Where do I begin? There is no way I would be able to convince anyone the Bible can be trusted in just a few paragraphs. Clearly there is evidence since so many well respected, intelligent, well educated, achieving individuals have dedicated their lives to living for God and defending scripture. This section will mainly provide references supporting the reliability of the Bible. What you may find very interesting is all the highly educated authors of the book references provided were at one time or another a proclaimed atheist or agnostic before writing their books. In fact many started out with the quest to disprove the existence of God.
Clicking on the Can We Trust Our Playbook button below presents some of the views from the reference books listed. The Playbook chapter provides evidence how science actually supports scripture as well pointing out other reasons, such as fulfilled prophecies, revelations in the Bible that man could not have known about, the honest portrayal of human nature, and other amazing facts that set the Bible apart from any other ancient writings.
Clicking on the Can We Trust Our Playbook button below presents some of the views from the reference books listed. The Playbook chapter provides evidence how science actually supports scripture as well pointing out other reasons, such as fulfilled prophecies, revelations in the Bible that man could not have known about, the honest portrayal of human nature, and other amazing facts that set the Bible apart from any other ancient writings.
The links below provide additional support for the reliability of the Bible as well as insights to key Biblical teachings. This list will constantly be updated. I want to point out there are different opinions among Christian scholars when it comes to creation and other events in the book of Genesis. The "Can We Trust Our Playbook" link focuses on problems concerning evolution, with references that support more of a literal translation. I am also providing references (which I am in the process of researching) supporting evolutionary creation. Evolutionary creation is the belief there was an evolutionary process, with God directing the process. There are a wide range of views even among supporters of evolutionary creation, as well as many pros and cons about this controversial topic. I want to present it for those who may be struggling with reconciling their views between science and scripture. For more information about evolutionary creation click on the Biologos.org link below.
Scripture was written during a time when technology was unheard of. Try explaining to someone how a cell phone works even today can be mind boggling. How could a satellite using airwaves recognize and separate billions of different phone conversations at the same time? Given this manmade technology is it unreasonable to think there could be a super intelligent being that can understand different prayers from billions of people at the same time? Do we really need to know how a cell phone works, or do we just need to trust that it does? Did God need to explain how He created earth or did He just need to explain to early man He was the creator and there was an order to His creation. Was a day a 24 hour day or did a day represent an era? Does it matter which is true? I do not believe it does. What does matter is that we are careful we do not dilute the power of scripture. For example, it does matter what we believe about the virgin birth and resurrection of Jesus. Scripture is very clear about why these events are critical to understand.
Christians, including book and resource authors I have provided, do not all agree on interpreting scripture. There will be various views on creation, prophesies, and other theological matters. What is important is agreement on the nature of God and what He requires of us. In my view the different viewpoints discussed are what make the Bible such a fascinating book. The basic message is simple enough for all to understand, yet complicated enough to keep everyone from scholars to the common man interested in studying scripture for their entire life.
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel
A Skeptic's Search for God: Convincing Evidence for His Existence by Ralph Muncaster