Center for Biblical Coaching

How is the Bible different than other religious books?

Question: The Bible teaches that Christ is the Savior, and has died for us to cleanse us of our sins, but, from a logical standpoint of someone who is thinking about the Christian faith, what reason have we to believe the Bible? Why is the Bible the word of God and not the Q’ran? Or the Torah? I understand that the Bible says it is the word of God in it’s own pages. If I wrote a book about a god that I believe in (that I completely made up), and wrote that that book was the word of the true God, how is it any less valid? How can a logically minded individual say that the Bible is the actual word of God and not the book I wrote?

Again, this is not meant to be spiteful. My mother is Catholic, and I was raised in that environment, and these are just things I’ve been thinking about for many years. I have not had a chance to discus them with anyone, as my mother dodges the questions, and any other religious leader I’ve spoken to only preaches to me about the reasons I’m going to suffer for all eternity, rather than attempting to help me.

Well, those are excellent questions and ones that need to be answered in a way that is historically accurate, biblically true, and God honoring. I don’t think you came across spiteful or hateful and am excited that you would ask me these questions. It saddens me that religious leaders would rather talk about suffering than answering legitimate questions like these. After all, if one is placing their eternal destiny into the hands of a person they’ve never seen but only read and hear about, then they must be able to trust the writings.

I do hope you’ll find the answers satisfactory to you as I present internal, external, and logical evidence to the Bible as being the unique Word of God.

What is the Word of God?

- A Person (Jesus Christ)

- A Speech by God (“Let there be light”)

- A Personal Address by God (“You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die”)

- God’s Words as Speech Through Human Lips (Deut 18:18-20)

- God’s Words in Written Form (The Bible)

- God’s Words spoken through animals (Balaam’s donkey)

What makes the Bible different than other religious books?

That’s a great question and one that’s been pondered for a long time. Here are some things to consider:

1. The original autographs were written in 3 different languages… (Hebrew – the language of the Israelites…practically the whole Old Testament, Aramaic – Daniel 2-7, Most of Ezra 4-7, Jesus’ New Testament Cry Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani, Greek – The New Testament)

2. Written on 3 continents… (Europe, Asia, Africa)

3. Written over a period of at least 1500 years

4. Written by at least 40 different authors of varying backgrounds (Fisherman, Physician, Prophet, King, Tax-Collector, etc…)

- Consistent and without contradiction on even the most difficult subjects.

- The Bible addresses hundreds of controversial subjects (marriage, divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, adultery, obedience to authority, truth-telling and lying, character development, parenting, the nature and revelation of God). Yet from Genesis to Revelation, it is consistent.

5. Claims to be uniquely inspired (God-breathed)

6. Uniquely translated

- By 1998, the Bible had been translated into over 2200 languages. That is only about 1/3 of the world’s 6,500 languages.

- The Bible was one of the first major books translated. Around 250 BC, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek and given the name Septuagint.

- The Bible has been translated into languages that either have or are without a written alphabet.

- Wycliffe Bible Translators alone has over 6,000 people with more than 850 different languages in 50 countries. At this rate the Bible should be available to almost all language groups between the years 2007 and 2022.

7. Makes unique claims about itself

- 2 Timothy 3:15-17

- Mark 13:31

- Hebrews 4:12

- Psalm 19:7-8

8. Is full of unique prophecy

- Psalm 22

- Isaiah 53

- Isaiah 9:6

- Micah 5:2

- Zech 11:12

9. Uniquely unchanged

- Consider the Dead Sea Scrolls

Did you know that the New Testament Scripture shows that other parts of the New Testament were read by the churches of that day and considered the Word of God?:

Col. 4:16 – “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”

2 Pet. 3:15-16 – “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Italics mine)

Rev. 1:3 – “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Internal Evidence:

Honesty – The disciples who recorded it claimed to have abandoned Christ and did not believe in His resurrection when told. They still present themselves as ignorant of God’s plan. As well, women are the first to witness the resurrection. This is significant because women weren’t considered viable witnesses in that day.

Harmony – The four Gospel writers have different perspectives on the same event. Although they differ in details, they are completely harmonious to the main events surrounding the resurrection, and all claim that it is a historical event.

Extraordinary claims – The Bible records that the resurrection of Christ happened and give the time, place, people involved, and it names many of the witnesses. In other words, the extraordinary claims were not done in secret as would be the case if it were fabricated.

Lack of motivation for fabrication – Most died a martyrs death. Why would they make this up? Nobody dies for a lie. These apostles did not die because they were taught about the resurrection; they died after seeing the resurrection.

External Evidence:

Preservation – The manuscript evidence conclusively demonstrates that the Gospel accounts were all written within a generation of the events which they record, authenticating their claims of eye witness testimony. There is no time for legendary material to arise.

The Bible is the most well attested book in all of ancient history, with more extant manuscripts in existence than any other work. The uniqueness of its preservation is inherently tied to its self-authentication as the word of God. There is no book that has been the object of such scrutiny and passionate attack as the Scripture. Yet, it survives today as the best selling book of all time. This alone, gives attestation to its authenticity as God’s word, being protected by God’s providential hand.

