Is the Bible True?

The following is a summary of how to have confidence in the Bible as the Word of God. It comes comes "Stand to Reason" at www.str.org and uses the fingers of the hand to help remember these six points.

Fingerprints of God—Six Marks of the Bible’s Supernatural Origin

A. (Pinkie) The Bible has supernatural fulfilled prophecy—predictions of the future that are precise, detailed and accurate.
1. The Bible is the only volume ever produced by man in which detailed prophecies
relating to the rise and fall of individuals and empires are given with hairsplitting accuracy.
2. Not like Edgar Cayce or Jean Dickson: 100% right 40% of the time.
3. Daniel gives prophecy so detailed it reads like history written after the fact (note also the “70 weeks” prophecy, Daniel 9:24-25).
4. There were dozens of specific prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ life alone.
5. Is this sufficient in itself to make the case? Maybe not, but it’s an important piece of evidence in our case.
Sum: supernatural predictions
Chalk one up for the supernatural side.

B. (Ring finger) The Bible has supernatural unity—a tremendous unity throughout in spite of its diverse origins.
1. Diverse origins:
a. Diversity of authorship (Luke—historian, David—shepherd/king, Joshua—general, Matthew-tax collector, Paul—rabbi)
b. Diversity of writing conditions (dungeons, battlefields, the wilderness, jails, palaces)
c. Diversity of controversial topics
2. Profound unity:
a. There is a plan woven through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
b. It was a plan that no individual writer understood completely.
c. Each one added a little piece to the puzzle which, when assembled, showed God’s plan for the ages.
Sum: supernatural predictions, supernatural unity
Chalk up two for the supernatural side.

C. (Big finger) Big Questions—The Bible has supernatural insight.
1. The Bible answers the big questions of life…
a. In way consistent with the way we experience and perceive the world and…
b. In a way that is internally cohesive. It makes sense.
2. Many religions give answers, but the question is whether they give answers that fit the world the way we know it to be.
3. E.g., Hinduism
a. All distinctions are illusion (“Maya”).
1) There is no ultimate distinction between good and evil.
2) The meaning and goal of life is to “evaporate” back into the Godhead.
b. This doesn’t ring true with the things we seem to know about the world.
4. The Bible, by contrast, takes evil and good seriously, fully acknowledging both the true nobility and true cruelty of man (Francis Schaeffer’s terms).
a. Man’s nobility is real, explained be the fact that we’re made in the image of God.
1) Man has transcendent value.
2) That’s why we fumigate termites, but not people, because human beings are innately more valuable than animals.
b. Man’s cruelty (his sin and true moral guilt) is real, explained by the fall.
5. The Bible also gives the solution to the problem of man’s cruelty (fall): The solution to guilt is not denial; it’s forgiveness.
6. The Bible’s answer resonates with the deepest intuitions we have about ourselves and our world.
Sum: supernatural predictions, supernatural unity, supernatural insight
Chalk up three for the supernatural side.

D. (Index finger) Index to history, historically accurate
This is important for two reasons.
1. First: A book allegedly given by God must get its history right.
a. Israel is one big archaeological dig.
b. In fact, there is a trade journal called Biblical Archaeological Review.
c. The testimony of archaeology and Bible history fit hand in glove.
1) The Bible is the only book that can look to historical evidence to support its unique theological claims.
2) The New Testament documents are the best historical documents of the ancient world when approached using the standard cannons of historical research untainted by naturalistic presuppositions.
a) There is controversy in academic circles about the accuracy of both the Gospels (by the “Jesus Seminar,” etc.) and the accuracy of the Hebrew Scriptures (by the “minimalist” school).
b) These critiques are deeply tainted by a naturalistic (anti-supernatural) bias and, especially in the case of the Old Testament, a refusal to accept any account without independent corroboration, a virtual impossibility when dealing with texts this ancient.
c) A more even-handed approach to the accounts using the standard criteria of historiography minus the bias yields high marks for the Bible as an historical source.
“But isn’t the Quran historically accurate?” This leads to the second point…
2. Second: The Bible accurately records supernatural historical events.10
a. The history the Bible reports is a history of supernatural events, unlike the Quran.
b. These historical documents record Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, the only way to God. They record His miracles, and His resurrection from the dead.
1) If the Bible is historically accurate, and those are the events that it records, then Jesus is no ordinary man.
2) His words would have tremendous authority.
Sum: supernatural predictions, supernatural unity, supernatural insight, supernatural events
Chalk up four for the supernatural side.

E. (Thumbs up) The Bible supernaturally changes lives.
1. “Thumbs up” was the emperor’s sign that a gladiator had won the right to live for another battle. Thumbs up reminds me that the Bible changes lives.
a. Our lives are not changed because of something we’ve done, turning over a new leaf. We’ve tried that before.
b. Instead, God changes us in a way we never could change ourselves when we obey
the Scriptures.
2. This experience of transformation is universal, the same around the globe. It transcends all economic, ethnic, geographical boundaries.
3. When people consistently obey the teachings of this book, something radical happens, both to individuals and to whole cultures.
Sum: supernatural predictions, supernatural unity, supernatural insight, supernatural events, supernatural impact in human lives
Chalk up five for the supernatural side.

F. (Fist) The Bible is a fighter. The Bible has demonstrated supernatural survival
through time and persecution.
1. Biblical witness
a. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 13:31)
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
(Isaiah 40:8)
c. Paul: “The Word of God cannot be imprisoned.” (2 Timothy 2:9)
2. Voltaire, noted French infidel 1778:11
a. “In 100 years Christianity will be swept from existence and passed into history.”
b. But 50 years after his death the Geneva Bible society used Voltaire’s press and house to print stacks of Bibles!
3. There have been many powerful, concerted attempts to destroy this book—externally
(through destruction) and internally (through criticism)—to no avail. The Bible remains
the best selling book of all time.
4. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago.
Sum: supernatural predictions, supernatural unity, supernatural insight, supernatural events,supernatural impact in human lives, supernatural survival
Chalk up six for the supernatural side.

G. Conclusion: The Bible has the stamp of the supernatural.
1. Supernatural predictions, supernatural unity, supernatural insight, records supernatural events, has supernatural impact, and has shown supernatural endurance and survival.
2. Does this prove it’s inspired?
a. That depends upon what you mean by “prove.”
b. Yes, it’s possible to be mistaken.
c. But I have built a cumulative case, here.
d. As the evidence mounts, we have a pretty solid case the Bible substantiates its claim of Divine authorship.
Of course, this argument applies only to the autographs, the original documents. The earliest are 2,000 years old, inviting the next challenge…