded in the Bible long before they were scientifically confirmed. These include: the earth as a sphere (Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:10), the infinitesimal universe (Isaiah 55:9), the water cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Job 36:27-28), the vast array of stars (Jeremiah 33:22), the importance of blood to life (Leviticus 17:11), atmospheric circulation (Ecclesiastes 1:6), gravitational pull (Job 26:7), etc.
• The geographical accuracy of the Bible has been substantiated through archaeological finds. Biblical places once thought suspect have since been confirmed through archaeological findings. In sharp contrast, other religious books list places that have not been proved to exist.
• Eyewitness accounts of those who lived during Biblical times also verify the accuracy of the Bible. What makes this even more mind-boggling is that many of these eye-witnesses testified to the truth in spite of persecution. Would you risk your life to testify for something false? 

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“It is no moderate approbation of Scripture that it has been sealed by the blood of so many witnesses, especially when we reflect that they died to render testimony to the faith …with a firm and constant, yet sober, zeal toward God.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion.

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• Another proof for the Bible is the approximately one thousand references within scripture that mention God or Jesus speaking, even though the individual books were written by different men who never claimed that the words they were writing came from them.

The Bible - The Arguments

Some will argue that the canonization process vulgarized the original scripture, but that is inaccurate. Many criterion were used to make sure that only the most reliable manuscripts were included. These criteria included, but weren't limited to: conformity to the Christian faith, historical credibility through apostolic influence, and widespread and continuous acceptance by the church.

Others will argue that the number of translations available today prove that the Bible is inaccurate. Actually, many of the Greek and Hebrew words can't properly be defined with just one English word. In truth, only by study of the various translations can we get the most complete picture of the Bible's original meaning.

The Bible - In Conclusion

The Bible is the world's all-time best-seller. Men have tried to eradicate it and deny its source, but have failed. It's the only book that reads the person reading it. Instead of being changed, the Bible changes those who read its words with sincerity. Billions of people from different cultures, continents, and periods in history have read it with the same results and have agreed through personal experience that it is true, wise, and sound. It has been scrutinized more than any other document in the history of the world, substantiated by other records, and not been proved false. No other religion's books can make these claims.

Without a doubt, the Bible is God's revelation and record of Creation, the fall of man, and His plan to redeem a fallen world. Though one book cannot contain Him, we are given enough information in God's Word to know what happened to God's good Creation, what He is like, and how we need to live in light of what it says.

Since we've determined through this post that the Bible is indeed true and accurate, let's look at what the Bible has to say about itself.

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

-Matthew 5:17-18

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." -2 Peter 1:19-21

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

-Hebrews 4:12

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." -Isaiah 55:11

*I have not read Crossroads therefore I can not give my opinion on it's content. ~ASC