Archeology – Christ’s remains were never found. Neither could those who denied the resurrection in the first century produce a body, nor those who deny it today. If a body would have been turned up, nobody would be arguing this now. The grave would have been well known considering it was the “grave of a rich man.” If someone were making these claims you would have to assume that they would’ve went back to the grave to see if this were true.

The witness of archeology has continually confirmed the Scriptural data. When there has been doubt in the past (e.g., existence of the Hittites, the date of the census in Luke and the reign of Quirinius, Governor of Syria (history showed that his reign as governor began in 6Ad so they said the bible wasn’t true…until it was found that he was governor twice), date of the Gospel of John, etc.), later archeological and historical finds have proved the Scriptures to be historically accurate.

Extra biblical attestation – There are numerous first and second century extra biblical writings that witness to the fact that Christians believed that Christ rose from the grave and that this new “sect” had begun after this event. Consider the following writings:

There are over 39 extra biblical sources that attest to over one hundred facts regarding the life and teachings of Jesus. Besides all of the Apostolic fathers (whose witness cannot be dismissed simply because they believed that Christ was the messiah) are the Jewish and Roman historians.

Josephus (Jewish Historian; 37-100AD) “Now, there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works; a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. (He was the Christ); and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him (for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him) and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, and not extinct at this day.”

Pliny the Younger (Emporer of Bythynia; 112 AD) “They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to commit any wicked deed, but to abstain from all fraud, theft and adultery, never to break their word, or deny a trust when called upon to honor it; after which it was their custom to separate and then meet again to partake of food, but ordinary and innocent kind.” (Letter to Emperor Trajan)

Tactitus (Roman Historian; 115 AD) “Consequently…Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberias at the hands of the Procurator Pontius Pilatus, and a deadly superstition, thus checked for a moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but also in the City.”

…the leader of the Christian movement died and that’s what caused the growth.

Just a thought but, why would a movement start when a leader dies? “Let’s follow Him!” It doesn’t make sense.

Iranaeus (ca. 150)

“Against Heresies” 3.1.1

“We have learned from non others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.”

Clement of Alexandria (d. 215)

“The Stromata,” 7:16

“But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will not desist from the search after truth, till they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves.”

Gregory of Nyssa (c.ca 395)

“On the Holy Trinity,” NPNF, p. 327

“Let the inspired Scriptures then be our umpire, and the vote of truth will be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the Divine words.”

Athanasius (c.296-373)

“Against the Heathen,” 1:3

“The holy and inspired Scriptures are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth.”

Basil the Great (ca. 329-379)

“On the Holy Spirit,” 7.16

“We are not content simply because this is the tradition of the Fathers. What is important is that the Fathers followed the meaning of the Scripture.”

The term, “Sola Scriptura” is not found until the 15^th Century but one can clearly see the concept that Scripture was the primary source of truth is found from the earliest writings in the church.

Survival in a hostile environment – There was plenty of opportunity for someone to find the body but nobody did.

Since all of the Gospel was spoken and written in close proximity to the events themselves, there would have been many people who could have brought forth evidence that their stories were lies. However, even in the midst of a hostile environment, where the opponents had everything to lose if the Gospel story is true, you do not have anyone producing anything that would lead the historian to believe that the story was a fabrication.

…Why is there so much talk about the plot of the Kennedy assassination? Why don’t people believe it? Because the evidence doesn’t line up. Nobody signs the Warren commission and no doctor signs the autopsy results. There is a lot of doubt about who killed President Kennedy.

…The Nazi concentration camps where people are now rewriting history and saying they didn’t happen. Nobody was writing back in the 40’s because nobody would believe that it never happened. They are writing those things now over 60 years later. The same is true about the resurrection of Christ.

Consider the following points:

1. Prophetic Element

The Bible is the only religious or historical book that foretells the future in detail and then asks its readers to test the validity of this prophecy to verify its message.

Isaiah 53

Written 700 years before Christ and in the Dead Sea Scrolls we have copies that date at least 100 years before Christ so nobody can say that this is written after the fact

Is 53:1-12

(This is a prophecy that looks like it was presented after the fact)

How would you explain this passage without the “God” factor?

1. Testimony of Christ

If you can prove the resurrection of Christ historically, everything else will fall into place from there.

The historical evidence conclusively demonstrates that Christ rose from the grave, the resurrection itself verifies His claims to be the Son of God. Since Christ is God’s Son, His testimony concerning the inspiration of the Scripture is final and authoritative. He witnessed to the Old Testament’s inspiration of the New Testament, through the appointing and sending of His apostles, validating them through signs and wonders.

1. Life changing ability

The Scriptures demonstrate the characteristics of wisdom, discernment, and conviction that one would expect to find from the testimony of an omniscient Creator. This conviction has evidenced itself in dynamic life-change of millions of people throughout time and demonstrates its divine nature.

1. Testimony of the Holy Spirit

Religious books and their claims

If you ask a Mormon why they believe their scriptures are true, they’ll take you to the back of the Doctrine and Covenants where it says, “If you want to know whether these are God’s words, pray and God will give you a burning in your bosom that it’s true.”

Sorry…that doesn’t work. Really? A burning in the bosom?

The Scriptures testify to themselves through the subjective testimony of God Himself in the mind, heart, and soul of an individual, demonstrating that the message proclaimed is truly the voice of God.

John 10:26-27

When Christians read/hear the Scriptures they know it’s the voice of God.