Christians: Time to defend your faith. How do you know that the Bible is the truth, and myths are not?

Question

PLEASE READ DETAILS CAREFULLY BEFORE ANSWERING.
Thank you.
This question is for Christians, but there is nothing to stop atheists and other non-believers from answering...although I already know what many non-believers would say.
There is a correct answer for this question. I'm wondering how many people will get it. The answer is obvious, and all Christians should know it.
Thank you in advance.

I guess I should have said that there were several correct answers, lol, but there's one in particular I'm looking for.
To the Christians who answered already: I AM a Christian. I just wanted to make you guys think.
We all need to be ready to defend our faith, especially against questions like these. The best way of witnessing is to not only know WHAT you believe, but WHY you believe.
It's rather ironic that some of you told me I would know when I'm "saved". Some people need answers to questions like these BEFORE they're saved.
Thank you to the ones who already answered, I'll leave this open until the last possible moment.

Answer 1

Try to hold up these standards to any myth and see how the myth fades to nothing.


M-A-P-S to Guide You through Biblical Reliability

by Hank Hanegraaff

Use M-A-P-S to guide you through Biblical reliability:

Manuscripts, Archaeology, Prophecy, Statistics



Have you tried to show someone the historical reliability of the Scriptures, and not known where to start? A quick trip to your local well-stocked Christian bookstore likely will overwhelm you. Where among the dozens of impressive, comprehensive reference books should you start?



Fortunately, while there is a wealth of information available to support the reliability of Scripture, you don’t have to burn, the midnight oil to give a reasonable answer to those who ask, “How can we know the Bible is reliable?” Four basic principle chart your way to understanding basic biblical reliability.



To help you remember, I’ve developed the simple acronym “MAPS.” Remember the word MAPS and you will be able to chart Bible reliability.



Manuscripts



Manuscripts relates to the tests used to determine the reliability of the extant manuscript copies of the original documents penned by the Scripture writers (we do not possess these originals). In determining manuscript reliability, we deal with the question: How can we test to see that the text we possess in the manuscript copies is an accurate rendition of the original? There are three main manuscript tests: the Bibliographic, Eyewitness, and External (a second acronym — BEE — will help you remember these).



The bibliographic test considers the quantity of manuscripts and manuscript fragments, and also the time span between the original documents and our earliest copies. The more copies, the better able we are to work back to the original. The closer the time span between the copies and the original, the less likely it is that serious textual error would creep in. The Bible has stronger bibliographic support than any classical literature — including Homer, Tacitus, Pliny, and Aristotle.



We have more than 14,000 manuscripts and fragments of the Old Testament of three main types: (a) approximately 10,000 from the Cairo Geniza (storeroom) find of 1897, dating back as far as about AD. 800; (b) about 190 from the Dead Sea Scrolls find of 1947-1955, the oldest dating back to 250-200 B.C.; and (c) at least 4,314 assorted other copies. The short time between the original Old Testament manuscripts (completed around 400 B.C.) and the first extensive copies (about 250 B.C.) — coupled with the more than 14,000 copies that have been discovered — ensures the trustworthiness of the Old Testament text. The earliest quoted verses (Num. 6:24-26) date from 800-700 B.C.



The same is true of the New Testament text. The abundance of textual witnesses is amazing. We possess over 5,300 manuscripts or portions of the (Greek) New Testament — almost 800 copied before A.D. 1000. The time between the original composition and our earliest copies is an unbelievably short 60 years or so. The overwhelming bibliographic reliability of the Bible is clearly evident.



The eyewitness document test (“E”), sometimes referred to as the internal test, focuses on the eyewitness credentials of the authors. The Old and New Testament authors were eyewitnesses of — or interviewed eyewitnesses of — the majority of the events they described. Moses participated in and was an eyewitness of the remarkable events of the Egyptian captivity, the Exodus, the forty years in the desert, and Israel’s final encampment before entering the Promised Land. These events he chronicled in the first five books of the Old Testament.



The New Testament writers had the same eyewitness authenticity. Luke, who wrote the Books of Luke and Acts, says that he gathered eyewitness testimony and “carefully investigated everything” (Luke 1:1-3). Peter reminded his readers that the disciples “were eyewitnesses of [Jesus’] majesty” and “did not follow cleverly invented stories” (2 Pet. 1:16). Truly, the Bible affirms the eyewitness credibility of its writers.



The external evidence test looks outside the texts themselves to ascertain the historical reliability of the historical events, geographical locations, and cultural consistency of the biblical texts. Unlike writings from other world religions which make no historical references or which fabricate histories, the Bible refers to historical events and assumes its historical accuracy. The Bible is not only the inspired Word of God, it is also a history book — and the historical assertions it makes have been proven time and again.



