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Can the Bible’s Authority Be Proven?

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Can the Bible’s Authority Be Proven?

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The Bible is the number one bestseller of all time. Is it mere superstition—the uninspired work of men? Or is it simply Hebrew and Greek literature—perhaps only useful as a history book?

This book purports to be the Word of God. Must its authority be accepted on faith? Can its divine authority be demonstrated? Are only parts of it inspired, with other parts to be considered inaccurate or unscientific?

Recently, in a stunning, but candid, admission of the position of the Catholic Church on the Bible’s authority, the London Times (Oct. 5, 2005) carried an article describing a document just published by the Catholic Church in England titled The Gift of Scripture. This truly astonishing publication, in which various bishops and cardinals stated that one studying the Bible should not expect “total accuracy” from its contents, declaring that “We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,” totally undermines the Bible’s authority. In it, the Bible was described as a combination of the “Word of God” mixed with “human dimensions.”

The article went on to list a variety of biblical passages that church leaders felt should be considered “untrue.” Cited were the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which were described as not “historical,” but rather at best only containing “historical traces.” Various other scriptures, such as Matthew 27:25 and Revelation 19:20, describing the beast and false prophet, and the mark of the beast, are described as unbiblical. These churchmen then offered their opinion of various other passages that they felt could safely be considered true.

Which is it? Is the Bible true?—false?—or a mixture subject to human opinion?

Book of Books?

Most people have a Bible—and the “family Bible” is a cherished possession in many households. Our family Bible dates to the mid-to-late 1700s.

Then why does this best-selling book remain a mystery to so many—with few even professing to understand it? And why is it that most Bibles are used as a showpiece, lying unopened, gathering dust? Many actively try to discredit the Bible, while others treat it with passive indifference. Still others hold it in awe—believing “on faith” that it is divinely inspired. They seem to require no proof of this, yet lack the necessary conviction to truly believe and practice its words in times of great stress and personal trial.

But can one actually prove the Bible? This is a huge question! Just as most never seek to prove the existence of God, most never concern themselves with proving the authority of the Bible. They either have no interest in such proof or they assume there is none—that it cannot be done!

What about you? Have you taken the time to seek actual, tangible proof of the Bible’s authority? As with the existence of God, have you been taught that you must accept it “on faith”?

Most people are never challenged to find real proof that the Bible is the inspired record of a Supreme Being. Probably you have not been so challenged, and this is at least partly because circumstances rarely force people to undertake such a task. This is perhaps the single biggest reason that most never do. While I regularly “went to church” when growing up, I was never required, nor felt compelled, to prove either that God exists or that He authored the Bible. Nor was any proof of these ever given or offered to me! And not one person ever suggested to me that I should even be concerned with proving the answers to these two looming, most important of life’s questions.

Stop and think for a moment! Let’s apply basic logic.

What kind of God would write an Instruction Book about how to live, command that it be followed as His Word and then offer no proof that it is? It insults whoever is God to even believe Him capable of such inconsistency—and unfairness! On what basis would He—or even could He—require obedience to such an Instruction Book, if He left no proof that it was authentic?

The apostle Paul wrote in the Bible, speaking on behalf of the One who claims to have authored it, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thes. 5:21). If God wrote the Bible, and He tells you to “Prove all things,” then surely He would not make proof of His authorship of the Bible an exception. It states, “ALL things.” In other words, would God require you to prove what the Bible teaches about all other points of doctrine or practice, but not expect you to prove whether an all-powerful God stands behind its authorship, requiring you to then obey it—to adhere to its teachings? What sense would that make? God would never exempt from the need for proof (thus making them towering exceptions to this command) the questions of His own existence and His authorship of the Bible!

We must take this instruction at face value. If God says to “Prove all things,” and “Prove Me now herewith…” (Mal. 3:10), as well as “Prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2), then He means it. And if God did not make the answers to these questions provable, He is setting Himself up to be discredited—or one could conclude that He only desires simplistic, unthinking people to follow Him blindly. In other words, Christians are those who are willing to make assumptions on the very most important questions of life, and to be able to hold convictions for a lifetime that are based on mere assumption.

On the other hand, if the Bible is the inspired Word of a great living God, then it is the standard by which mankind—including you—will be judged. Then dare you delay any longer the process of proving its all-important authority in your life?

Most spend their entire lives worried about what people think and say. Few concern themselves with what God thinks or says. Be honest and consider yourself. How much time have you spent trying to prove either the existence of God or that the Bible is His Word?

