Why Trust the Bible?

The Canon or Bible is a library of 66 books and letters copied from ancient texts written by about 40 different authors over span of time that spreads about 1500 years. The writings were completed about 1900 years ago and compiled together into one "book" starting about 1700 years ago. Most of the Old Testament writers never met each other. The number of different New Testament (aka NT) manuscript copy portions is astonishing especially at a time when Christians were severely persecuted and manuscripts were destroyed when discovered by the Roman government until AD313. You will find many spelling errors and many phrases that are worded slightly different without changing the meaning between all the different copies. However, if you understand Greek word order (Dr. Daniel B. Wallace), this would be perfectly consistent with one person reading the text out loud, while several people would be writing down exactly what they heard. Amazingly, all of these text agree on ALL the essential doctrines of the historical Christian beliefs.

In fact, by combining all the handwritten New Testament manuscripts, we are actually getting closer to the actual wording more than ever before. The widespread dissemination of the handwritten copies so near to the events was a brilliant way to ensure that nobody could try to change the original message because they could not possibly change all the copies. The reasonable conclusion is that God has watched over His message to mankind. He spread His message widely, quickly & very early. Today we have 5,800 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages, such as Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian. God chose this method so that no person or group could change or hijack His message. If that were not enough, we also have the writings of the early church fathers that predate Constantine. They quoted from these same manuscripts in their own writings so extensively that almost the whole New Testament could be reconstructed from their quotes alone. They also condemned and refuted manuscripts that were introduced hundreds of years later and not passed down from the original witnesses. These were the disciples of the Apostles who dedicated their lives to learn from them. Long before the "Popes", this was in a period of time when there was great persecution. They suffered & willing gave their lives to preserve the manuscripts. If it is important for us to know, understand & apply, then the Bible makes it very clear with multiple references that clarify and not contradict God's message.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Many will focus on the "God-breathed" aspect, taking it out of it's whole context for God's stated purpose. God has watched over His word as He inspired the writers and has made sure His purposes for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness have not been compromised over the centuries. Otherwise, how could He hold us responsible for knowing His will? Some have tried to resolve all perceived contradictions in the Biblical accounts and their proposed solutions may be correct. However, I do not think it is necessary in order to prove that God's message has be accurately preserved for us today for every purpose He intended.

I am not intending to diminish the incredible prophecies that prove a supernatural origin or all the historical evidence that continues to add credibility to the ancient text. The most important example is how the Old Testament precisely predicts the future coming of a Messiah with precise timing and many exact details. Not only are the prophetic details supernatural proof, but they also confirm the first coming of the Jewish Messiah. I highly recommend the DVD "My Search for Messiah" by Michael Rydelnik, Ph.D and the book by Ken Johnson, “Ancient Prophecies Revealed”, if this interests you.

Archaeology (recent list) continues to prove the historical people and places mentioned in the Bible as reliable and accurate. Anyone who tries to state that the Bible has been changed or is not trustworthy, is not looking at all of the evidence with honest skepticism. No other written work from antiquity can measure up to the accuracy or volume of the NT texts.

The Bible is the most progressive book you could ever read...
It progresses people towards God > Jesus > Holiness > and Eternal Life.
Therefore, anything that opposes this progression is by definition, regressive drawing you away from the only Way, the ultimate Truth, and eternal Life.