Christianity is the only belief system that relies on a book that can be proven to be Divine rather than human in its origin. Other religious books in the world claim to be divine in origin, but where is the evidence to support the claim? The Bible’s unique features authenticate it as the only true Word of God. There is no additional book nor a more recent supplementary book from God.

Before we examine some hard evidence, here is a thumbnail sketch of what Christians believe about the Bible.

The Bible reveals to us who God is, who we are and how we can have a relationship with Him. The entire book is about God, and the central figure is Jesus Christ.  The Old Testament points towards not only the coming of Jesus Christ to our world but our need for His coming as Saviour and Redeemer.  The New Testament documents the arrival of Jesus, the proofs of His Deity, the purpose of His death, burial and resurrection and all the blessing that flows from Christ. It also reaches into the future and presents the eternal blessing available to all who know Him as their Saviour and Lord.

Critics who fail to see the big picture of the Bible tend to isolate, at the granular level, a detail from the distant past of a broken world and then build their case to discount the big story of the Bible. Unfortunately, they miss the context, the theme and the big story recorded for our benefit.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 1Timothy 3:16

Beyond the claims of the Bible itself, what is the evidence to prove the Bible is the Word of God?

Intellectually honest people who have questions about the Bible examine the evidence of the claims made about it. Others may choose not to consider the evidence and continue on with their lives.

Manuscripts

Today, Christians read various translations of the Bible, some completed recently and others like the classic King James Version dating back to the 1600s. Admittedly, these translations are based on copies of manuscripts – not the original manuscripts. So are Christians vulnerable on this point?

The Bible has stronger manuscript support than any other work of classical literature, including Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Caesar and Tacitus. Over 5600 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are in existence today, and they were copied within 100 years of the original with an incredible 99.5% textual consistency and accuracy.

In contrast, other ancient classical works fully accepted by academics today were copied between 500 –1300 years after the original. The total supporting New Testament manuscript base is over 24,000, more than all major ancient works combined!

Eyewitness Accounts

Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible have human writers, many of whom were actual eyewitnesses of the events they are writing about rather than just a recording of orally transmitted stories.

Historical Evidence

Secular, non-christian historians, including Josephus (before A.D.100), the Roman Tacitus (around A.D. 120), the Roman Suetonius (A.D. 110) and the Roman governor Pliny the Younger (A.D. 110) confirm in their ancient writings the many events, places, people and customs that are referred to in the New Testament of the Bible.  Even skeptics who have studied history are amazed at the historical accuracy of the New Testament.

Archaeology

Archaeological finds over the last century and in recent times continue to affirm the reliability of the Bible. No archaeological discovery has ever contradicted anything in the Bible.

Accurate Predictions Fulfilled

The Bible records predictions of events that could not be known or predicted by chance or by the accumulation of knowledge. Of striking relevance are the many prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.  Where He would be born (Micah 5:2); who He would die with (Isaiah 53:12); a graphic description written c.1000BC of how He would die, including the piercing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16); that the soldiers would gamble for His clothing (Psalm 22:18); that His side would be pierced and none of His bones would be broken (Zechariah 12:10Psalm 34:20).  Jesus Himself spoke of how He would die as well as His resurrection (John 2:19-22).

Even the avowed skeptic is awed by these fulfilled prophecies. And only a few have been cited. There are more than 300 such prophecies regarding Christ –  a number that silences those who would claim the apparent fulfillment of prophecies is merely coincidental. There are too many to ignore.

Statistical Probability

Finally, the statistical probability of the development of such a book must be considered.  Forty different writers, over 1600 years, in three different languages on three continents, wrote on hundreds of subjects. Few, if any, of these writers ever had an opportunity to get together and conspire to write a consistent, non-contradictory theme about a coming Saviour and the redemption for the human family. But such a theme is developed and woven throughout the entire Bible. Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible.

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:20-21

You can do more in-depth research on any of the points briefly highlighted above and below. However, the evidence overwhelmingly supports that the Bible is the Word of God – Divine in its origins – not human.

Here are a few more considerations:

Non-humanlike Disclosure of Failures

If humans were attempting to advance a cause and promote the attractiveness of what they had invested in, they would focus only on the positives and minimize the negatives. The failures would be contained in an appendix in small print. God’s book is vastly different. The darkest failures of many of God’s main characters in the Bible are not glossed over. They are there for all to read.

Redemptive Story of Grace

Grace, which is the bestowal of unmerited favour upon unworthy recipients, is not something that comes naturally to the human heart. We may show mercy and often do so reluctantly. But the Bible is a long story of multiple displays of grace that contribute to the overarching Bible theme of the amazing grace of God displayed in Jesus Christ. The God of the Bible is the God of Grace. Such a book would not have been conceived by humans.

Survival

The books of Moses in the early part of the Bible, including Genesis and Exodus, were written five hundred years before the earliest Hindu writings and two thousand years before Mohammed penned the Quran.

Remarkable Brevity

Although some complain about the length of the Bible, consider other books of far less significance and consequence. For instance, Winston Churchill’s account of World War II – a war that lasted six years, is a six-volume account. Sir Winston Churchill required 4,450 pages to share the slender piece of human history of which he was aware.

Everything God wants us to know about our past, present and future He has succinctly given to us in the pages of the Bible.

Growing Popularity

No other book in history has been the subject of so many attacks and so many intense efforts to have it banished or wiped out. And yet, its growth persists. The philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) boasted that Bibles would only be found in museums within a hundred years. The house in which he made that infamous boast became a printing press for the Bible.

There are more Bibles in more languages in more locations on earth than at any other time in history. It is not becoming a relic. The Bible is thriving – hard copy, electronic and online.

Consider just a few statistics taken from 2010-2020:

YouVersion Bible App is just one of many Bible apps. In 2017, this one app alone was available in 1074 languages.

  • 3 billion hours were spent listening to Bible Audio.
  • 7 billion chapters read
  • 222 million Bible verses shared online using this one Bible app

Hard Copies: 100 million Bibles printed per year

  • 273,972 a day
  • 11,415 an hour
  • 190 a minute
  • 3 printed every second
  • 20 million printed Bibles sold in the USA every year
  • The most shoplifted book
  • 168,000 Bibles sold or given to people every day in the USA

Gideons International is just one organization that provides Bibles to people around the world. During the twelve months of 2014, their one organization distributed fifty-nine million, four hundred and sixty thousand Bibles or 100+ Bibles a minute.

Conclusion

Will you commit to reading even just one section of the Bible with an open mind? The Bible says it is the living Word of God.

For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Will you read the Gospel of John in the New Testament with this attitude and openness – “If this Word is alive and powerful, then speak to me through it and give me the opportunity to respond.”

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