At work we often have conversations about politics, religion, world events, etc. I’m the only conservative in my department, so you can imagine… it gets lively.  Our conversation was on marriage one particular day, and I pulled out my Bible and read what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5: 22-32. It is beautifully written, and I could see it impacted their thinking. However, one of them said, ”Men wrote the Bible, right? Don’t men have their own agenda; are not men fallible?” I did the best I could to answer this question, but I don’t think I did a great job. What is the best way to show that the men who wrote the Bible were inspired by God?

Sincerely, Defending the Faith

Dear Defending the Faith,

The best way to show it is to show the uniqueness of the Bible. The writers of the Bible admit that it is their hands that wrote it (Gal 6:11), but they also explain that God’s Spirit guided those hands (Eph 3:3-4). If that is true (and it is!), then the Bible would show signs that it was written by God and not man. Here are some simple reasons that the Bible is unique from every other book:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.
2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.
3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.
4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.
5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

These are only short answers to the question ‘Why is the Bible unique?’, but they are a good start when discussing the issue with someone. If you want a more detailed answer, I recommend Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel as great reference material on this topic.

How can we be 100% certain the Bible is real, complete, and unchanged?

Sincerely,
Best Evidence Please

Dear Best Evidence Please,

The best way to show it is to show the uniqueness of the Bible. The writers of the Bible admit that it is their hands that wrote it (Gal 6:11), but they also explain that God’s Spirit guided those hands (Eph 3:3-4). If that is true (and it is!), then the Bible would show signs that it was written by God and not man. Here are some simple reasons that the Bible is unique from every other book:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.
2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.
3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.
4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.
5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

These are only short answers to the question ‘Why is the Bible unique?’, but they are a good start when discussing the issue with someone. If you want a more detailed answer, I recommend Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel as great reference material on this topic.

     I am currently a Deist, not tying myself to any one religion or belief; however, I do believe that there is a Supreme Being, One who orchestrated the birth of the universe.  However, I also believe in the findings of our scientists, such as the Big Bang theory and the scientific theory of evolution.  Because I believe in a god, but not a Christian god, where does that leave me on that Great Day (according to Christianity)?  I just figure that if Christianity WAS the correct path after all, would that "kind and just" God send me to an eternity of damnation, or would He understand my doubts because He created me in His own image?

Sincerely,
Deist

Dear Deist,

It is understandable with all of the opinions that are thrown around as science for you to feel torn between belief in God and the belief in evolution, but it isn’t enough to believe in a generic god – we must place our faith in the God.  After all, even the demons admit belief in deity… but that won’t save them on the Day of Judgment (Jas 2:19).  Jesus is a very exclusive Savior.  He very boldly claims, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no comes to the Father, but by Me.” (Jhn 14:6).  If you don’t have a life of faith built upon following Christ, you won’t be saved.  That may sound harsh, but let’s talk about the evidence that God provides to make it possible for a deist to turn into a christian.

First of all, all faith is built upon some sort of evidence.  That evidence may be historical data (like when you trust traffic lights to work properly because they have statistically done so in the past), it may be personal experience (i.e. when you trust a friend because they have shown good judgment and loyalty in the past), or circumstantial evidence (like when a jury convicts a murderer based upon the evidence presented to them – even when there weren’t eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime).

Your belief that there is some sort of Supreme Being is probably based upon some sort of basic evidence from the world that you see around you.  Rom 1:20 says that God has provided evidence of His existence in the creation around us.  From galaxies to atoms, this world shows the signs of design.  A design requires a Designer.  God’s handiwork is seen in the finely-tuned craftsmanship of the human eye, just like Nikon’s handiwork is shown in the craftsmanship of their cameras.  You’ve done well to acknowledge His existence in a general way… but we would beg you to keep digging deeper.

