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Is Bible truly the Word of God |
This is a very
interesting and thought provoking question; and probably one of
the most important questions which anyone can ask the followers
of Christ:
 What is so special, so unique about the Bible that we should
consider it as the Word of God? Is Bible truly the Word of God,
the authoritative instruction manual from creator God to guide
us in right way and attitude of living our lives?
It is very easy to believe it by faith. Yes! But it is equally
difficult to prove it unless we know the facts, especially when
people demand reasoning for our faith.
I believe Bible is the true and only Word of God given to us to
express the will, purpose and ways of God to the human race
(irrespective of our caste, creed and religion). Whether you are
born in a Hindu, Muslim, Catholic or a Christian family, you
must know the following:
There are several reasons (apart from our faith which is must to
believe) which we should consider to find out about the
uniqueness of the Bible. Bible is the only book in this world
which has been examined in a great deal for mistakes or
contradiction and yet none was found; it is the only book which
has gone through various plans of total destruction, yet it has
survived till today, it is the only book which has largest
number of printed copies, it is the only book which is
translated in various languages (approx. 2062 languages) of the
nations of the world and is read by almost all nations of the
world... This list could be endless.
I wish to put here some facts here which would be valuable in
this study:
1.
Assertion by the book itself
2. Uniqueness
of the Bible
3. Other facts to
consider
ASSERTION OF THE BIBLE FOR ITSELF:
If a book is from God, it must affirm and prove that it is so.
It must be complete in all sense to give the full message and it
does. Bible time and again uses the words, 'Thus says the Lord',
and it has scriptures mentioning its source, strength and
reasons of existence.
As the rain and the snow come down from
heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and
making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower
and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my
mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what
I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
[Isaiah 55:10-11]
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away.[Matthew 24:35]
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
[Matthew 5:18] A book from God must claim that IT IS FROM GOD. Bible claims
itself to be the inspired word of God.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
[2 Timothy 3:16-17]
UNIQUENESS OF THE BIBLE:
First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more
common misconception than many people realize, especially with
people who do not come from a monotheistic religion background.
Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a
collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures.
These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry,
prophecy, wisdom literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to
name a few.
Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors.
These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds,
fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others. And most of
these authors neither knew one another personally, nor could
they meet even if they existed in the same time span. These
authors of different intellectual levels wrote different
sections of the Bible in different moods (emotions) and
situations in their lives. Sometimes frightened, sometimes
romantic, sometimes hungry, sometimes needy, sometimes in the
war, sometimes in the peace, sometimes in political turmoil,
sometimes in the pain of physical sickness.
Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500-1600
years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these
authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing
these books.
Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different
languages. In the Bible we have books that were written in the
ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of
the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these
books were written.
And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different
continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe. Once again, this is a
testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God's people. Mind it, they did not have internet or any other
telecommunication means, by which they could share their work
with each other.
Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40
different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on
3 different continents. What's more, this collection of books
shares a common storyline- the creation, fall, and redemption of
God's people; a common theme- God's universal love for all of
humanity; and a common message- salvation is available to all
who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of
their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing
these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors
or contradictions. God's word truly is an amazing collection of
writings!
It is actually impossible, for any collection of human writings.
However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66
books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3
different languages, on 3 different continents, with no
historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible, from
Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.
Someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the inspired
word of God, try sharing this challenge with them. Tell him/her:
If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of
God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural
origin, than I challenge you to a test. I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can
choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the
characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66
books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3
different languages, written on 3 different continents. However,
they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common
message, with no historical errors or contradictions.
If you hear the words, "But that's impossible!", then you have
won an opportunity to share about God's love to that person, if
you already believe in Jesus and his word - the Bible. If
you did not believe in Jesus and Bible until you read this
article, now you have the
reason to believe in it.
