How do you defend the bible?

Question

How can you prove to an Atheist that the bible is credible?

EDIT: "Keep your religion to your home and church"

I've been getting a couple of those, and I'd like to say that I'm not here to convert anyone, I'm asking this question because an Atheist asked me to prove it.

Answer 1

I can't, but I have yet to have an atheist answer two questions which I can answer.

1) Let's suppose the universe was created by the Big Bang theory---how did the things that collided get to exist in the first place?

2) Let's assume that Darwin, who later recanted his own theory, nonetheless was right, and man evolved from the amoeba...how did that get there?

Other questions atheists have yet to answer include:
A) Why with all of our findings, including dinosaurs, have we never yet found any missing link?

B) If it just happened by chance, why do animals all have their body parts in the same spot as others of their species...surely the amoeba had no face or other parts, it only had one cell.

C) Are we saying it is easier to believe man came from the single celled amoeba but cannot have come from something only one cell less?

D) Why did NASA in 2006 find that the universe has expanded at a far faster pace than originally thought possible, and they found dark energy that tends to refute the Big Bang theory?

E) Why is it that Freud's theory of Id, ego, Superego; Erickson's stages of Ego development; Albert Bandura's Social Cognition Theories all seem to follow the same path that the Bible has taken in evolutionary development?

F) Why are Muslims, Jews and Christians all anticipating the arrival of a Messiah at the same period of time...Now...and that which was written about in 2 different volumes of a Bible are coming true at this time, including both the growth of Messianic Jews towards a common belief and the atheist and agnostic population away from that common belief, and Muslim is spreading as it has never spread since it was originated?

Are all of these sheer common coincidences? All of these things happening at this time just by happenstance? Fires spreading like never before, earthquakes in areas one would never anticipate them being, man able to actually take cells from another's rib and through genetic manipulation and cloning create a female?

Atheists are filled with questions of the believer, but what I have yet to hear from even one is conclusive evidence that their theories are right, and faith-based ones are wrong....so why is it I have to prove something when the atheists have yet to answer any of my questions?

Answer 2

The Bible has stood the test of time. It was written by many different authors in three different laguages in many different countries and yet it is still around today. The Bible has been the most attacked book ever to be written. Numerous people have attempted to eradicate it from the face of the earth and yet it still remains to be the “number one best seller of all time”.
When the Bible was put together in the Cannon there were many books to choose from. When the books were chosen there were certain requirements that had to be met. One of these requirements was prophesy. The Bible is full of prophesy. There are many cases in the old testament where facts about Jesus’ life are specifically stated and years later they are proven to be 100% accurate (more than 300 prophecies were made just about Jesus’ first coming that were fulfilled, not to mention the rest of his life).
One thing about Christianity is that it is not a blind faith. There are many evidences supporting the Bible. For example:
John A. Eddy, Ph.D. (Astrogeophysics) and Aram A. Boornazian conducted research and discovered that the sun is constantly decreasing by .1% per century. If the sun existed 100 thousand years the heat on earth would have been to great to sustain life. Furthermore, if the sun was even 20 million years old the earth would have been engulfed by the sun. I can’t imagine how large the sun would have been 20 billion years ago.

Almost every culture across the world has a flood story. Maybe the stories are not the same but the fact that almost everyone has a flood story (not a fire story or anything else) points to the fact that there actually was a flood.

Mathew Fontaine Maury dedicated his entire life to discovering the “paths of the seas” as stated in Psalms 8:8. Maury was seriously sick, and his son would read him the Bible every day. When his son came across this verse he was fascinated by it. He spent almost the rest of this life in attempt to discover these paths. Fortunately he did, and became the founder of oceanography.

The Bible states in Isaiah 40:22 that “He sits above the circle of the earth”. Here the Bible stated that the earth was round way before the time of Columbus (his notes actually contain this verse).

Job 36:16 says, “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep.” We have recently discovered that there are such springs off of the coast of Greece, Italy, Israel, Syria, and Australia. How could anyone have known about these springs way before the age of underwater exploration?

Both Solomon and Isaiah wrote about the water cycle way before it was ever considered to be true. People were perplexed about how so much water could run into the ocean but the ocean doesn’t rise. Ecclesiastes 1:7 says “All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.” And Isaiah 55:10 deals with this same subject.

Throughout the Old Testament, God commands the Israelites to circumcise their children on the eighth day after they are born. Recently we have discovered that prothrambin (a chemical necessary for blood clotting reaches the maximum amount of a person eight days after they are born.

