Why do you believe the Bible is the word of God?

Just as Peter pointed out in 2 Peter 1:21

I believe the men that spoke and wrote what we call our Bible were moved by the Holy Ghost, which is none other than God Himself, therefore we have the Word of God.

 

There are various lines of reasoning for the truth of scripture. One is the inward witness of the Spirit which you mention. Others include the scriptures' own claims about themselves, the doctrine of inspiration, fulfilled prophecy, historical accuracy, and preservation. All are helpful and give us confidence in the scripture. A good book for your consideration is Erwin Lutzer's Seven Reasons You Can Believe Your Bible. It should be available on Amazon.com

 

Amy, check out this very excellent debate between Gene Cook and an athiest.

http://tnma.blogspot.com/

You have to go down a couple of posts to hear the debate.

 

I guess that there is no real way to convince someone that the Bible is the Word of God if they refuse to believe. And I'm sure that there are many who refuse to believe. But, I can tell them how God changed my life, and they really can't argue much with my testimony.

 

Ok, lets be forensic investigators. Lets examine the evidence.
The first evidence I present is Jesus Christ as a witness.
Jesus quoted much of the OT, and in doing so, was our witness that it is true.
The OT is the theological centerpiece of the NT.
The OT is our historical record of much of the NT.
If it was true for Jesus, then its true for me.
Jesus Himself told many of the writers of the NT that He would send His Holy Spirit to bring to rememberance all of what He had said. I trust Jesus.
Now we have to examine the witness, Jesus. Is He who He claimed to be?
When we examine the evidence and the witnesses, if this was presented in a court of law today, it would be found to be a true reliable witness. He is who He said He is.

 

Amy, to be honest, I tried to come up with an answer that was different than yours but would complement it.

I couldn't. I just kept coming back to your answer.

1. If I say because of personal experience with the Word's transforming power, I still come back to your answer.

2. If I say because it just makes the most sense, I still come back to your answer.

So whether I take an experiential or academic approach, I still come back to you answer.

Great post, btw!

 

If you are trying to convince a non-believer that the Bible is truly God's word, telling them of that you heard the Shepherd voice will not work...trust me. Things of God must be spiritually discerned. To a non-believer, this would be foolish. They would try to have you locked away for hearing voices.

All the internal evidence of inspiration will be rejected by non-believers. All is not lost, though. The historical, scientific, and prophetic accuracies of the Bible cannot be denied by any logical argument. Secular history, and science confirm the Bible is true.

It is my responsibility to tell others the reason for my hope, but it is not my responsibility to convince anyone. God does that.

 

Everything already stated, plus 40 authors over 1500 years...all leading up to and pointing to the same event can never be duplicated again...ever. We are talking about prophesies that were fulfilled in Christ being made thousands of years before His birth including how He was to be born and exact location, which a mere man would have no control over.

The odds of one man fulfuilling just half of the OT prophesies would be like filling the entire state of of Texas 3 feet deep with silver dollars...taking one out at random and painting it red, putting on a blindfold and walking at random through the state with one opportunity to bend down and picking out the red one. The physical odds are amazing when looked at!

 

Let me know when you fill Texas with silver dollars.......... I'm not fer from it.

Also, every genre of literature known to man is in those 66 books. How one could use every tool of literature and have it come together in the miraculous way it does.......... is...... well........... supernatural!

 

Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel's "Faith..." books would be a great read for them. My sister in law says the same thing, that it's a 'fairy tale'. Ironic she has never picked a Bible up and read it, though :BangHead:

Hey, if I ever get that many silver dollars (7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)

Everyone on the BB can retire :laugh:

 

Amy, in my heart I think you have given a really good reason to believe the Bible is true and I fully agree. The problem, however, is that you are using a concept found in John 10 to validate your answer. If you had never read the 10th chapter of John, there is no way you would have come up with this line of reasoning.

To prove the truth of a writing, you have to go to a source outside that writing, and with a writing as old as the Bible it is very difficult to do. That is why faith is so important in forming our beliefs about matters of religion. Oops! It looks like I have committed the same infraction as Amy by raising the matter of faith which is taught in the Bible.

 

I would second webdog's recommendation of Josh McDowell. His book Evidence that Demands a Verdict is the best proof of the truths of the Bible I have ever seen. McDowell relies heavily on circumstantial evidence and ancient writings outside the Bible, together with fulfilled prophecy, and puts together a really convincing case.

 

Amen, Sister Amy.G -- you are so RIGHT ON! :thumbs:

I am by nature a practical person; by training an Electrical Engineer, I finally retired from being a Software Engineer (designer of complex multi-man-year computer programs for practical functions). I find if I assume, use-as-an-axiom, or believe that the Bibles (all the valid English Versions) are the Written Word of God and that Messiah Jesus is the Living Word of God -- then I get a lot of practical, daily-living type insights that I'd not get otherwise. So, Salvation by faith in Messiah Jesus helps me live day-to-day -- I've found nothing more useful in this life or the life to come.

 

I do not care how many outside proofs there are if you are not willing to submit to the prompting of the Holy Ghost then nothing else matters. You canot know the Bible is true outside of a clear revelation from God in your heart.

Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God


1Co 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
1Co 1:22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
1Co 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
1Co 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
1Co 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
1Co 1:29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
1Co 1:30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
1Co 1:31 Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."


Mat 16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven

 

...so if mounds of physical proof point to the Bible being truthful...you cannot see this truth without a revelation from God

Who do you think allowed this physical proof to be found?