reasons to trust the bible
Historical Accuracy
A book containing factual errors would be difficult to trust. Consider reading a modern history book that placed World War II in the 1800s or referred to the President of the United States as a king. Wouldn’t such inaccuracies make you question the overall reliability of the book?
No one has ever successfully challenged the historical accuracy of the Bible. It refers to real people and real events.
Notable Figures
Critics of the Bible once questioned the existence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea who handed Jesus over to be crucified (Matthew 27:1-26). Evidence of Pilate’s rule in Judaea was discovered etched on a stone found in the Mediterranean seaport city of Caesarea in 1961.
Before 1993, there was no proof outside the Bible to support the historicity of David, the brave young shepherd who later became king of Israel. That year, however, archaeologists uncovered a basalt stone in northern Israel, dated to the 9th century BCE, which experts say bears the words “House of David” and “king of Israel”.
Historical Events
Until recently, many scholars doubted the accuracy of the Bible’s account of the nation of Edom battling with Israel during David’s reign (2 Samuel 8:13, 14). They argued that Edom was merely a simple pastoral society at the time and lacked the organisation or strength to threaten Israel until much later. However, recent excavations indicate that “Edom was a complex society centuries earlier [than previously thought], as reflected in the Bible,” according to an article in the journal Biblical Archaeology Review.
Accurate Titles
The Bible mentions numerous rulers who lived during the 16 centuries of its writing. When referring to a ruler, it always uses the proper title. For example, it correctly refers to Herod Antipas as “district ruler” and Gallio as “proconsul” (Luke 3:1; Acts 18:12). Ezra 5:6 refers to Tattenai as the governor of the Persian province “beyond the River”, meaning the Euphrates River. A coin produced in the 4th century BCE contains a similar description, identifying the Persian governor Mazaeus as ruler of the province “Beyond the River”.
Significance of Accuracy
Accuracy in seemingly minor details is not trivial. If we can trust the Bible writers in even small details, shouldn’t that strengthen our confidence in the other things they wrote?
