How do we know the Bible was not a collection of fiction novels written for the sole purpose of entertainment?

Question

Its like if tens of thousands of years later humanity tries to learn of our history and they excavate the Harry Potter series and they believe its our true history, that we had wizards and magic and this Harry Potter was the "One" who stopped the evil forces on Earth, anyway thats just an example, how do we know the Bible stories were not fiction novels? Im not trying to be insulting Im really seriously asking

Answer 1

First, while the Bible was written by men, God gave these men the words to write.
Second, We know it is not fiction because of the proof in it. Okay, think about these scientific proofs: The Bible was written before scientists discovered that blood was important for life. Leviticus 17:11 says "For the life of the flesh is in the blood." For years doctors would "bleed" people because doctors thought that the bad blood needed to be removed. Now, doctors know what the Bible has said for centuries: that people need their blood to live.
Next, Isaiah 40:22 says "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth." The Bible was written long before Christoper Colombus' time, yet men believed the earth was flat in his time.
Third, another thought: for centuries people have tried to destroy all copies of the Bible. Yet, look at how many copies are here today. Many books have been destroyed over the years, never to be seen again. Why is the Bible still here today? Could it be that it is still here because it is the Inspired Word of God?
Fourth, archaeology proves that the Bible is true. If it were fiction, the people and places would never have been found. In the Bible there are numorous references to Hittites, and until 1906 nothing was found to show that they were real. In 1906 that changed when Hugo Winkler began excavations at Bohazkoy and found an ancient Hittite capital. There are many other instances where archaeological finds prove the authenticity of the Bible.
Fifth, the Bible's power to change lives is a proof. Think about John Newton. He was a wicked, ungodly man, yet after reading the Bible he became a Christian and wrote the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace" as a personal testimony. George Muller lived a life of drunkeness, gambling, thievery, and rebellion. After reading the Bible at a Bible study, he realized how wrong he had been and accepted Christ as his Savior. He later founded orphanages and provided for more than 2,000 orphans.
In conclusion, there are many proofs, yet one still has to accept by faith that the Bible is true. I challenge you to read the Bible and compare scientific and historical facts with scientific and historical facts known today. I guarantee that the Bible will never be wrong. I suggest you start in any of the four Gospels, preferably John. As you read make sure you keep your mind and heart open to what God wants to teach you. I am praying that you will truly learn that the Bible is the Word of God. If you have any more questions please email me, and I will be extremely happy to answer them. My email address is [e-mail]. Also, you may want to go to a Christian bookstore and ask for books on this subject.

Answer 2

When one looks at other cultures, including primitive cultures, the studies show hundreds of similarities between those who use and read the Bible and others who don't. Many primitive peoples of native cultures may have been influenced by missionaries or travelers. However, these similarities cannot be discounted as parts of oral histories which were finally placed in the written word and then translated to other languages. Copies of the Bible can viewed dating as far back as the 1400's and 1500's. Thus, it can be said that the Bible is a written version of oral histories and not entertainment. However, the society in which we now live, seeks entertainment. Thus, the Bible can be made into entertainment. Aesop's fables on the other hand, can be for entertainment and moral teachings.

Answer 3

Relevant Tangent: You would REALLY enjoy "Motel of the Mysteries." Find it at your library. And/or see http://www.sfu.ca/~qzhua/intd6003.html

As for your question:

From the Catholic point of view (as usual, firmly between the fundamentalists and the atheists), large parts of the Bible ARE myth, including the two not-really compatible creation stories and the blended (not to say pureed) remains of two or three Ark stories. I'm told there is nothing about Isaac that isn't a duplicate of something told about his father Abraham or his son Jacob. (Was it Uncle Harry at the World's Fair or Grampa Ben at the Columbian Exposition? Maybe Cousin Kevin at the Olympics!) The book of Jonah IS a short story with a moral or two. (Even if you can believe in the whale, show me the ancient city it took 3 days to walk across!)

And none of that matters to the Bible being the Word of God.

No, not literally, in every single character. If that were necessary, the fact that we can't translate some of the ancient Hebrew words except by guesses, so that one scholar has an ostrich where another has a rhino, would be devastating--which it isn't!

Rather, what the Book of Books sets out to teach is inspired. For instance, God created the world; the poetry of the 6 days He did it in is no more--and no less--meaningful than a ballet of the same 6 days would be. For another instance, Christ was born to save ALL nations, and whether wise men (number not stated) came from the East to do him homage at Bethlehem, Nazareth, some Egyptian caravansary, or not at all--at best, that's an example, at the least, an emblem, of the important fact.

Has any of this helped?

P.S. No, I'm not in the least insulted by your question. And no serious Jew or Christian should be!

