Why believe the bible?

[SteveII]

In doing various reading, I came across the following statement from Creation Ministries:

"The truth claims of theology based on sound exegesis of the biblical text (using the historical-grammatical method of interpretation upon which all meaningful human communication is based) are superior to all other competing truth claims, and scientific truth claims are only valid and reliable when they describe natural processes or phenomena where God has not chosen to directly act or intervene."

That's certainly a bold claim, that the bible itself is superior to all other truth claims.  However it seems to pre-suppose believing in the truth of the bible to begin with.  My question is, what reason do we have for believing in the bible in the first place?

Casting about for answers, I came across the following article,  Why I Believe the Bible, which details five supposed reasons for believing the bible.  I must confess I found the reasons less than persuasive.  There's also this article, Why should I believe the Bible?, which attempts to answer the same question.

As best I can gather from this brief survey, the reasons are:

1. The bible says so;
   
2. The bible is internally consistent;
   
3. The bible successfully describes historical events;
   
4. The bible predicted specific archaeological discoveries;
   
5. The bible changes lives;
   
6. Jesus said to believe the bible.
   

Are these really the reasons why one should believe the bible?  Have I missed important reasons for believing the bible?  What say you, Christians?  Anybody?   Why do you believe the bible?

For an alternative view, one might examine Richard Carrier's recounting the history of canonization of the New Testament, The Formation of the New Testament Canon, to see how prior belief has guided the formation of, at least, the New Testament.

The Bible makes one central claim: that it contains a progressive revelation of God from way back through the establishment of the first century church. The entire purpose is to get us to the culmination of God's plan: Jesus' life, death and resurrection. That thread that ended in Jesus can be found in almost every book in every time period. 

IMO, for the millions of adult converts every year, belief in the Bible starts at the end and goes backward. It starts with the final revelation of God (Jesus' message):


1. It is obvious that we are somehow wired to believe in God/higher power/supernatural/purpose/destiny etc. 
2. Jesus' main message that forgiveness, personal peace, a relationship with God, and eternal life is possible really resonates with some people. 
     a. there are a lot of people, who have had tough experiences that find the forgiveness and internal peace very appealing.
     b. when you meet somone who has been a Christian a long time and exemplifies Jesus' teachings and shares how God has been a constant comfort and support to them in their daily lives, it is very appealing.
     c. eternal life, how can you beat that? This component also helps you make sense/cope of the shortness of life, tragedies, and pain endured while we are here.
3. Another appealing quality of Christianity is having the question of purpose and place in the universe answered. 
     a. with atheism, at best, you are a happy accident with no purpose that will very shortly die and cease to exist.
     b. contrast that with the purpose of man is to "Glorify God and enjoy him forever". We were created for a reason and daily life has purpose.
4. Jesus modeled his teachings of love, compassion, and forgiveness for your fellow man and in doing so set an example that, if aspired to, would result in a very fulfilling/satisfying life. 

If this message resonates with you and you take what is offered, you have now accepted that the main themes of the NT are true. Notice that you don't actually have to believe the Bible (or have even seen one) to get to this stage. This is important because it shows that believing the Bible is inerrant is not required for salvation. 

From the basic knowledge of the NT themes, you further your understanding of Christianity through the books of the NT. After that, you can see how these themes rely on the OT. You begin to see that thread I mentioned above. There are varying degrees of beliefs about inerrantcy. But, there you have it. It is not that the belief in the Bible is circular, it is compelled by accepting the end result and working backward.