Do we have credible reasons to believe that God has spoken through our Holy Bible, and is our faith really tied to facts? The fact that Christians say that the Bible is the inspired word of God does not prove to anyone that it actually is.

That’s like making a statement that someone told me something is true and I believed it because he told me. One way to find the truth is to search for reasons to believe otherwise.

The bible talks about its divine origin over 1500 times. It was written in different continents such as Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Paul wrote from a jail in Rome, James wrote from Jerusalem, Moses from Sinai, and Daniel from Babylon.

Even in these adverse situations, the writers complement each other in perfect harmony. Keep in mind that these authors were not in any way familiar with what each other was writing. This is our proof that the Bible was organized by a single mind.

As to the authority of the Old Testament, Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18 “Think not that I have come to destroy the law of the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill, for verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law, till all is fulfilled.”

All the writers of the New Testament referred to the Old Testament and spoke of the authority it contained.

In Genesis we can read that in the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The word God is a plural noun. We are also told that there is only one God. This is an early detection of the Trinity, that we read about later in scripture.

The same voice of God that spoke the heavens and earth into existence spoke the words of scripture through the authors of the Bible and the same voice will destroy Satan and his armies in the end times. Truth is something that has to be discovered by rational debate and evidence. Historical evidence strongly suggests that the events in the New Testament were written by eye witnesses of the life of Jesus.

Scholars have 5,700 or more manuscripts and fragments of the New Testament. There are small differences between them, but none of these variations affect the message of the Christian faith. They are mostly spelling errors and variations in word order. The message itself is absolutely accurate. The books of the New Testament were carefully picked. In order to have any vale or authority they had to be chosen by the testimony of eye witnesses.

Christians were in total agreement on this as early as the first century AD. In order to believe the Bible it must be based on facts.

Faith in something that has no facts is useless.

Our faith is based on evidence, but there comes a time when our longing for evidence comes to a halt and our faith takes over and begins to grow. The books of the Bible were chosen by God’s people who recognized their authority and observed everything that the apostles taught and wrote, knowing they were in direct contact with Christ.

The longevity of the Bible is not because of the people who wrote it. The credit goes to our God who inspired it. In Isaiah 40:8 we can read: “The grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of God stands forever.”

Archaeology discoveries are a key factor to the accuracy of the bible. There has never been a discovery that has proved the bible wrong.

Solomon’s reign and the fact that he had over 1,000 horses was often questioned but an excavation in Megiddo revealed thousands of stall for horses and chariots. The new international Dictionary of Biblical Archaeologies written by a large group of experts in various fields, says that archaeology has proved the historical and geographical reliability of the Bible time and time again.

Prophets all down through history spoke on god’s behalf and every one of them testified to it.

One should have enough respect for the bible to study it themselves and then decide. In (Timothy 3:16-17) we read: All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God maybe adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is a story about the redemption of the human race. I am amazed at the fact that in the face of overwhelming evidence that our bible is factual, many people still remain convinced that it’s not. In Romans 1:19-22 we read: “Those who observe this complex, multifaceted, multi-layered reality that is life and the universe are “without excuse” for not seeing God, and his eternal power and divine nature.”

The growing influence Satan has on our lives reveals the need for biblical truth and understanding. True happiness in this life can only be found through the direction of God, written in our Holy bible. When you open your bible God is speaking.

Rick Jones lives in Mahoning Valley.