So then, the answer to both of these questions is that they can be proven. And you will notice, as we summarize the first great proof of the Bible, that it is also inseparable from proof that God exists. In fact, each different proof that the Bible is the Word of God is also its own proof that there IS a God!

The First Proof—Evolution Disproved?

While numerous proofs could be listed, no discussion about the Bible’s authorship would be complete without addressing the subject of evolution. It represents, perhaps, the first proof, in overall priority, that should be examined.

Most people have been taught from childhood that mankind evolved through a long process. While the theory of evolution is commonly accepted throughout the Western World, it has never been more than an unproven theory. Yet, to believe in the biblical Creation account is considered unfashionable, un“chic”—and even unintelligent! And, of course, if the theory of evolution is true, then the Bible is a flawed book. At best, it is a mixture of truth and error, exactly as the Catholic Church now alleges. Yet, if the Roman church is right, and the Bible can be so wrong on a matter as important as the beginning of all life on earth (“Genesis” means beginning), then it cannot be trusted on any other point. If evolution occurred, the entire Bible collapses like a house of cards.

If evolution can be disproven, and the Creation account firmly established, then a great proof of the Bible’s authority has also been established.

Make no mistake! All of the Bible purports to be the Word of God. It all stands or it all falls together. Either the Bible is a book of truth from start to finish—and mankind should tremble before it (Isa. 66:2)—or, if evolution is true, the Bible must be judged false. It would thus stand as the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting mankind!

We have carefully prepared a booklet, Does God Exist? It is a companion to the subject of the Bible’s authority and it establishes, irrefutably, through many proofs, the absolute existence of God. Again, this question is inseparable from that of whether evolution occurred. It also firmly establishes the utter impossibility of evolution, leaving no doubt why the God of the Bible states, in several places, “Only the fool has said in his heart, There is no God.”

Space does not permit repeating that entire booklet here. However, it covers proofs from astronomy, the laws of thermodynamics, the fossil record gap, the concept of “irreducible complexity” as per DNA and cells, the presence of “tiny engines” inside cells, the law of biogenesis, the extraordinary complexity of the human mind, the amazing human eye, the nature of Australian termites, the impossibility of certain kinds of fish and birds having evolved—and the staggering mathematical improbability that even one planet like earth could have appeared anywhere in the universe by chance. These proofs establish not only that God does exist, but also that the Genesis Creation account is the only plausible explanation for the origin of life.

These proofs must be seen to be believed. The evidence is plain, emphatic and irrefutable—and establishes the biblical account beyond question! The fact that certain “fools” (God’s choice of terms, not mine) might ignore, reject or seek to discredit them is irrelevant to their validity. I ignore such people because I am instructed in Proverbs to “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him” (26:4). People who reject absolute proof are foolish and ought not to be dignified with an answer to their foolishness. This article has been written for those who seek—who deeply desire—the truth!

Evolutionists invariably use terms like “We suspect…We are coming to believe…What may have happened…We may theorize that…It is our opinion…What probably occurred…We do not know…,” etc. These terms do not inspire much confidence. The dogmatic statements of the Bible do! The God of the Bible never speaks in such uncertain terms. He does not have to. He not only knows He created mankind, but that it also can be proven. Thus, He speaks boldly—with authority—about what He has done!

Consider further. Evolutionists do not know the purpose of life. They do not know why they were born. And they reject the authority of God’s Word because they do not want Him “sticking His nose” into their lives. If they can discredit the authenticity of His Word, then they need not obey Him.

I cannot make you accept the proofs of God’s existence, and neither can any man. These are decisions you must make. I cannot force you to act upon proofs of the authority of His Word, and again, neither can any man. I disproved evolution nearly forty years ago and had no choice but to act on this knowledge, if I were to remain an honest seeker of truth.

Remember, it is in the Bible that the six-day Creation account of God creating all plants, animals and man himself is found. If evolution is disproven, it is the very Bible account that is verified—validated!—established!—as the true record of how all life on earth came into being. We have now established the first great proof of the Bible. However, until you have read Does God Exist?, this proof is not complete. Take time to read it. (And also read our extensive brochure Evolution – Facts, Fallacies and Implications, which thoroughly disproves evolution.)

If you are interested in knowing more about other proofs of the Bible’s authority, you are urged to read our booklet Bible Authority...Can It Be Proven? In these extraordinary times, when earth-shattering events, foretold in the Bible, are being fulfilled—and these are events that will affect every human being on earth—it behooves you to come to understand and to know your Bible, God’s Word.


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