{"id":31043,"date":"2017-01-10T14:41:42","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T20:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=31043"},"modified":"2025-02-18T08:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:41:27","slug":"can-really-know-bible-gods-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/can-really-know-bible-gods-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Can We Really Know If The Bible Is God\u2019s\u00a0Word?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><p><span class=\"submitted\">By Craig T. Owens, originally posted <a href=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.com\/2017\/01\/09\/can-we-really-know-if-the-bible-is-gods-word\/\">here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/inspired-scripture.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-16583\" src=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/inspired-scripture.jpeg?w=300&amp;h=225\" alt=\"inspired-scripture\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-attachment-id=\"16583\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.com\/2017\/01\/09\/can-we-really-know-if-the-bible-is-gods-word\/inspired-scripture\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/inspired-scripture.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"720,540\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"inspired-scripture\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/inspired-scripture.jpeg?w=300&amp;h=225\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/inspired-scripture.jpeg?w=720\" \/><\/a>Have you ever been stumped by someone\u2019s argument against Christianity or the Bible? Has anyone ever made fun of you because the Bible sounds like a fairy tale? Over 100 years ago Oswald Chambers described how our post-Christian world was beginning to treat Christianity and the Bible on which it\u2019s based\u2014<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe have made ambition and competition the very essence of civilized life. No wonder there is no room for Jesus Christ, and no room for the Bible. We are all so scientifically orthodox nowadays, so materialistic and certain that rationalism is the basis of things, that <b>we make the Bible out to be the most revolutionary, unorthodox and heretical of books<\/b>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s that \u201crationalism\u201d that we need to address. We need to ask scoffers and seekers alike, \u201cWhat makes you so sure of your beliefs? How did you come to that conclusion?\u201d<br \/>\nEvery human being exercises some sort of faith\u2014that the chair will hold them when they sit down, that their spouse will honor their marriage vows, and that their worldview is correct. We need to explore <i>what kind of faith<\/i> they (and we) have:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Unreasonable faith<\/b>\u2014believing in something <i>in spite of<\/i> the evidence.<\/li>\n<li><b>Blind faith<\/b>\u2014believing in something <i>without any<\/i> evidence.<\/li>\n<li><b>Reasonable faith<\/b>\u2014believing in something <i>because of<\/i> the evidence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I want to show evidence that makes it <i>reasonable<\/i> to believe in the Bible.<br \/>\n<b>Empirical evidence\u2014<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><i>The bibliographical test<\/i>: determining whether the text of the historical record has been transmitted accurately.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Josh McDowell states, \u201cNo other work in all literature has been so carefully and accurately copied as the Old Testament.\u201d He can make this claim because the profession of \u201cscribe\u201d was one of the most professional and exacting of all professions. The rigorous standards employed to prove the accuracy of a copy of a biblical manuscript was higher than for any other literature.<br \/>\nMost of our modern-day Bibles are based on a 1000-year-old manuscript. But after the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, we found biblical manuscripts going back to 250 B.C. that confirmed the accuracy of the manuscripts we already had. This led Dr. Peter Flint to conclude: \u201cThe biblical Dead Sea Scrolls are up to 1,250 years older than the traditional Hebrew Bible, the Masoretic text. We have been using a one-thousand-year-old manuscript to make our Bibles. We\u2019ve now got scrolls going back to 250 BC. \u2026 <b>Our conclusion is simply this\u2014the scrolls confirm the accuracy of the biblical text by 99 percent.<\/b>\u201d<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/manuscript-evidence.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-16584\" src=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/manuscript-evidence.jpg?w=300&amp;h=269\" alt=\"manuscript-evidence\" width=\"300\" height=\"269\" data-attachment-id=\"16584\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.com\/2017\/01\/09\/can-we-really-know-if-the-bible-is-gods-word\/manuscript-evidence\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/manuscript-evidence.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1228,1102\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"manuscript-evidence\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/manuscript-evidence.jpg?w=300&amp;h=269\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/manuscript-evidence.jpg?w=1228\" \/><\/a>Then regarding the New Testament, Josh McDowell says, \u201cI believe there is more evidence for the reliability of the New Testament than for any other ten pieces of classical literature put together.\u201d Check out this chart reproduced from McDowell\u2019s book <a href=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.com\/2015\/05\/19\/god-breathed-book-review\/\"><i>God-Breathed<\/i><\/a> to see by comparison to other literature, how close in dating the earliest biblical manuscripts are, and how many of those manuscripts have been discovered!<br \/>\n<i>2. \u00a0The external evidence test<\/i>: determining whether the historical record has been verified or affirmed by data outside\u00a0of itself.