Answer 4

First of all, there was no such thing as a "novel" back then. The "novel" is a relatively modern literary form.

Now that we're clear on that:

The Bible is largely based on stories passed down from generation to generation orally. Widespread literacy is a relatively recent concept. The oral tradition has some obvious shortcomings, among them being: memory errors, memory conflicts and confabulation.

Further errors are introduced in "scriptures" - literally writings - in the copying and editing. They are frequently deliberately entered in order to support an ideology or to resolve conflicting versions.

The first five parts of the bible (the five books of Moses) were written many centuries after Moses lived (if, indeed, he was an historical figure - which has never been confirmed). In the first book, Genesis, we read two different accounts of how God created the heavens and earth.

Similarly, in the four gospels - Mark, Luke, Matthew and John - we read somewhat conflicting accounts of the life, works and death of Jesus of Nazareth (if he, in fact, was a Nazarene). There were other gospels which were suppressed by the early church leaders. We know of these other gospels because other surviving writings mention them and, in some cases, we actually have fragments of the excluded gospels (see "The Gnostic Gospels", "The Gospel of Thomas: New Perspectives on Jesus' Message", "Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity" and "Beyond Belief" by Elaine Pagels).

If you want to explore this in depth, I highly recommend "Whose Bible Is It?: A Short History of the Scriptures" by Jaroslav Pelikan and "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why", "Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament" and "The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed"; the last 3 by Bart Ehrman.

Answer 5

If you will check back in history you will find proof of the Battles place names Kings Queens all kinds of stuff. History is after all His Story.
We don't know for sure where the Garden of Eden was or where the Ark ended up but there is evidence of a great flood in the layers of soil and the Garden was supposed to be close to the Euphrates River.
Faith is an important thing but there is proof that the Bible is true.

P.S. I have to say this....when was Judas supposed to write a Gospel? If after Jesus died on the cross he would have a small problem because he was dead having hung himself for having betrayed Jesus and falling and splitting open. Jesus KNEW Judas would be the one to betray him but Judas had a choice and he could have chosen not to.
The 4 Gospels were written by 4 different men having talked to different people who knew Jesus and the 4 had different stories to tell. Would 10 people who know you tell the same story in the same way about you?

Answer 6

Archaeology is proving more than the existance of ancient humanity, it is establishing the time-frame and validity of the bible. For centuries, the only established recordings of history were recorded by the hand of scribes who followed the edicts declared by the king. Many stories paralleled the bible but often contradicted its truths. Now, the more we uncover, we find an astounding amount of proofs in the treasures underneath the surface.

Besides, the bible has a living preasence of good and has been the strength and hope for hundereds of generations. No other book has the harmony of various authors or unpresedented clarity of thought and theme.

Answer 7

We dont. Good question. It shows you are thinking. Congrats. I'm with you to an extent. I believe (as do all Gnostics) that the Bible was handed down orally for hundreds of years before the stories were written down and then edited by the Emperor Constantine and the Nicean Council. There is much to the story that was eliminated. The hilarious thing is that they couldnt even maintain consistancy. The four Gospels included in the Bible (there are many more that were cut out) disagree on literally dozens of points. There are three different versions of the Flood in the Old Testament - each with a different length mentioned. The Bible is a document put together by the church for the purpose of keeping people in line and keeping the money flowing in. Nothing else. Pax - C

Answer 8

First 2 questions - no and no. It was once written to justify the ruling pursuits of a specific persons. Second query - no longer so extraordinary, besides there probably a thriving local populace in South and North America, and the center east probably extraordinary (if the center age crusades had certainly not occurred) All in all, it sort of feels that there might be a lot more peace on this planet with out the Bible.

Answer 9

Because the various books in the Bible are written in different genre. Harry Potter is all written in the genre of fantasy. But in the Bible Psalms, Proverbs, Job and others are Poetry, The Gospels are Biography, Exodus is History and so on. Paul's Letters are clearly written to give direction to a new religious movement. And Acts is clearly an account of that movements birth

Now between the faithful and those not of the faith we can argue weather the Bible is the word of God (I believe it is, you may not) but there is clear proof it is not fiction. That is why it irks so many of us when non-believers refer to Jesus as fiction. This belies the fact of Paul's letters. Did he make up Jesus in a effort to start his own movement? It makes no sense. Plus the Historian Josephus, not a religious man mentions Jesus and his movement.

Answer 10

A long time ago in Greece people used to believe in many different gods. People have stopped believing in that religion. And now we learn it at school as if it was just a story. That in my opinion is what the bible is today. In a few years we will forget all about it. Nobody will care. Just like I dont care if this answer gets a negative. Even though most people that have tried to answer gets put down with a negative. But then again I do not believe in god.