Question for Christians -- What motivates you to have so much faith in the bible?

Question

I'm just curious...
Why do you think that it's true?
There was actually a group of people that chose what the bible said, they took out alot of things. They chose what they thought was true. Why do you have complete and utter faith in something that humans tampered with? What convinces you so much that this is in fact the word of god?

I never once said that I have faith in the fact that it isn't real. Please answer my question, instead of asking me more. And if you think telling me I'm going to burn in hell will make me a Christian, think again. People like you are the reason that I detest it.

So you're saying that an Atheist or a religion different from Christianity can't share a few morals? If I'm not Christian, I can't "Love and be loved"? What's the deal with that? It's great to love people. I love everyone. I'm not a Christian.

So you're saying that an Atheist or a religion different from Christianity can't share a few morals? If I'm not Christian, I can't "Love and be loved"? What's the deal with that? It's great to love people. I love everyone. I'm not a Christian.

Why are you assuming that I haven't read the bible? I have. And I never said it was rules and regulations.

Answer 1

good question-
read "A Case for Christ"
It's not "faith" in the Bible, it is faith in the Lord. The Bible is the inspired word of God. Yes, man has "developed" the Bible by deciding which books to include and which books to exclude and had to make tough decisions to exclude some of the books that appeared to be serving man and were altered for someones own beliefs. There may be some important info lost in translation and some mistakes but that does not change the overall message. I don't think there is anywhere in the Bible that says the Bible is 100% aaccurate in the English versions out today. There are places that say the Bible is the inspired word of God and but I don't think it ever says "there can be no mistake in this book or translations for ever and ever".
The Mormon Bible talks in Gensis of John Smith being a Phrophet...that is not in my version.
The Bible is many stories of many people and their relationship with the Lord and it is a great book to force you to ask your own questions and dig and learn and make up your own mind. I have chosen to believe, I have done a fair amount of study on it and will continue and the more I learn the more I see how it is true. There are more lessons for living today than anyone can imagine.

Answer 2

Great question. So many intelligent people have asked the same question. Some have chosen to dismiss the Bible based on the belief that it has been translated so many times that it could not possibly be accurate. If you research, however, you will find that several of the modern translations actually have used as their primary resource the oldest of Hebrew and Greek texts. These translations (which are the ones most mainline denominations use) are not abridged versions of the original texts. They are carefully researched translations, and with few exceptions they are in harmony with the translations made throughout the centuries.

Now...why do I believe that it is true? I am a fairly well educated, intelligent (so I have been told) non-conformist. I choose to always go to the original source (or as close as I can come) before I make an informed decision. I do not ride the "bandwagon" because my friends do, and I tend to be a skeptic when things don't make sense. I believe in the accuracy of the Bible because I have 1) read it and found it to be pertinent in my life; and 2) I have personally met the One who inspired the words.

"Scholars" who have set out to disprove the Bible's accuracy have missed one important factor in their "interpretation of the facts". They have failed to consult the Author.
*****
PS...for the record...I agree..."Christians" who cannot defend their faith in the scripture without being insulting to the asker need to examine what they believe.

Answer 3

It would be ridiculous not to believe the bible.

The prophet Isaiah, writing about 700 B.C., names Cyrus as the king who will say to Jerusalem that it shall be built and that the Temple foundation shall be laid (Isaiah 44:28; 54:1).

At the time of Isaiah's writing, the city of Jerusalem was fully built and the entire temple was standing. Not until more than 100 years later, in 586 B.C., would the city and Temple be destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar.

After Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians, it was conquered by the Persians in about 539 B.C. Shortly after that, a Persian king named Cyrus gave the decree to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This was around 160 years after the prophecy of Isaiah!

Thus Isaiah predicted that a man named Cyrus, who would not be born for about a hundred years, would give the command to rebuild the Temple, which was still standing in Isaiah's day and would not be destroyed for more than a hundred years. This prophecy is truly amazing, but it is not isolated.

There are, in fact, hundreds of prophecies which predict future events.

Such as the cities of Tyre, Babylon, Sidon which were completely destroyed and will never be found again.
Also prophecies concering the reign of Peria, Greek, and Roman Empire.

Finally prophecy concerining indivual bible figures including around 300 specific prophecies just concerning Jesus.

Unlike any other book, the bible risks telling the future and with 100 percent accuracy.

Answer 4

If you actually read the Bible you will find it really isn't a book of facts, rules, and regulations. It is a book full of accounts of people who interacted with God. History of God's dealings with people. As well as the life and death of Jesus. It teaches us how to have our own relationship with God. When you do get to that point it doesn't matter if you believe in the translation of the Bible you have a relationship with God and the Bible makes sense.
Sure, things were left out in translation but there is enough left to learn about God and his way. If you have any questions you can pray. Those are the kind of prayers that get answered.

