The Bible. It is believed by many, to be the very words of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”
Proclaimed from generation to generation, and from culture to culture, this timeless book has changed so many lives throughout history. But the question still seems to remain: “How can we know for sure that it really is the word of God?” Is it simply because the Bible says so, or do we have other ways to test its truthfulness? What determines truth anyways and is it real?
Numbers 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
The Bible itself seems to imply that the truth is real and it is something that can be known. That it’s not relative. So then, what is the truth? Perhaps one of the best ways of discovering truth is by realizing what it’s not. The law of non contradiction states that two opposites cannot be true at the same time and in the same sense. For example, the same door can’t be opened and closed at the same time and in the same way. So then, that is something that can be known for certain. Therefore, the real question becomes: “Does the Bible contradict itself?” Because if it does, then it cannot possibly be the word of God.
Many have claimed that the Bible has many errors. And Christians have replied saying that the errors are only supposed or apparent. But how weighty it is to realize the truth of the matter: That even one contradiction would render the entire Bible useless. Some suggest that the Bible does have errors, but that that’s okay. They argue that the Bible was written by humans and to err is human. But that no major doctrine is actually affected by any alleged error. However, the Bible itself has a few choice words regarding this idea:
John 10:35” If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—”
Matthew 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
2 Peter 1:20 “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.”
The Bible is either God’s word or not; and it stands or falls according to its own truthfulness. And yes, the Bible contains eye witness accounts, but that wouldn’t excuse the existence of any errors. When there’s a crime committed, the police will rely on eye witnesses to catch the criminal. And the police naturally expect discrepancies between their testimonies. But the Bible doesn’t speak of itself of merely being the result of what people have witnessed, but to be the very words of Almighty God.
Some will then argue that when the Bible was written, it wasn’t the result of some form of automatic writing. That it is written by the hand of several authors, with their own personalities in tact. But that would leave us asking, “Why not?” The Bible, if true, is literally the most important book in the world; being the very key to salvation itself. So then, why wouldn’t God take over the authors in order to ensure that the Bible had no errors at all? In the same way that Jesus performed miracles in order to verify the message, why wouldn’t God verify a book by seeing to it that it was free from error?
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
The Bible is not against us using logic and reasoning. In fact, it encourages it!
Matthew 22:37 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Some may say that other errors are just “copyist errors.” But let’s just think about that for a moment. Are we to think that a perfect God can’t handle writing a perfect book? There are plenty of books in our day and age that are error free. Are we more perfect than God? Or is it because of technology that our books are error free? Technology in all of its complicated intricacies were still created by fallible people. And God is surely far more perfect than the smartest person that ever roamed the earth.
The question is: “Will we be brave enough to go wherever the truth may lead? Are we brave enough to even examine the Scriptures?”
Acts 17:11 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”