Through my trial of Migraine issues, I have developed a great dialog with my Neurologist about the Bible. I go into appointments prepared for discussion. And even if I don't bring up Spiritual topics or books, He Will!!! That's incredible to me that he loves the discussion as much as I do considering his stance as an Agnostic/Atheist. Since I am studying the Book of Revelation through Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and just completed a Sermon Series by Voddie Baucham on "Why I Choose to Believe the Bible," I decided to write down my thoughts for him to read later. We don't always have time for lengthy discussion (He does have a job you know). And I can't seem to get him to do his homework... So I started writing a note for him to read. I was up until Midnight last night with thoughts pouring out and ended up with 5 pages of material.
As I considered this today, I felt like I had so much information in my hands that I couldn't just hand it over. I needed this information available again, even for myself in the future. I needed to take a picture of it, copy it, or SHARE IT. So from the burning in my soul, here's my thoughts on why you can believe the Bible and why I've chosen to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah; foretold in the Old Testament and come to life in the New.
"I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eye witnesses, during the lifetime of other eye witnesses, and they report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies, and they claim to be divine rather than human in origin." - Voddie Baucham
His answer was developed based on 2 Peter 1:16-21 when the author was reminding the new believers why their faith was valid. The Bible is comprised of 66 Books. These are historical documents, not just spiritual documents. It was written on 3 Continents, in 3 languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic... FYI, if you are reading in English, you are reading a Translation), by nearly 40 different authors over approximately 1,500 years. There were books from other authors who claimed their words were from God. But the original compilation of the Bible was very rigorous. If the books didn't pass strict criteria, it was excluded from the Bible. (For example, not being true eye-witness of the events described, written in a time period too far from the events, written in a location too removed from events, etc.) Only the most trusted books were kept. There was not a "picking and choosing" process as some may claim. The most trustworthy documents were kept and their content aligned naturally.
(More information on this process is available through Lee Strobel's Books The Case for Christ, for Faith, for the Real Jesus, for the Creator, etc)
The Gospel of Luke actually starts by saying "I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning. I too decided to write an orderly account for you, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." His book is written in Chronological order. And the Bible as a whole provides names, places, dates, kingdoms, wars, events, etc. that can be verified by other non-religious historical documents. Even the existence of a man named Jesus can be found from non-religious documents. He lived. He was a person. The choice you have is to decide whom you believe he was.
There have been over 23,000 Archaeological digs that have only been able to prove the Bible's truth rather than be able to discredit it. There are over 6,000 manuscripts or portions of manuscripts of the New Testament. There are no originals, but the oldest manuscript is dated approximately 120 AD, within 2.5 decades of the events they record. This is far beyond the manuscripts available for other widely renowned pieces of literature such as the writings of Socrates (only manuscripts we have are what Plato documented), Homer's Iliad, etc. The Bible is also the most translated and most frequently purchased book in the entire world.
Some people say they can't believe the Bible because they are just too intelligent or too scientific to believe those stories. There is a flaw with this argument though; The Bible never suggests that a person have blind faith. That's why the stories are documented and eye witness testimonies are included. Furthermore, you can't use the Scientific Method to evaluate History at all. In order to use the Scientific Method, the occurrence has to be observable, measurable, and repeatable. That doesn't work with events of history, a person's existence, a crime, etc. Historic events (like the existence of Jesus) require historic evidence, like you would see in a courtroom. You hope for eye witnesses to the event, documented testimonies of what they saw, testimonies that corroborate the same story, verifiable evidence of times, place and people. And that is EXACTLY what the Bible provides for us. Documented evidence of the history of Israel and the Jewish Nation, prophecies of Jesus and coming events, and eye witness testimony of those who walked with him.
On the cross, Jesus quoted "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me." This is a quote from Psalm 22 which amazingly describes the crucifixion that was to come. The Psalm goes on to describe exact elements of Jesus' death. He was scorned by everyone, mocked, and insulted. "Let the Lord rescue him" they yelled. He was poured out like water (when he was pierced and bled). All his bones were out of joint (which was a consequence of that type of death). He was thirsty, had a dry mouth, and was parched. "Dogs surround me" (Dog was a term for Gentiles - Romans). They pierce my hands & feet (exactly where Jesus was nailed to the cross). His bones were on display, clothes were divided, and he was naked. Then they cast lots for his garments. Those were all filled literally at his death. You can read Psalm 22 for David's poetic writing of an event he didn't understand. But all of this describes Jesus' crucifixion in 33 AD. It was written and prophesied 1,000 years earlier, by a man who knew nothing about a Roman Crucifixion because that form of death and punishment had not been invented yet.
There are over 400 prophecies in the Old Testament (the portion of Scripture that is widely accepted as historically accurate) which point to a coming Messiah, his life & his death. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every one of those prophecies. The odds of someone doing that who was NOT the Messiah are impossible to even figure. Statistically speaking, Jesus is the ONLY one who could be the Messiah. He was born in Bethlehem, by a virgin. His hands and feet were pierced. He was alive during the existence of the Temple which was destroyed in 70 AD. He was from the lineage of David. The probability of Jesus fulfilling just 8 of those 400 prophecies is estimated at 1 x 10^17 (christiananswers.net).
Anyone can make predictions and record them. But having those prophecies
fulfilled is vastly different. Jesus of Nazareth had 456 identifying
details indicating HE WAS the Messiah and He fulfilled ALL OF THEM.
This is statistically impossible. A person who rejects Jesus Christ as
the Son of God is rejecting a fact proved perhaps more absolutely than
any other fact in the world. (via biblebelievers.org.au "Mathematical
Probability that Jesus is Christ)
62 out of 66 Books of the Bible contain Prophesy. Biblical prophesy connects the Old Testament Prophesy to the New Testament truth of who Jesus was and is. 27% of the entire Bible involves prophesy. There are 737 separate prophetic topics included. And 50% of those prophecies have already been fulfilled. In the Bible, Jesus says "I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe." The Prophet Jeremiah also said that a prophet is only recognized as from the Lord if his prediction comes true.
According to the Scriptures also provides a list of prophecies from the Bible, where they are listed in the Old Testament and the passage where they were fulfilled in the New Testament. The number of prophecies listed in the Old Testament, New Testament, and directly related to Jesus Christ can vary based on how they were counted. For example, His hands and feet will be pierced... Is that 1 or 2 prophecies, could it be 1/2 filled? So take the figures loosely and focus on the elements described instead.
Fulfilled prophesy confirms that the Bible is God's Word and is
absolutely trustworthy. History is the final interpreter of prophesy, for it is when it comes to pass that we fully understand the meaning. The Bible IS a reliable historical document. It points to and
explicitly states that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. The world
cannot refute Biblical eye witnesses, historic, scientific, &
archaeological evidence presented. And it is because of God's perfect record of doing what He said He would that His people can trust Him to fulfill His promise of the Lord's future return, the Second Coming. But the Bible also confirms that sin has consequences and
will be judged by God. So what will you do with the evidence presented? Will you choose to believe that the Bible is the Word of God? And who will you decide Jesus of Nazareth truly was; a man, a prophet, a lunatic, or the Son of God?
(Credit to BSF International and Voddie Baucham for much of the information presented here.)