<br \/>\nOver one-fourth of the Bible is prophetic, and two-thirds of its prophesies have already been fulfilled. For example, 700 years before His birth, the city in which Jesus was to be born was identified by a man named Micah.<br \/>\nTime and time again archeologists discover articles that verify the claims in the Bible. This led archeologist Nelson Glueck to conclude, \u201cIt may be stated categorically that <b>no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference<\/b>. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.\u201d<br \/>\n<i>3. \u00a0The internal evidence test<\/i>: determining how of the historical record stands up to the test of internal validity.<br \/>\nThe Bible was written by 45 different authors, over a span of 1500 years, on 3 different continents, and in 3 different languages. Yet there are no contradictions!<br \/>\n<b>Anecdotal evidence\u2014<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><i>Changed lives.<\/i> My life is one that has been amazingly impacted by the God of the Bible, as was a man named Saul, who had a total about-face after encountering Jesus. As a result, Christianity was spread far and fast through his writings and world travels.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><i>2. \u00a0Changed societies.\u00a0<\/i>Wherever the Christian faith of the Bible has been put into practice, societies improve. <a href=\"https:\/\/craigtowens.com\/2017\/01\/03\/the-bad-habits-of-jesus-book-review\/\">Leonard Sweet<\/a> notes\u2014<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBefore Christianity, there were cults that practiced all sorts of human sacrifice as well as self-mutilation and self-castration. Before Christianity, the weak were despised, the poor maligned, the handicapped abandoned. Before Christianity, infanticide was rampant, slavery run-of-the-mill, and gladiatorial combat a form of entertainment. In Jesus\u2019 day, Corinth was famous for its temple prostitutes, continuing a long-standing tradition symbolized by the Corinthian athlete Xenophon.\u2026 Aristotle\u2026not only condoned institutionalized slavery but provided an elaborate argument in favor of it. As if that weren\u2019t enough, Aristotle called man \u2018begotten\u2019 and woman \u2018misbegotten,\u2019 and because a woman\u2019s reasoning was \u2018without authority\u2019 accepted no female students.<br \/>\n\u201cOnly Jesus and His followers known as the church insisted on the concept of human dignity and the value of every human soul. Only the church built hospitals and took care of the abandoned and disabled. Only the church celebrated charity and selflessness as the highest virtue and elevated the status of women.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Is all of this \u201cproof positive\u201d that the Bible is God\u2019s Word? No, it\u2019s not. But I think the evidence is compelling enough that it is certainly reasonable to reach this conclusion.<\/p>\n<h4>Here are some great application questions from this lesson:<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h4>Other than because it says so in the Bible, how do I <b><i>know<\/i><\/b> that it is God\u2019s Word?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>How can I let the Bible \u201cthoroughly equip\u201d me (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+Timothy+3%3A14-17&amp;version=NIV\">2 Timothy 3:14-17<\/a>)? <b><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>Is my worldview pragmatic or biblical? Does it really make a difference?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>________________________________________________________________<\/em><br \/>\nIn\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/store.josh.org\/cart\/product.asp?prodid=9781630589417&amp;i=ALL|god-breathed||&amp;path=undefined\">God-Breathed\u2014the Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>Josh chronicles his recent identification of ancient fragments and a 540-year-old Torah, along with his personal journey to faith as an unbelieving skeptic of Christianity and the Bible, to present a compelling case that God\u2019s Word can be trusted to be undeniably reliable.<br \/>\n\u201cMy hope is that this <em>God-Breathed<\/em> book will help people realize not only that the word of God is true, but also that it is alive and powerful. I equally want people to be convinced they can trust the Bible because the evidence is so incredible,\u201d Josh said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"button givelink\" href=\"https:\/\/store.josh.org\/cart\/product.asp?prodid=9781630589417&amp;i=ALL|god-breathed||&amp;path=undefined\">ORDER YOURS TODAY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Craig T. Owens, originally posted here Have you ever been stumped by someone\u2019s argument against Christianity or the Bible? Has anyone ever made fun of you because the Bible sounds like a fairy tale? Over 100 years ago Oswald Chambers described how our post-Christian world was beginning to treat Christianity and the Bible on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23327,"featured_media":90957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"The Bible is not ordinary. Within its pages are the answers to meet each of your needs and provide direction for your life. They are literally #GodBreathed.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[445,349,383,157,446,447,188,448,449,450,361,451,452,453],"translator":[],"blog-author":[73],"class_list":["post-31043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","tag-apologetic","tag-bible","tag-evidence","tag-faith","tag-gods-word","tag-j-warner-wallace","tag-josh-mcdowell","tag-leonard-sweet","tag-oswald-chambers","tag-quotes","tag-scripture","tag-sermon","tag-video","tag-worldview","blog-author-guest-blogger"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2017\/01\/blog_apologetics_godsword-1024x683-1.jpg","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90958,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31043\/revisions\/90958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31043"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=31043"},{"taxonomy":"blog-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-author?post=31043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}