Without citing the bible, what marks the bible as the one book with God's message?

[YahwehIsTheWay]

Remember Christians, the challenge is to justify 1) that the bible is the special book and

Because if we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy, would it? ...oh, sorry, that was the answer to a different question.

Because if The Holy Bible wasn't, they wouldn't call it "Holy" now would they? Duh!

2) that a literal interpretation is the one intended by your god .. without (for obvious reasons) citing the bible itself. I await your guidance.

Sissy Christians like to use the "metaphor" excuse to effectively rewrite the Word of our Lord, in some cases reading what's not there and in others ignoring what is there. With such license, you can't nail them down on anything. Debating with them is like fighting guerrilla insurgents; they are everywhere and nowhere. And just when you think you have pinned them down, they slip away like a greased pig.

To refuse to read the Bible with strict discipline to stick to what's actually there is to be at sea, allowed to make it into anything you like. To them I ask, "are you God?" How else can they claim to know what is divine and what's human insertion? How else can they know what's a literal message and what's just a metaphor?

Since we are not God, all we can do is say the Bible IS the Word or it is NOT the Word. There is no "sorta kinda" option.

Additionally, if we are willing to accept that God is sending us a message, a written book of revelation, why would this being cloud the message in confusing poetry? One critical part of good communication is clarity, is it not? Why should we believe the very being that gave us sense, reason and the very capacity to communicate would be such a poor communicator?