What is so special about the Bible? Is it trustworthy? Here, I will briefly touch upon these questions that so many of us wonder about.
Question: The Bible's full of great stories but is there any convincing evidence for any of them?
Answer: Long before people proved it scientifically, the Bible indicated that Earth hangs in space: "He stretcheth out the north over empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing," (Job 26:7) and that Earth is round: "It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth…" (Isaiah 40:22) The Bible also confirms the scientific theory of the various stages of Earth's formation.
One of the best evidences of the Bible's validity is fulfilled prophecies. Most of the prophecies in the Bible have already been fulfilled or are being fulfilled, such as the ruining of Babylon: "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there." (Isaiah 13:19-20, American Standard Version) What was once a great city lies in ruins to this day.
Not only was the destruction of Babylon prophesied, but also by whom and how the city would be destroyed and conquered were foretold. About 200 years later, after the ruining of Babylon was prophesied, Persian King Cyrus captured the entire city by complete surprise, finding its own gates wide open—exactly as foretold (Isaiah 45).
In addition, the Bible prophesied Cyrus releasing Israelites from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem, and it came true.
The Bible also correctly predicted the successions of world powers: Persia, Greek, Rome, etc—along with their strengths and weaknesses.
The rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled at Jehovah's appointed time.
Archeologists have uncovered plenty of artifacts and the ruins of cities where people and events the Bible has talked about were located. When you search for "Biblical archeology" on Google, you will find references to some of the astounding findings.
However, the best reason to trust the Bible is the fact that this holy book is from Jehovah! He is the God of truth, who never lies and always fulfills His words: "For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11, ASV) Keeping this fact in mind will help wipe away any doubts about the Bible we have ever had, and strengthen our faith in God's promises and plans. The faithful Jehovah will never forget us: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee." (Isaiah 49:15, ASV)
Question: What makes the Bible preferable to the Q'uran or any other faith's book?
Answer: The Bible is the most special book for several reasons:
1) The Bible is the only accurate and complete account of human origin. It answers some of life's most important questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where will we go? How can we experience the greatest love, joy, and peace? Where did evil come from? What is death? What happens after we die? What will be the destiny of the world?
2) It is the oldest-surviving religious text; its earliest books were written about 3500 years ago.
3) Even though the Bible has been copied countless times throughout its existence in order to preserve it, little human errors lace its text.
4) Although its sixty-six books were written by about forty men in a span of about 1500-1600 years, the Bible is unified in both theme and content, with no contradictions. This is because it has only one Author: Jehovah, who revealed His Word to the writers through His working power, the Holy Spirit.
5) This holy book provides timeless principles to guide people to living the best life possible. When people diligently follow its teachings and guidance, they will experience positive results in all areas of their lives: spiritual, relational, financial, physical, mental, and emotional arenas. Of course, this does not guarantee that we will live a problem-free life, and the Bible clearly tells us why—it is because we are all living in a world polluted by one another's sins.
6) The Bible is also different from all other books because it is the only source that gives the universal gift of salvation, a gift that everyone can accept as long as they want to accept it. The Holy Scriptures tell us exactly what this gift is, how we can accept it, and how we can maintain and keep it. By following its directions, we can embrace an everlasting life in fellowship with Jehovah God, the Author of this book and the Life-Giver of our lives. (To understand what exactly is salvation, read What Is Salvation? Why Did Jesus Christ Have to Die to Save Us? From What Are We Saved?)
7) The Holy Scriptures have many of its prophecies fulfilled, while some are being fulfilled, and the rest will be fulfilled. Bible prophecies are true prophecies, and they are different from the predictions of fortunetellers, astrologers, etc. in the following ways:
• True prophecies are always given in God's name. False prophecies are given in a name other than God.
• True prophecies always come true exactly as they are told. False prophecies, on the other hand, do not come true, even if they are spoken in God's name. Some false prophecies may appear to be fulfilled when they are told in an ambiguous way. For instance, if I say, "A dog will bark in two hours," and a dog does bark two hours later, does that make me a true prophet? No, because I did not indicate a specific dog. What I predicted could have spoken by anyone. A true message from God would have named a specific dog, giving no doubt to whether the prophecy had come true when it did indeed come true.
• True prophets, those who prophesy in Jehovah's name, exhibit godly qualities: true love, peace, joy, longsuffering, faith, goodness, gentleness, meekness, and temperance, which are the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in believers. (Read Galatians 5:22-23 in your Bible.) True prophets do good works and speak good words. False prophets do not possess this good nature.
• True prophets glorify God through their words, action, and any supernatural signs they perform. They credit Jehovah for the power they receive. False prophets glorify spirits other than God.
• True prophets lead people to God and His teachings. False prophets do not.
8) The Bible tells us exactly what we should be aware of, warns us of aspects of false religions, and helps us avoid being tricked into believing untruths. We should avoid any message, regardless who is the messenger, if its messages do not harmonize with the Bible's messages. So even if an angel were to tell us something that contradicts its teachings as found in the Gospels, we should not listen to it.
9) Most importantly, the Bible is the only complete written communication from the one and only true God Almighty, Jehovah, to humans. It lays down the foundations of His principles, tells us the purpose and plans Jehovah has for us, shares with us His wishes and desires, and comforts us with the eternal hope of God's gift of salvation.
About the Author:
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning author (with twenty book awards, including nine Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Awards), motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet, author of nine books (including "Do You Love Jehovah? God Almighty's Infinite Love & Wisdom to Propel You to Greatness"), contributor to nineteen, and a parental rights advocate, has had severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since infancy. Owing to years of hospitalization, she received no education until age eleven. Back then, she knew only her ABCs and very simple English; other than that, her book knowledge was non-existent. However, after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school, she mastered grade level in all areas and entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, Shirley lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, she hopes to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University. Visit http://www.shirleycheng.com for more inspiration.
The two questions here are submitted by John Richards, an English Science teacher in the UK married to a Christian African woman with a gorgeous 2-year-old daughter.