OTHER FACTS TO CONSIDER:
Some people claim that Bible has been changed. I have many
evidences to support that it has not been changed, yet instead
of any evidences, I would rather say, prove for me that Bible has been
changed. None has proven yet that Bible is changed, it is just a
misconception. The original manuscripts (approx. 5000 copies in
various places) available in London museum, copies found in the
caves in Israel, dead sea scrolls and several other documents
tally word by word to the printed Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew
copies of the Bible books. More than this, I believe that Bible
has not been changed, because IT IS THE WORD OF GOD, and God is
able to protect his word, if it is his word.
Josh McDowell and other apologetic writers have done a thorough
research and have concluded several tests by which they prove
that Bible is not changed at any point of time in history.
Biographical test: All historical documents are subjected to
this test to prove their validity. It is an examination of the
textual transmission taking place through the time in contrast
to all available original manuscripts. Bible has been proven
several times against all available manuscripts, that it has not
changed and the text available to us today is authentic.
Manuscripts available for old testaments books is comparatively
very less yet, dead sea scrolls found in 1947 (approx. 40,000
inscribed fragments) have helped to construct 500 books, most of
which prove biblical text.
Internal evidence test: This test determines whether the written
record is credible by analyzing the ability of the author or the
witness to tell the truth. It relies on the witnesses of the
incidents mentioned in the documents. New testament documents
have been scrutinized on this test, and the eye witnesses of
Jesus' times never confronted what was written in the Bible
then. If the facts were written incorrectly, many contemporary
writers must have criticized it, but it did not happen ever.
External evidence test: This test is another test which is used
to validate the authenticity of the historical documents. In
this test, other contemporary documents/writings from authors
[other than the author (or any person related to him) of the
document under scrutiny] are checked to see what do they report.
One document contradicting the truths of the Bible is yet to be
found. Dr. Clark Pinnock states:
"There exists no document from the ancient world witnessed by so
excelling a set of textual and historical testimonies and
offering so superb an array of historical data on which an
intelligent decision may be made. An honest [person] cannot
dismiss a source of this kind. Skepticism regarding the
historical credentials of Christianty is based upon an
irrational (i.e., antisupernatual) bias."
Archeology also provides evidences for the reliability of the
Bible. With more than 25,000 sites already discovered that show
connections to the Old testament period, the amount of
archeological support is overwhelming. Critics of the nineteenth
century felt that Abraham could not have existed as he is
described in the Bible. Sir Leonard Woolley's excavations at Ur
(the city of Abraham's birth - Genesis 11:27-29) of the Chaldees
show that it was a highly developed city. In August 1993, an
Israeli archeologist discovered the inscriptions on a broken
monument in the northern Israel which are nothing but the
biblical text, proving the historical reality of the Bible.
Apart from these facts, there are some more biblical reasons to
believe the Bible as the Word of God. The old testament contains
over 300 prophesies of the coming messiah (masiha in hindi)
- the Christ, that were exactly fulfilled in Jesus.
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PROPHECY |
FULFILLMENT |
#1 Born of a Virgin
"Therefore the
Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will
be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name
Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14 |
"... she was found to be with child by the Holy
Spirit, ...And Joseph... kept her a virgin until she
gave birth to a Son; and he called his name Jesus." -
Matthew 1:18, 24, 25 |
#2 Born at Bethlehem
"But as for you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of
Judah, from you One will go forth for me to be ruler in
Israel. His goings forth are long ago, from the days of
eternity - Micah 5:2 |
"... Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea... " -
Matthew 2:1 |
#3 Hands and feet pierced
"...they
pierced my hands and my feet."
-Psalms 22:16
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"And when they came to the place called
the Skull, there they crucified Him..." -Luke 23:33 |
#4 Garments parted and lots
cast
"They divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots." - Psalm 22:18 |
"The soldiers therefore,
when they had crucified Jesus, took his outer garments
and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also
the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one
piece. They said... 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots
for it, to decide whose it shall be' ... " -John 19:23,
24 |
#5 Bone not broken
"He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken."
-Psalms 34:20
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"But
coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead,
they did not break his legs." -John 19:33
(Historical Note: The executioners normally broke
criminals' legs to hasten their death.) |
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Ref: (Page 64-72)Life builders, destined for security, India
Campus Crusade for Christ |
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"Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. "
[Matthew
11:28] |
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