Answer 5

You mentioned FAITH a lot in your question. That's exactly it..... If there was concrete evidence that the Bible was true, then you would not need any FAITH because you would have cold, hard evidence. It is a choice to be a believer and a follower of Christ. The reason that I choose to do so is because I wouldn't want to take the chance of not having that FAITH. I have hit some hard times in life, but I know that "I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me (PHIL 4:13). When I started going back to church, it did not cure my problems but it sure did help with my perception of them and with my happiness. There really is no greater joy than the love of the Lord.

Have a great day!!

Answer 6

As many have said, Faith is the key. It means being opened to the possibility that God exists and listening to His words. Then accepting Him into your life. Studying everything I have my whole life, there has never been anything or anyone who can discredit the Bible.

Do you notice how so many people are reduced to mocking, name-calling, and derogatory comments to try to explain away our belief in God?

• John C wrote "Brainwashing"
• nola_cajun wrote "b/c the bible tell them its true"
• X Theist wrote "Brainwashing and arrogance"
• Reisnoh wrote " when i was a jebus cultist it was prolly cuz mommy and daddy told me it was true since i was a lil boy. Once i grew up I read other things. Truethy things"
• americanhero_a1 wrote " Christians are just stubborn. They don't want to admit they are foolish."
• undefeatable wrote " 'I believe in A because B says that A exists, and A wrote B'. Anything beyond C is beyond their grasp."
• hellzfirex wrote "Duhhh its the promise that our psychotic God will let us into heaven so we wont burn in hell that he created by banishing one of his beloved angels to."

It's because they have no facts to backup their opinion that God doesn't exist. No one can prove that. Sure, no one can perform miracles today to convince anyone. That was why Jesus was able to; to show everyone that He was the true Savior sent by God. That's why His life was recorded in the Bible, and that's why we have the Bible today. (It was written by men, but Inspired by God, and I know that God ensured that we have His complete message.)

(Those who don't believe He exists are certainly entitled to their opinion, but the bottom line is that they cannot prove it. Even all the thumbs downs in the world can't change that fact.) Have a great day.

Answer 7

I have taken the time to go back and look at the earliest manuscripts of the Bible. For example, there are over 2,300 still existing copies of the New Testament books which date from before the time of the first church council, which man people claim "cut" or changed the New Testament. Yet each of these 2,300 manuscripts match the current Bible word for word.

Some of these manuscripts have been shown to date within 20 years (or less) of the time that the originals were written. For example, there is a manuscript of the book of John from which we can still read 809 of the 890 verses. The spacing and layout of the (so far) unreadable portions is such that the 81 other verses would fit perfectly into place. This manuscript appears to date from 17 years after the original was written.

We have a manuscript that has 13 of the letters of Paul, from which about 72% of the manuscript is readable. (It was in fragments which had to be reassembled like a jigsaw puzzle. It appears to date from between 80 and 90 AD, with Paul having died in 67AD. (23-33 years) Again, it is word for word identical with the text we use today for the Bible.

If every copy of every New Testament book were to disappear, it is possible to reconstruct the entire writings from quotes within letters, commentaries, other books, histories, prayer books, hymns, inscriptions and engravings. All dated within 100 years of the original writings.

If you include the manuscripts from after the church council, there are nearly 8,000 still existing manuscripts of the New Testament books.

Compare this with the autobiography of Caesar. There are 9 copies still in existence, with the earliest one coming from over 1000 years after the time of Caesar.

Of the over 7,000 lines of the New Testament, there are about 40 were there is a question about the original wording. The majority of those are different spellings of the same word, or the reversal of the words "Jesus Christ" and Christ Jesus". Compare this to Homer's Illiad, in which over 1,300 lines are in dispute, with nearly 400 totally missing and having to be "guessed at" by translators.

So when one examines the actual historical evidence of the books of the New Testament, there is solid reason to accept that the text we have today is accurate and reliable.

Answer 8

Jesus Christ and His teaching. That is why.

My dear,
Just because some people said something it doesn't make it true nor false. These days more and more people are trying to discredit the Bible by claiming it was tampered with! was it! such as what!
As long as the main message was true, and it is. That is what is important. Not those nit picking little things people try to come up with just to discredit others.

In the end, faith is a personal issue, and what you believe or not, should be up to you. If you chose not to believe in the Bible! up to you. To each their own.

Answer 9

Because I use the New World translation of the Holy Scriptures, the most accurate translation of the Bible. I believe that the Bible is God's word because of the power it has had in my life and in the lives of others. Hebrews 4:12.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2005/7/15/article_02.htm

Answer 10

I have a relationship with GOD through Jesus Christ. The longer I walk with Jesus through life the less faith I have in the teachings of men and the more GOD uses the Bible to clarify his will for my life. It took me many years to figure out that all my anti GOD views were based on the teaching of people who I would not even want to spend time with. Many of them were quite miserable. I have found what I was looking for. Actual Truth.