Is the Bible really the Word of God?
Is it inherent? Infallible? Completely without errors? If the Bible truly is
the inspired Word of God, we must realize what this means. This would mean that
Jesus really is the ONLY path that leads to salvation (all other religions
would then be obsolete), that Jesus is God who came in flesh, and that we as
people need to repent of our wickedness. These are just a few of the bold
claims that the Bible makes.
Therefore, before we get into
whether or not the Bible is the Word of God (which we will explore in future
posts), let us first ask: is the Bible historically accurate?
The short answer is: yes, very
accurate. Both the Old and New Testaments have been proven historically
accurate through both archaeology and from what we know from other texts or
inscriptions that date back to Biblical times.
For example: the Old Testament talks
about several ancient cities and nations, and sometimes gives names of the
leaders of those cities and nations. We can match what archaeologists have
found with what we read in our Bible. What do we find when we do this? That the
Old and New Testaments are incredibly reliable, historically speaking. I will
give you a couple specific examples as to the historical accuracy of the Bible.
Sir William Ramsay was a very well
known archaeologist. He doubted the historical accuracy of the Bible. However,
he thought that he would test what the New Testament said, specifically the
book of Acts, which tells the history of the early church. After he came to a
conclusion, he said this: "I began with a
mind unfavorable to it...but more recently I found myself brought into contact
with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities, and
society of Asia Minor. It was gradually borne upon me that in various details
the narrative showed marvelous truth (St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman
Citizen, p. 189)." He later said this: "Luke [the author of Acts]
is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact
trustworthy...this author should be placed along with the very greatest
historians (The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the
New Testament, p. 222)." Ramsay discovered that Acts was extremely
accurate, and without error, historically speaking. He was so convinced that he
was actually converted to Christianity!
Another example of
Biblical accuracy is not only historical, but also implies proof of divine
intervention. We all remember the story in Sunday school of God parting the Red
Sea for the Israelites, and how He closed the parted sea on top of the
Egyptians, killing every one of them. In the 1990's an interesting discovery
was made in the Gulf of Aqaba, which is part of the Red Sea. Chariot wheels and
axles covered in coral were discovered, along with a gold plated chariot wheel
which matches what historians and archaeologists know chariot wheels of
the Pharaoh looked like during the time of the exodus. The bottom of the
sea looks like an ancient battlefield, with various coral growing on objects
all over. This shows that the event we read in Exodus really did take
place.This also implies that a "divine being" intervened, leaving the
Egyptian army to rest at the bottom of the sea.
I could go on and
on about the historical accuracy of the Bible. There have been thousands of
discoveries that verify the Bible as historically accurate. However, many claim
that while the Bible is in fact historically true, it is wrong in what it
teaches about God and Jesus. Many even claim that over time the Old and New
Testaments were changed, and what we have today is very much different than
what was originally written down. If the Bible truly is the Word of God, would
our omnipotent God not protect it? Of course he would. We will dive into this
topic next week, to discover whether or not the text of the Bible has been
altered over time. But for now, we can know that the historical component of
the Bible is reliable and accurate.
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