if you use the Bible to defend the Bible's credibility,do you really expect people to believe its credibility?

Answer 1

"Begging the question"- you're describing it perfectly. Don't expect any of the Hellfire Christians to get it though.

Answer 2

I would NOT expect someone skeptical of the Bible's truthfulness to believe it to be credible simply because the Bible itself SAYS so. What I would expect would be for anyone asking this question, if sincere, to consider the following five reasons testifying to the Bible's credibility:

1. Historical Soundness

No one has ever successfully challenged the historical accuracy of the Bible. It refers to real people and real events.

Bible critics have questioned the existence of such Bible characters as King David, King Sargon of Assyria, Belshazzar of Babylon, and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Archaeological discoveries have proved the existence of all of these men.

2. Candor and Honesty

The Bible writers were honest men who wrote candidly about their mistakes and shortcomings. (Numbers 20:7-13; Psa 73:1-14; Jonah 1:1-3; 3:10; 4:1-3; Matt 26:56.)

3. Internal Harmony

The Bible was written over a span of 1600 years by about 40 men. The Bible writers developed one central theme: the vindication of God's right to rule mankind and the fulfillment of his purpose by his heavenly Kingdom.

There are some difference between certain accounts (as described in the four gospels), but this would be expected. Why? As an example, if a group witnessed a crime, and each person mentioned exactly the same details using the same words, would you not suspect collusions? It would be reasonable to expect that each one's testimony would vary depending his angle of view. The same would be true with the Bible writers. (Email me for specific examples of this.)

4. Scientific Accuracy

The Bible is not a scientific textbook, but when it touches on scientific matters, it is always accurate. The Bible describes the earth as a sphere and that it hangs "upon nothing." The Mosaic Law contains laws regarding quarantining of the sick, treatment of dead bodies, and disposal of waste. Such laws reflect knowledge of scientific facts that human experts have discovered only in the last century or so.

5. Fulfilled Prophecy

The Bible contains many prophecies, which are often specific and have been fulfilled down to the smallest detail. For instance, the Bible accurately foretold, some 200 years in advance, that a leader named Cyrus would conquer mighty Babylon. Also, the book of Daniel described the rise and fall of several clearly-named world powers well in advance of their becoming world powers. (Daniel chapter 8).

So, there are many ways that the Bible itself testifies to its own credibility.

Answer 3

Yeah, I know what you mean. With my preacher dad, any discussion on the existence or lack thereof of God always goes back to "But, see?... The Bible says here that..." Of course he also believes that a beautiful sunset is undeniable scientific evidence that God exists. And that any actual scientific proof against his own beliefs is actually just an attempt by the devil to throw us off of the real truth. :-S

And Molly S, reliability is not the same as validity.

Answer 4

What a fancy argument, mind if I show you some of it's other conclusions?



If you use Reason to defend Reason's credibility,do you really expect people to believe its credibility?

If you use Logic to defend Logic's credibility,do you really expect people to believe its credibility?

If you use Science to defend Science's credibility,do you really expect people to believe its credibility?


I'll grant yours if you grant mine. =)

Answer 5

No there are outside sources that support the veracity of the Bible. Couple this with historic perspectives, common sense dialog and using Scripture to prove Scripture need not apply.

Answer 6

Well you have to take into account that the Bible is not just one book, it is 66 books.
You also have to take into account that these 66 books were compiled specifically to be cogent (though, this is not exactly observed throughout the cannon lol); and many other manuscripts were left out because they didn't fit the compilers' ideas of Christianity. I don't know if that is truly circular logic, but it's certainly very close.

Addendum:
To: Molly S
It's textual purity doesn't make it any less fantastical.

Answer 7

Christians claim God as the reason for the Bible's credibility.

Answer 8

No.

Thumbs down to bible anything.

Humankind has got to have some time in history, the bible is a
perfect fit, paints man as man is, few grasp truth. Heb.11:1-40;

TIME AFTER THE AGES OLD EARTH IS PREPARED AGES TO ADAM

With the flood at 4417 years ago, &
3705 years ago, Genesis ended,
3640 years ago, Job's book ended,
3560 years ago, Exodus Moses 80,
3520 years ago, death of Moses,
3519 years ago, Jordan crossed,
3219 years ago, Judges 11:26;
3090 years ago, Samuel 100, dies.
3044 years ago, David age 70 dies.
3004 years ago, Solomon 69, died.
2613 years ago, no Judah king.
2007 years ago, Jesus in Rome #6.
0396 years ago, bible published.

Answer 9

If a tree falls in the forest, does the chicken really have to cross the road to make the horse drink from the well? And what about all the cooks who spoil the dinner......

:-) Love the run around circular logic stuff....

I think therefore I am...
Please identify yourself: This is me!!!

Answer 10

In my Agnostic period that was the worst thing to put up with.
They expected you to accept scripture even though you didn't beleive in the God mentioned in scripture and they could not even explain why the Bible existed as it did.

Answer 11

Reliability of the Bible
The Bible is 98 percent textually pure. Through all the copies of the Biblical manuscripts of the entire Bible, only 1% has any question about it. Nothing in all of the ancient writings of the entire world approaches the accuracy of the biblical documents.
The 1 percent that is in question does not affect doctrine. The areas of interest are called variants, and they consist mainly in variations of wording and spelling.
The NT has over 5000 supporting Greek manuscripts existing today with another 20,000 manuscripts in other languages. Some of the manuscript evidence dates to within 100 years of the original writing. There is less than a 1% textual variation in the NT manuscripts.
Some of the supporting manuscripts of the NT are:
John Rylands MS written around 130 A.D., the oldest existing fragment of the gospel of John
Bodmer Papyrus II (150-200 A.D.)
Chester Beatty Papyri (200 A.D.), contains major portions of the NT
Codex Vaticanus (325-350 A.D.), contains nearly all the Bible.
Codex Sinaiticus (350 A.D.), contains almost all the NT and over half of the OT