Many of the events, people, places, and customs in the New Testament are confirmed by secular historians who were almost contemporaries with New Testament writers. Secular historians like the Jewish Josephus (before A.D. 100), the Roman Tacitus (around A.D. 120), the Roman Suetonius (A.D. 110), and the Roman governor Pliny Secundus (A.D. 100-110) make direct reference to Jesus or affirm one or more historical New Testament references. Early church leaders such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Julius Africanus, and Clement of Rome — all writing before A.D. 250 — shed light on New Testament historical accuracy. Even skeptical historians agree that the New Testament is a remarkable historical document. Hence, it is clear that there is strong external evidence to support the Bible’s manuscript reliability.



Archaeology

Returning to our MAPS acronym, we have established ,the first principle, manuscript reliability. Let us consider our second principle, archaeological evidence. Over and over again, comprehensive field work (archaeology) and careful biblical interpretation affirms the reliability of the Bible. It is telling when a secular scholar must revise his biblical criticism in light of solid archaeological evidence.



For years critics dismissed the Book of Daniel, partly because there was no evidence that a king named Belshazzar ruled in Babylon during that time period. However, later archaeological research confirmed that the reigning monarch, Nabonidus, appointed Belshazzar as his co-regent whi1e he was away from Babylon.



One of the most well-known New Testament examples concerns the Books of Luke and Acts. A biblical skeptic, Sir William Ramsay, trained as an archaeologist and then set out to disprove the historical reliability of this portion of the New Testament. However, through his painstaking Mediterranean archaeological trips, he became converted as — one after another — of the historical statements of Luke were proved accurate. Archaeological evidence thus confirms the trustworthiness of the Bible.



Prophecy

The third principle of Bible reliability is Prophecy, or predictive ability. The Bible records predictions of events that could not be known or predicted by chance or common sense. Surprisingly, the predictive nature of many Bible passages was once a popular argument (by liberals) against the reliability of the Bible. Critics argued that the prophecies actually were written after the events and that editors had merely dressed up the Bible text to look like they contained predictions made before the events. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The many predictions of Christ’s birth, life and death (see below) were indisputably rendered more than a century before they occurred as proven by the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah and other prophetic books as well as by the Septuagint translation, all dating from earlier than 100 B.C.



Old Testament prophecies concerning the Phoenician city of Tyre were fulfilled in ancient times, including prophecies that the city would be opposed by many nations (Ezek. 26:3); its walls would be destroyed and towers broken down (26:4); and its stones, timbers, and debris would be thrown into the water (26:12). Similar prophecies were fulfilled concerning Sidon (Ezek. 28:23; Isa. 23; Jer. 27:3-6; 47:4) and Babylon (Jer. 50:13, 39; 51:26, 42-43, 58; Isa. 13:20-21).



Since Christ is the culminating theme of the Old Testament and the Living Word of the New Testament, it should not surprise us that prophecies regarding Him outnumber any others. Many of these prophecies would have been impossible for Jesus to deliberately conspire to fulfill — such as His descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 12:3; 17:19; Num. 24:21-24); His birth in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2); His crucifixion with criminals (Isa. 53:12); the piercing of His hands and feet at the crucifixion (Ps. 22:16); the soldiers’ gambling for His clothes (Ps. 22:18); the piercing of His side and the fact that His bones were not broken at His death (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 34:20); and His burial among the rich (Isa. 53:9). Jesus also predicted His own death and resurrection (John 2:19-22). Predictive Prophecy is a principle of Bible reliability that often reaches even the hard-boiled skeptic!







Statistics

Our fourth MAPS principle works well with predictive prophecy, because it is Statistically preposterous that any or all of the Bible’s very specific, detailed prophecies could have been fulfilled through chance, good guessing, or deliberate deceit. When you look at some of the improbable prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, it seems incredible that skeptics — knowing the authenticity and historicity of the texts — could reject the statistical verdict: the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, just as Scripture predicted many times and in many ways.



The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years by forty different human authors in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), on hundreds of subjects. And yet there is one consistent, noncontradictory theme that runs through it all: God’s redemption of humankind. Clearly, Statistical probability is a powerful indicator of the trustworthiness of Scripture.



The next time someone denies the reliability of Scripture, just remember the acronym MAPS, and you will be equipped to give an answer and a reason for the hope that lies within you (1 Pet. 3:15). Manuscripts, Archaeology, Prophecy, and Statistics not only chart a secure course on the turnpikes of skepticism but also demonstrate definitively that the Bible is indeed divine rather than human in origin.

