The Bible Is a Reliable Source of Truth

Is the Bible a Reliable Source of Truth?

We know the Bible was written by fallible humans, and it has passed through many hands, copyists, and translators to give us the book we have today. How can it be reliable?

From a purely scholarly perspective, good evidence exists that the Bible is an accurate record of historic events. 

To begin with, the Bible has an unprecedented number of early manuscript copies compared to other ancient literature, ensuring that the modern text is an accurate representation of the original, with a stable history of transmission. 

As with other ancient books, the physical pieces of “paper” on which the original authors first wrote the New Testament have been lost to history. But we have thousands of other ancient writings (on papyrus, vellum, and parchment) with original-language text copied from each book of the Bible—about 5,400 distinct pieces when it comes to the New Testament, many going back to the first three centuries. They allow us to reconstruct with a huge degree of confidence what the originals said.

The books of the New Testament were written by, or based on, eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Reliable historians like Josephus corroborate key events in the Bible, such as Jesus's crucifixion by Pontius Pilate.

Countless archaeological discoveries, such as the Pool of Bethesda and the existence of the Hittites, have supported the historical details in the biblical narrative, with no archaeological finding ever having disproved it.

The same holds true for the Old Testament. Through the centuries, professional scribes (soferim) followed hundreds of rules to ensure exact transcription, covering everything from the ink type to the parchment quality. Also, because Torah scrolls are kept in individual communities, there is no single master copy that could be destroyed to lose the text.

In addition to these scholarly evidences, we have the testimony of Jesus Himself, who affirmed the writings of the prophets extant during His lifetime, which Christians call the Old Testament. He told His followers that He came not to destroy the law (Torah) and the prophets (Nevi'im), but to fulfill them.

The Bible contains hundreds of specific prophecies made centuries in advance, with over 2,000 fulfilled to date, particularly regarding the life and mission of Jesus.

Finally, I believe the Bible is the word of God because I have read it twice, cover to cover, and I have studied it repeatedly for six decades. I do not consider myself a Bible scholar, but I am familiar enough with its contents to testify that the Bible's central messages ring true to me: 

• God exists and is involved in the world He created.
• God speaks to prophets and performs miracles. 
• God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Redeemer of the world.
• Because of Christ's atonement, I can be saved.

Is the Bible as we have it today, in its many translated forms, a perfect book? Perhaps not, but the truths it espouses form the foundation of the Christian faith to which I subscribe. I choose to believe the Bible because it testifies of God the Father and Jesus Christ.