Can I trust the Bible? - Part 1

Welcome to history's most amazing book

What a book!

The Bible is a miracle of literary accomplishment. Some books take a lifetime to write; the Bible was composed over a period of roughly 1600 years.

The Bible is the work of more than 40 authors from every walk of life; including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen and scholars.

These writers were participants in the most extensive, successful and long-term writing project in history. Yet they probably didn’t know it at the time.

An incredible collection

The Bible was written on 3 continents in 3 languages on hundreds of different subjects.

Portions of the Bible were written in the wilderness, in a dungeon, in a palace, in exile, in wartime, and in peacetime. It contains flashes of inspired poetry as well as detailed history, captivating biography, letters, memoirs and prophetic writings.

The Bible includes historical records, sermons, letters, a hymn book, love songs, geographical surveys, architectural specifications, travel diaries, population statistics, family trees, inventories and legal documents.

A defining masterpiece

Our Bible, like history, is divided into the period before Jesus’ coming (B.C. or “before Christ”) and the period after his coming (A.D. or “ammo Domini, which is a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of our Lord”).

The Bible contains 66 separate books; 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New.

So, the Bible is a collection of different books written at different times by different authors from different places in different styles and in different languages and with different audiences and different purposes. It also happens to be the bestselling book of all time and is available in nearly 3000 languages.

One clear message

Ultimately, the Bible is 1 book about the 1 true and living God. The Bible is written with the primary purpose of revealing who God is through his work in history so that we can see our lives as inextricably connected to him in every way and only meaningful when understood in light of him.

And the Bible is ultimately written by God (for who else is best qualified to revealing God to us than God Himself).

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

“For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)