:: Thirty-Five Things Worth Knowing About the Bible ::

The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1,400 years -- from the time of Moses until the end of the first century AD/CE. Despite the fact that its 66 individual books were written over such a long period of time by many different people from various walks of life, the Bible presents a unified message of God's plan to rescue the human race.

The Bible is divided into two main sections, the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). The OT is held in very high esteem by the world's three largest monotheistic (= belief in one God) religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The OT, written in Hebrew (and some Aramaic), depicts God's dealings with humankind in general, and with his chosen people, Israel, in particular. The NT, written in Greek, presents the coming of Jesus Christ, the birth of the Christian Church, and the spread of the Gospel message of salvation through personal, saving faith in Christ.

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2

WHO SAID WHAT

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

-- THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) [REF]

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3 How can we know about God?

The Bible is built on the fact that there is a real and personal God who created people in order to have a real and personal relationship with us. Because God is a supernatural being, we cannot see, hear, or touch him. And so he must choose to reveal himself to us before we can know anything about him. God has chosen to make himself known in two ways, often referred to as general revelation and special revelation. General revelation refers to God's communication of himself in a general sense. This is what can be known of God through nature (including human nature) and human history. The design and beauty of nature, the preservation of the nation of Israel, and our religious nature -- these are all general ways in which God reveals himself to us. [REF]

SCRIPTURE SAYS

The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth ... (Psalm 19:1-4)

For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made ... (Romans 1:20)

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APOLOGETICS 101

Why should I believe in God when no one can prove he exists?

God is spirit. We cannot see, hear, or touch spirit. Therefore, we cannot see, hear, or touch God -- at least not directly. That is why he gave us his Word, the Bible. And that is why we must look at Jesus to see God.

Lots of things cannot be "proven" through the scientific method. Love, for example, cannot be weighed on a scale or poured into a test tube. And yet we know love is as real as anything in this world. People set themselves against tremendous odds, endure tremendous hardships, go tremendous distances -- all in the name of love. The greatest example of love, of course, is God's love for us: "For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

In addition, while there may be little direct evidence for God's existence, there is much indirect or circumstantial evidence: [REF]

The universe must have had a beginning -- and hence a "beginner."
Complicated design -- that is, evidence of an intelligent designer -- is found throughout all of nature, even down to the DNA within a single cell.
Certain moral laws -- against murder, rape, stealing, lying, etc. -- have been and still are accepted by many and various cultures around the world.

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5 Why isn't general revelation enough?

By itself general revelation is limited for at least two reasons: 1) "due to their fallen condition," human beings "suppress this knowledge and pervert its message," and 2) general revelation cannot prove that the God spoken of in the Bible actually exists. [REF] In addition, if all we had to go by was general revelation, we could reach some very misleading conclusions. For example, without knowing anything else about God, all the pain, suffering, and evil in the world could easily lead us to conclude that the being who created this world is unloving, powerless, or both. [REF]

General revelation lays the foundation for special revelation, which is God's communication of himself in a particular sense. This is what can be known of God through his many personal encounters. As recorded in the Bible, God communicated directly with such individuals as Abraham, Moses, and the OT prophets of Israel. God's ultimate revelation, however, came with the appearance of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, God made himself known as never before.

Jesus' many miracles, his sacrificial death, and his resurrection from the dead verified his teachings and made a way for us to enter into a personal relationship with God. This is the message the followers of Jesus (the first Christians) took to all the world beginning in the first century AD/CE.

SCRIPTURE SAYS

After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word ... (Hebrews 1:1-3)

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

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6	WHO SAID WHAT A single line in the Bible has consoled me more than all the books I have ever read. -- IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) [REF]

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7 Why should the Bible be accepted as the authoritative Word of God?

While there exists overwhelming historical evidence for both the OT and NT, the main reason we accept the Bible as the authoritative Word of God is because of Jesus and his apostles. As God incarnate, Jesus had ultimate authority. Jesus verified the OT in his own teachings, and he commissioned his handpicked representatives, the apostles, to take his teachings to literally the entire world. [REF] In addition, the apostles' writings (our NT) are saturated with OT quotations and allusions. The apostles held the OT in highest esteem, and their own writings amounted to a divinely inspired, authoritative commentary on the OT. [REF]

SCRIPTURE SAYS

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you." (John 14:26)

Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. (Acts 2:42-43)

who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name. (Romans 1:4-5)

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8 How can we know the Bible is historically reliable?

There are three main tests historians use for determining the reliability of an ancient document: [REF]

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL TEST. This has to do with how a document was preserved as it was passed from generation to generation.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST. This has to do with contradictions and other inconsistencies.

EXTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST. This has to do with other sources outside the document that help to prove the document is true and trustworthy.

When subjected to these standard tests, both the OT and the NT are shown to be historically reliable.

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APOLOGETICS 101

Isn't the Bible really just a book of myths and legends?

This question is often asked by folk who are skeptical or even critical regarding the Bible's origin. However, it is not what the authors of the Bible books believed; they were absolutely convinced they were recording actual, historical events.

Many of the alleged myths in the OT were actually verified by Jesus himself. Examples include Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:4), Noah and the flood (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27), and Jonah and the whale (Matthew 12:39-40).

It has been shown that it takes at least two full generations for a myth to develop. The events of the NT are drawn from eyewitness testimony and were recorded by Jesus' contemporaries. [REF]

In response to the claim that the NT gospels contain legendary or romantic accounts, renowned professor, writer, and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis wrote: "I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this." [REF]

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10 How was the OT written and preserved? The OT was written over a period of about one-thousand years -- from Genesis circa 1400 BC/BCE to Malachi circa 400 BC/BCE -- and involved between 30 and 40 writers, including prophets, judges, and kings. [REF] The first OT manuscripts (= handwritten documents) used only the consonantal Hebrew alphabet, and were written without divisions (to preserve space). Schools of scribes meticulously hand copied the text in this way until the time of the Masoretes (circa AD/CE 500-900), who were Jewish scholars and scribes that added vowel points and made other improvements to the text. The OT we have today is called the Masoretic text (MT) because of the tremendous contribution made by the Masoretes as they preserved and passed on the Hebrew Bible. [REF] Both prior to and including the period of the Masoretes, those who copied the manuscripts did so with a sense of reverence, care, and precision rivaling any modern scientific endeavor. [REF] Why? Because they remained absolutely convinced they were dealing with the very thoughts and words of Almighty God.

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