Don’t be dissuaded by the scientists that say we evolved from goo.  First of all, not all scientists are evolutionists – no matter what the media tells you.  Thousands of biologists, geologists, doctors, paleontologists, etc. believe in the Creator of the Bible, and they are intellectually honest in doing so.  The scientific evidence has led them to the Bible, not away from it.  Second of all, things like evolution and the Big Bang are a way of interpreting the scientific data, not a concrete finding from the data.  One scientist sees a bed of fossils, and because he doesn’t believe in God, he interprets that the fossils were created over millions of years.  Another scientist sees the same fossil bed, and because he does believe in God, he interprets that a catastrophic event (like Noah’s Flood) is what caused such a sudden build up of fossils and silt.  They see same evidence, but come to vastly different conclusions.  Read “Atheism-Colored Glasses” for further details on the subject of scientific bias.

Next, after looking at the general evidence of God’s existence, it is time to look at the specific evidence of the Bible’s supernatural origins.  The Bible is a unique book; it is a book that no human could ever write.  We would encourage you to read “Who Wrote The Bible?” for a comprehensive list of reasons why the Bible is a book that only God could have written.  Once we begin to see the evidence for the Bible’s divine origins, we have no choice but to ask ourselves, “Will I follow God’s Word?”.

God expects us to follow Jesus because He has given us plenty of evidence that Jesus is the one and only true Son of God.  We would encourage you to follow the evidence – it will lead you straight to Jesus the Christ.

How do some christians debate that the earth as a planet is merely 5,000 years old?

Sincerely,
Looking Later

Dear Looking Later,

There is quite a bit of scientific evidence that backs the Bible timeline for a young earth.  According to the Bible, the Earth is around 6,000 years old.  This was accepted by the scientific community until not long before Darwin came on the scene.  Darwinian evolution required the world to be billions of years old to prove his theory that species evolve slowly over time.  Since evolutionists dominate the public voice for the scientific community (even though many scientists do believe the Bible and do believe in a young earth), all you ever hear is that the world is billions of years old – we are never told about the evidence that supports a young Earth.

There are many evidences for a young earth.  One piece of evidence is the Cambrian explosion – a layer of rock that show an immense variety of fossils.  The Cambrian explosion in the fossil record shows that there was a point in history when millions of species exploded onto the scene – the exact opposite of evolution.  However, the Cambrian explosion can easily be explained by the worldwide flood of Noah’s day (Gen 7:11-12).  A worldwide flood explains why there was an explosion of dead things under tons of mud, silt, and rock.

Another example is the distance between the Earth and the moon.  The moon is slowly receding from the Earth at a measurable rate.  With some basic math, we can see that it is impossible for the Earth to be billions of years old – if it was, the moon would have been so close that it would have destroyed all life on the planet!

These are just two simple evidences, but there are thousands more that space doesn’t permit us to list.  Groups of scientists like the people at answersingenesis.org specialize in showcasing the evidences for a young Earth and the accuracy of the Bible account of the Creation.

I was wondering if it is worth studying Scripture on a deeper level given my Bible is written in English.  From what I understand, the New Testament was originally written in Greek.  Since I am not a scholar or speak that language, I might not understand the fullest meaning behind the passages.  Is the Bible meant for average folks to study in their own native language?

Sincerely,
It’s All Greek To Me

Dear It’s All Greek To Me,

The Bible is definitely meant to be understood and studied by average folks!  There is quite a lot of chatter that the Bible has been mistranslated or that a translation leaves you unable to truly understand what the Bible writers intended – this is not true.  When Jesus quoted the Old Testament, He quoted from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, but Jesus felt comfortable quoting from the Greek language version.  This tells us that God has no problems with using translations to convey His wisdom to every culture and language on the planet.  As long as you have a good word-for-word translation (read “What’s The Best Translation” for details on what that means), you will be just fine.

Every day, vital documents are translated into other languages without mishap.  Peace treaties, corporate contracts, wills, trusts, and many other legal arrangements are made from one language to another.  Linguists are skilled professionals that are able to properly convey the same ideas from one language to another, and major Bible translators are especially circumspect and fastidious to properly translate from the original Greek and Hebrew.  Never fear, you have God’s Word just as much as the first-century christians did.