Answer 2

The Bible names actual people that existed. Names have been found on items discovered archaelogical digs. Places that were in the Bible, and even more specifics such as the well where the Samaritan woman drew water, several of the pools. Exactly the way they were described. There is plenty of Archaelogical evidence and plenty of books that have been written on this very subject. Christians may not need it but it has been very persuasive to many non-believers.

Answer 3

farkas419,
I answer this question by stating:
1) Because God guides me through His Spirit, which leads me to understanding.
2) I have been exposed to the Resurrection messages that I was there to hear (faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God)
3) God's prophecies both fulfilled and yet to come edify a most basic fact: You can trust God to keep His word. He won't let His promise fall unfulfilled.

Myths, or those that are not of the Bible, are typically contrary to the Bible. A very important point!

But time and time again those that do not have the Spirit cannot know what value to place upon one thing or another. Without God it's impossible to understand.

Answer 4

The Bible is truth and not myth because everything written in the Bible is God-breathe. This means that every word in the Bible, while written down by man, comes from God. Scripture is God Breathed. 1 Timothy 4:12, NIV. (I might be wrong about the verse but I know it is 1 Timothy chapter 4).
Scripture is not written by man for man. It is written by God for man.
I know this is a hard concept and other concepts of Christianity for non-believers to face.

Answer 5

Greetings,
I am not sure that this is the correct answer but this is the one that I am led to give.

The way that christians know that the bible is the truth is that all prophecy in the bible has either been fulfilled(these given before the fact) partially fulfilled or awaiting fulfillment.

Answer 6

The Bible is a fairy tale.
What you want to prove Noah's Ark, yeah you can read about on the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Adam and Eve go to Sumerian mythology, learn that A- means copy and Dam means man. So copy of a man. Made to the image of Elohim (plural name of two Gods not one),
Read the Zoroastrian tale and you have God and Evil, and after that go to Nicea Council and Constantinople Council of 553AD, and you find out this, On the first Council we made Jesus God, with the opposition of Bishop Arriano, and of course creating the future Muslim split.
On the second council we made illegal reincarnation, so keep on going and you understand the whole dogma.

Answer 7

God has given me reason for faith, evidence. It's not proof of course but it is better evidence that I have seen to anything else.. I share it with you..

Psalms 22:14-18
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

David the King wrote this 900 years before Christ. Death on the cross hadn't even been invented at the time. Yest here is a prefect picture of the death of Jesus.. Proof. No but I see it as STRONG evidence...Jim

Answer 8

The Bible is really just a fake story, perhaps a bit like the Loch Ness monster tales.

When we pass on information to another (example: story, joke, description of something etc) by the time these details are passed on by word of mouth, interpreted by others, and then written down, the final details are typically quite different than the original information.

Since the Bible is just a man-made story passed down over many years in various forms, the chance of it being accurate in any shape or form is remote.

There are people who swear blind that the Loch Ness monster exists regardless of all the evidence to the contrary, but a fence post bobbing up and down in the Loch does the trick. Similarly there are people who swear blind that God exists and the Bible is fact, yet there isn’t one blind bit of evidence to support such theories.

Biblical tales are really no different than Loch Ness monster tales, just the era is different. Current evidence proves conclusively that God and the Bible are both fakes.

There is not one single matter discussed in the Bible out of the many thousands of issues raised that has been proven true, yet many matters have been proven false.

You don’t really need to be a rocket scientist to deduce with practically 100% certainty that God and the Bible are fake.

God was just Satan in sheep’s clothing.

For all you believers, sorry I’m not one of them, how do you know that the God you believe in, and the Bible you believe and follow wasn’t actually the work of Satan. How do you know that it wasn’t Satan that created the Earth, Adam, Eve and all that jazz?

How do you know that Satan didn’t conquer and defeat God, then came down pretending to be God, got millions believing in religion, fighting and killing each other, just because it’s fun for him? What evidence do you have to show that the God in the Bible wasn’t in fact Satan in disguise? The answer is straight forward. If there was any truth to the Bible at all, and the chance of that is totally remote, then God is the Devil, just think about it for a while.

Answer 9

God is like the wind! YOu cant really see him but you can feel him and see how he effects things around you! So the bible being "His Book" is our only guide line to him. It ats like a blue print for our lives. It has a lot of good moral standards and teaching as far as love an acceptance we should have for fellow man. Faith plays a big key! Its the beleif in the inexplicable!

Answer 10

So you know the correct answer for this question. That statement makes you sound like you think you are the only person who has the correct answer therefore, you should be telling and not asking. Thank you in advance

Answer 11

It is obvious to me that one is a myth and the other is not. Myths are unsubstantiated while as the bible deals with real people at a time in history.