The Bible

When one studies the Bible, it reveals itself to be the greatest text ever composed. The Bible addresses head-on the most important life-questions that can be asked:

  • What is the purpose of life?
  • What happens when I die?
  • What is God like?
  • Why is there so much evil and suffering in our world?
  • What is God’s plan for solving the world’s problems?

It isn't surprising that 100 million copies are sold every year and that it’s the best-selling book of all-time.   
 

Did you know?

 The Bible compared to other ancient texts: 

Author

Date Written

Earliest Copy

Difference (years)

No. of Copies

Homer (Iliad)

~900 BC

400 BC

500

643

Ceasar (The Gallic Wars)

~100 BC

900 AD

1,000

10

Plato (Tetralogies)

~400 BC

900 AD

1,200

7

Aristotle

~350 BC

1,100 AD

1,450

49

Herodotus (History)

~450 BC

900 AD

1,350

8

Euripedes

~450 BC

1,100 AD

1,550

9

New Testament

~50 A.D.

130 AD

30 - 80

24,000

Originally written in three languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the Bible contains 66 books composed by 40 different authors over a period of 1600 years. Amongst the authors were noble kings, humble shepherds, hardened soldiers, and simple fisherman, to name a few. Even with the contribution of so many different writers at different points in history, there remains a consistent unity throughout its pages. The Bible also contains over 2000 prophecies (of which many have been fulfilled), and has profoundly impacted so many lives.

You might be wondering how this is all possible. The answer is found in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” The word "inspiration" means "God-breathed," that is, God breathed words into the authors who then wrote them down. Therefore, even though men wrote the Bible, its words, themes and truths all come from God. Inspiration implies that the Bible in its original autographs, correctly interpreted, is entirely true in all it affirms, whether relative to doctrine or ethics or the social, physical or life sciences.

 

Can we have confidence that the Bible we read today is what was written so long ago? The simple answer is - Yes! God has remarkably preserved the contents of Scripture for thousands of years. The accuracy of the Old Testament has been confirmed from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (see video below), while the New Testament has the greatest amount of manuscript evidence compared to any other book of ancient antiquity. As F.F. Bruce, distinguished scholar of Biblical history, has stated "if the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt"