The Bible

The Bible was written over a period of about 15 Centuries by many different human authors who were inspired by God. These men lived on different continents, spoke at least 3 different languages and yet The Bible contains one unified message about Jesus Christ and God's Purpose for us.

The Bible tells us that it is God’s Word many times. The human writers tell us that they were inspired by God. The Bible contains many very specific prophecies which have been fulfilled in minute detail. The Bible is “real.” It describes its “heroes’’” weaknesses as well as their strengths.

The Bible is historically accurate. Even though it is not a history text the events spoken of in Scripture have often been verified from other sources such as archaeology and secular history.

The Bible is scientifically accurate. Some have doubted this fact but The Bible is primarily written from the perspective of the human writer. For example Scripture describes the earth as round in an age when the best scientists thought it was flat.

There are no errors in the original “autographs” of The Bible. Whatever is described is spoken of truthfully. Supposed contradictions can be resolved when a person has a mind and heart open to receive the truth. The Bible was carefully and faithfully transcribed and transmitted to us with very few scribal slips resulting in an extremely high degree of accuracy.

There is more documentary evidence and more manuscripts to support the accuracy of The Bible texts than any other ancient document. Even though there are many different modern English translations of The Bible, we are fully able to receive the truth of God’s message to us. Any time any document is translated from one language to another there may be choices the translators must make about specific words. The basic ideas still come through loud and clear.

The books “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell and "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel are excellent reading. They give a clear picture of why we should believe that The Bible is God’s Word to us.

Bible Interpretation

To be fair to The Bible and ourselves we must read it in a similar way to other books. It is important to research the cultural and historical context of a passage to understand what applies to us today. The Bible contains many literary forms including poetry, wisdom literature, narrative and prophecy. It is important to recognize the literary genre and the intended audience for each section of Scripture.

It is important not to engage in “cut and paste” theology. We need to read verses in context and compare all of the related passages in Scripture about any specific topic before jumping to conclusions. To fully understand the meaning of The Bible it is essential to accept God's Free Gift of Eternal Life through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. We must ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate Scripture for us.

If a passage is difficult to comprehend it is wise to consult conservative, orthodox commentaries and find out what other Christian scholars have to say on the subject. Mere knowledge means nothing without application. After studying a passage we must extract the timeless principle that we can apply to our own lives and then take action. God wants us to be obedient to what we have learned. He gives us further insight as we obey His directives.

“Halley’s Bible Handbook” and “Smith’s Bible Dictionary” are very helpful study tools. Some suggested websites for Bible study tools are Blue Letter Bible and Bible.org.

Scripture quotations marked NIV or (NIV) are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®,


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