Why do Christians trust the Bible?

[RobbyPants]

Hi folks,

Welcome, and thanks for your response!

I'll address some of the points that stood out to me.

o As a Christian, I believe that this list or collection of literature is what God has ‘picked’ to be what I need to know about God’s nature, my purpose, and history, and all issues of life. I’ll add here that my faith in God being good allows me to trust that God did not purposely leave out certain facts to keep me ‘dumb and naïve’ so to speak.

So, you're basically saying that you trust the contents on faith alone, correct? Assuming so, where do you get this faith, or on what basis?

I admit, there are some big events that have NOT been verified (i.e., Noah’s Ark and the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah etc.). This doesn’t mean it’s untrue. It could be true that it didn’t happen, or it could be true that we just haven’t discovered anything to substantiate these Biblical stories. However, at this point I think I’ll defer to the archaeologists and other experts to come up with something more definitive, for or against.

Two points:

1) If someone makes a fantastic claim ("I saw a unicorn!") that cannot be backed up, I'm not going to assume it's true or even give it any serious consideration. Sure, I can't prove there wasn't a unicorn, but I can't go accepting an infinite number of nonfalsifiable claims.

2) Some of the accounts flat-out didn't happen. Unless you take a creative interpretation of the flood (like it was a local flood, for example), the flood as described in the Bible did not happen.

o The Bible is filled with things that explain why certain things are the way they are.

This could simply be a post hoc justification. It doesn't make it true, but reactionary.

o To put things into perspective, the NT has over 25,000 manuscripts. The OT goes much further back into history. Prior to the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest version was a 900AD copy. That is why the finding of the DSS was such a major archaeological find for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It helped to CONFIRM the validity and consistency of the OT versions that we do have today. Anyway, lots of data available for this.

That number is overstated and includes lots of copies of copies (which don't add to the authenticity of something; just the popularity), copies written hundreds of years later, and also fragments that don't even contain whole words. The number shrinks drastically once you reduce it to manuscripts from the first two centuries.

• I’m sure there are more reasons, but those two are the primary reasons why I believe in the Bible. It is always important to read the Bible in its context. When it shoots down the rights of women, we must remember that they were written during a time that was primarily male-dominant. That is a PART OF OUR HISTORY, not a teaching that is demanded of all Christians.

Would you agree that to an outsider, the god of the Bible looks like a product of the times when the Bible was written? I mean, I totally agree with you that a lot of local culture and heritage has worked its way into the Bible. One would expect that. It's just, the God of the Bible seems really fitting for a bronze/iron age culture.

I also want to address the comment in OP’s post about Satan. We are never told of what Satan (Yes he was an angel) did to deserve what he got. We are also not told that he actually wanted what he got. What if that was the case and he actually wanted to be apart from God? .... It is Satan who decided to reject God, and therefore fall from the state of angelic grace that I assume angels are all in.

Yes, but how do you know that? We aren't allowed to ask Satan his side of the story. How do we know he rejected God. If he did, how do we know the rejection wasn't just?

With regards to the OP’s comments about accountability and divine relevations, I will add this situation for thought. IF we assume that all of these ‘fantastic claims’ were only that, a fabrication/lie/fantasy/made-up story, then why would it have perpetuated into what is now one of the world’s largest religions? When Christianity was young, it was a persecuted sect. The Christian religion did not grow up in a region friendly to Christian ideals until Constantine came along 300 years after Christ died.

That doesn't really address the part about fantastic claims and revelations. Consider these two things:

1) By the time the Bible was written, and when people were getting letters from Paul, almost no one would have actually seen the events described. Everyone has to take Paul for his word that he's actually talking to God. How do they know that? What you are describing is a genuine belief (and I'm not doubting that), but belief doesn't indicate truth. My two girls believe in Santa, after all.

2) Consider Islam. Many people currently are willing to die for their beliefs. Does that make them true?

All this indicates is that the Christians believed what they claimed, not that the belief is true. Do you agree?



Thanks again for your lengthy post.