Cattle, sheep, and deer chew their cud. These animals are called cud chewing animals. The hare doesn’t do this. So why does the Bible call the hare a cud chewing animal in Deuteronomy 14:7. It has been discovered that the hare does not regurgitate its cud but rather it passes two types of pellets: one which is hard another which is soft and is encased in a moist membrane. This pellet the hare swallows again.

Job 38:19 says “Where is the way of the light?” the word way literally translates into path or road. It takes light about 8 minutes to travel from the sun to the earth. How would the writer know about the path of light way before the essence of light was discovered.

There are so many facts like these that prove the credibility of the Bible that I could keep going for days. The Bible does defend itself. Praise be to God.

Answer 3

There are many historical, geological, and archaeological facts proving it. It would be best to get the questions and answer them on an individual basis. Atheists are left with either the Big-Bang or Evolution. Either depends on matter producing information that DNA uses, as well as a way of interpreting that information, and matter is unable to do that. There has to be devine intervention!

And get them to look at the actual structure of a cell. Evolution likes to talk about simple cells and such, and there is no such thing. The human cell hasn't even been fully mapped out and if just one part is missing or in the wrong place, it is useless. And people believe all that happened by chance? Bah.

Answer 4

The Bible is the core of Christianity. If you don't believe in it, then you can't believe in Christ. (Similarly with other religions and their texts).
1) By finding and showing as many non-biblical historical proofs as possible. That is step one.

after that, it is really up to God and the individual. There is no other way to PROVE the Bible. Either you believe it or not. You can show how it is really old, but can you really PROVE that all the books were written when we think? No. Can you PROVE that Jesus was God, etc. NO

We believe because of Faith. Not because of some Proof or fact.

Once you 'believe', then the Bible takes on more meaning.

Answer 5

The Bible was written by the many different authors. Even with all the different stories... it all points to one main thing. That Jesus Christ is Lord. Go ahead and point out all the contraditions and scripture that you think is lies. Those claims mean nothing to me because the point of the Bible still comes across. I can use practically any book in the New Testament to win a soul to Christ. Stories in the Old Testament backs up what I teach about Christ. Try him... he is real

Answer 6

I can`t. I`ve done lots of study and I`ve had many experences in life that helped me know what to me is truth.My faith gets stronger as I get older and see and live through things.The Bible is understood by children as a child as you become more grounded in the word the word opens up and you see the deeper meaning that is there.You have to have FAITH and you have to Pray and ask the Holy Ghost to be your teacher and if your sincere then you will find what you need in that wonderful book.I f your not sincere then what can I say unless God intervenes in some way,and that is possible, then to a non beliver it will always be a just another book.

Answer 7

If the atheist has a closed mind, you can't begin to.
Anyway, you have to begin by proving it to yourself. And to do this, you have to accept the possibility of doubt.
To me, I approach it by studying the Bible for internal and external consistency, as I would with any historical document. It's a lot of work.
In dealing with the individual, it works best to ask what his or her objections and doubts are, and address those. I suspect that most atheists are not so much interested in rigorous historical study, though some are.
C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" is probably the best description I know of regarding an intellectual approach to proving the truth of Christianity.

Answer 8

Before I go any farther, I would like to note that the majority of people are set in their beliefs and are hard to change. Don't expect an atheist to convert.

The bible is something that cannot be taken absolutely literally or figuratively, that you must make clear to them. The bible provides an accurate account of many wars and historical events (that they will deny, but ask them to go look it up, they will be quiet for a while). They will bring up physics, and, more particularly, the question of "Who created god?". To this, you must respond, "You're argument is irrelevant. God always was, and always will be. It is like me asking you where all of the matter in the universe came from."

You aren't going to be able to change too many of their minds, as they will not accept many arguments. Just move on, and know that eventually, they will have to say that you are right.

Answer 9

I don't defend it and I don't attempt to prove it is credible to an atheist. Gaining faith in the bible is a personal experience that comes through study.

Answer 10

I tend to tell people if they want to keep their beliefs (or lack thereof) at home and.or church, that's their decision, not mine.

At one workplace, one person did not like working at my station. When he did, he got nervous, because he felt "His presence." He was worried God would come after him because of his lifestyle.
I didn't need to say a word.

I am hoping God will place such a presence in me that people will feel Him when I walk by. As Peter walked in the streets and his shadow healed people, so should our desire to carry His presence to overflowing.
We should carry His light for all to see.