The God Test

The God Test is a great tool for sharing the gospel. Ten questions, ten minutes, and a great way to engage skeptics on key subjects. www.thegodtest.org

The Bible: Man Made Myths or God's Plan for Radical Redemption

Can the Bible be trusted? Is it simply a book full of contradictions and fairy tales with no historical evidence to back its claims or is it the inspired Word of God? This is one of the main questions that skeptics will present. If we are going to know why we believe the Bible, we need to be able to answer these questions. In his book God’s Not Dead, Dr. Rice Broocks gives the acronym SHARPER to help remember some of the main proofs for the validity of scripture.

            Same. The words of the Bible are 99% accurate and the vast majority of the words that are in question are simply misspells. There are 138,000 words in the New Testament, and only 1,400 of those words remain in doubt. The words that are in doubt do not change the Scripture’s meaning, its claims, or its doctrine. The Bible is not one book written by a single author like many other religious books, but it is a compilation of sixty-six books written by forty different authors over 1,600 years. The theme of salvation is maintained throughout all sixty-six books.

Historically accurate. The events described in the Bible are backed up by external sources and manuscripts, which will be discussed later. The Gospels, Acts, and the writings of the Apostle Paul all provide parallel accounts of Jesus life and his teachings.

            Archaeologically verified. The famous chemist and historian William Ramsay says about Luke, the author of the biblical books of Luke and Acts, “You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s, and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.” Luke’s reliability as a historian is unquestioned. Innumerable details from the New Testament have been established by archaeological findings. Because of the fact that many of the details described in the Gospels and Acts are not well known details, the writers must have been relying on first-hand experiences. If the Bible is simply a fallible book written by flawed men, you would expect that evidences would begin to compile against its reliability, but this is not the case. As discoveries are made, the evidence does not contradict the Bible, but on the contrary it strengthens the Bible’s accuracy.

New Article

Can we trust the Bible? Know the answer. Coming Friday.

Upcoming Articles

In my previous article, "Know Why You Believe What You Believe," I presented some of the arguments against theism and Christianity. My upcoming article will address the topic of the validity of scripture. Why do you believe the Bible to be true? Know what you believe.

Know Why You Believe What You Believe

As I sat in my room I remember thinking, “I have believed there was a God for as long as I can remember, but why do I believe it?” I had grown up in the church, going every Sunday and being highly involved in our youth group. I had known God existed and had read and studied the Bible for years. I committed my life to Christ at a young age and He had transformed my life and given me a purpose. But as I sat there, I knew that if someone asked me to give them a reason for why I believed God existed I would, besides giving the typical Sunday school answer, have nothing to say.

Don’t get me wrong, when I say I would have nothing to say, I do not mean I would not be able to present the gospel or how God had changed my life, but when confronted with the arguments that are presented by atheists today I would be completely unprepared. Today’s atheistic arguments are complicated theological, social, and scientific questions which require deep and specific answers. The Bible says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15) I had hope, but no answer for why I had it. I knew what I believed, but did not fully know why I believed it. This is where my study began...