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Why the Bible?

www.bibleone.net

 

The skeptic, for whatever reason, finds it difficult to accept any instruction or revelation that claims to be divine.  This is his nature.  In truth this may not be all bad.  There are many philosophical systems upon earth to which one may follow.  They are all different, and in many cases they contradict each other.  Of course the skeptic may conclude that they all point in the same direction, i.e., to God, and that eventually all mankind will end up in the same place.  Unfortunately, a serious investigation of Christianity, various religions, cults and philosophical conventions mandates that this is a false conclusion.  They simply cannot all be correct!

 

Yet the skeptic still retains the fundamental yearning to know the answers to certain basic and innate questions, such as:  Who am I?  Why am I here?  Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is my purpose?  Is there a Creator?  Is there more than just this life?  Is there life after death?  Try as he may, he cannot avoid thinking on such matters from time-to-time, or even most of the time.  Noted Oxford and Cambridge scholar C. S. Lewis correctly stated the most heartfelt longing of man when he wrote, “There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.

 

This writer would like to challenge any skeptic who considers himself or herself to be intellectually honest.  The challenge is to faithfully and reasonably investigate and test the authenticity and veracity of the foundation-canon of Christianity, the Bible, to take the time, read it and check it out using whatever means available—to see if in fact the following statements regarding the Bible are true (as taken from the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Harvest House Publishers, 1999):

 

·        The Bible is the only book in the world that offers objective evidence to be the Word of God.  Only the Bible gives real proof of its divine inspiration.

 

·        The Bible is the only religious Scripture in the world that logically can be considered inerrant in the autographs.

 

·        The Bible is the only ancient book with documented scientific and medical prevision.  No other ancient book is ever carefully analyzed along scientific lines, but many books have been written on the theme of the Bible and modern science.

 

·        The Bible is the only religious Scripture that offers eternal salvation as a free gift entirely by God’s grace and mercy.

 

·        The Bible is the only major ancient religious Scripture whose complete textual preservation is established as virtually autographic.

 

·        The Bible contains the greatest moral standards of any book.

 

·        Only the Bible begins with the creation of the universe by divine fiat and contains a continuous, if often brief and interspersed, historical record of mankind from the first man, Adam, to the end of history.

 

·        Only the Bible contains detailed prophecies about the coming Savior of the world and whose prophecies have proven true in history.

 

·        Only the Bible has the most realistic view of human nature, the power to convict people of their sin and the ability to change human nature.

 

·        Only the Bible has unique theological content including theology proper (the Trinity; God’s attributes); soteriology (depravity, imputation, grace, propitiation, atonement, reconciliation, regeneration, union with Christ, justification, adoption, sanctification, eternal security, election and so on); Christology (the incarnation; hypostatic union); pneumatology (the Person and work of the Holy Spirit); eschatology (detailed predictions of the end of history); ecclesiology (the nature of the church as Christ’s bride and its organic union with Him); and more.

 

·        Only the Bible offers a realistic and permanent solution to the problem of human sin and evil.

 

·        Only the Bible has its accuracy confirmed in history by archeology and other sciences.

 

·        The internal and historical characteristics of the Bible are unique in its unity and internal consistency despite production over a 1,500 year period by 40-plus authors in three languages on three continents discussing scores of controversial subject yet having agreement on all issues.

 

·        The Bible is the most translated, purchased, memorized and persecuted book in history.

 

·        Only the Bible is fully one-quarter prophetic, containing a total of some 400 complete pages of predictions.

 

·        Only the Bible has withstood 2,000 years of intense scrutiny by critics, not only surviving the attacks but prospering and having its credibility strengthened by such criticism. (Voltaire, and not a few cult leaders, predicted that the Bible would be extinct within 100 years; within 50 years Voltaire was extinct and his house was a warehouse of the Geneva Bible Society.)

 

·        The Bible has molded the history of Western civilization more than any other book.  The Bible has had more influence in the world than any other book.

 

·        Only the Bible has a Person-specific (Christ-centered) nature for each of its 66 books, detailing the Person’s life in prophecy, type, anti-type and so on 400-1,500 years before the Person was born.

 

·        Only the Bible proclaims a resurrection of its central figure that is proven in history.

 

·        Only the Bible provides historic proof that the one true God loves mankind.

 

If you are a skeptic but would really want to find and know the truth, you are herein challenged to read and investigate the veracity and genuineness of the Bible as the Word of God.  If you have the courage to honestly embark on this endeavor, you will not be disappointed.