Common Questions Regarding the Bible
1. “How do you know the Bible is true? It’s a book written by men.”
The Bible is the one true Word of God and is written by God-inspired men. “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17).
One translation says, “God has transmitted His very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness.”
God-hearing, inspired individuals wrote the books of the Bible as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding” (Job 32:8).
The Bible was written by 40 different authors—kings, peasants, fishermen, philosophers, poets, scholars, statesmen, herdsmen, a tax collector, a doctor, a military general, a rabbi, and a prime minister—over a period of 1,500 years, encompassing 40 generations. It was written on three continents in three different languages. From Genesis, the first book, to Revelation, the last book, you will see the Bible is intricately connected and self-supporting. The Scriptures proclaim and prove God’s design and source of truth.
The Bible has survived time, persecution, and criticism. Its power will continue until the end of time. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Voltaire, a noted French philosopher, once stated that in 100 years from his time, Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history. But what happened? Only 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to produce stacks of Bibles.
Believing the Word of God requires an individual to make a choice, using faith, to agree that the Word is indeed true and inspired (Matthew 7:7-11; Proverbs 1:24-33, 2:1-5). “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Open the Bible, thoughtfully read it, and ask God for understanding. God is faithful and will show you that His Word is true and written by the inspiration of the Creator of the universe. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
2. “Why are there so many contradictions in the Bible?”
There are none! What initially appears to be a contradiction usually results from taking things out of context. More importantly, they come from not having all of the information on the subject matter. All perceived contradictions have been proven not to be contradictions at all. Skeptics will try to discredit God, but His Word remains infallible! A mind biased against the will of God will often jump to perceived contradictions to justify their disbelief. People need to know there is an answer to every one of those supposed contradictions.
3. “How did the Old Testament come about? Is it accurate?”
The accuracy of the Old Testament text has been demonstrated by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. They date from the first two centuries B.C through the first century A.D. Before that, the oldest Hebrew manuscripts were dated no earlier than the end of the ninth century. The oldest complete Hebrew Bible is from about one century later. With the discovery of the Dead Sea documents, our history of the Old Testament was pushed back approximately 100 years!
These scrolls have provided monumental evidence of the precision and accuracy of the Old Testament. Note, for example, Gleason Archer’s comment about the accuracy of the Masoretic Text (the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible) as compared with the Isaiah scrolls of the Dead Sea: “Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were 100 years earlier than the oldest-dated manuscript previously known (A.D. 980), they proved to be word-for-word identical to our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95% of the text. The 5% variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling.”
Author and historian Edwin Yamauchi commented concerning this matter, “We were not sure how accurate the work of the Masoretes [scribe scholars] and their predecessors was. Some scholars dated the origin of the Masoretic Text to the editorial work of rabbis in the second century. Thanks to Qumran [the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found], we know that the Masoretic Text goes back to a Proto-Masoretic edition dating to the Christian era, and we are assured that these were copied with remarkable accuracy. This means that the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible must be treated with respect and not freely amended.”
W.J. Martin and A.R. Millard, professors of Hebrew and ancient Semitic languages at the University of Liverpool, affirmed that “the great significance of these manuscripts is that they constitute an independent witness to the reliability of the transmission of our accepted text.” The great scholar William Henry Green was correct when he observed, “It may safely be said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.”
God preserves His Word! “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever” (Psalm 12:6-7).
–Josh McDowell, “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict”
4. “Can we rely on the New Testament because it has been copied so many times?”
Many people are surprised when they first learn that we possess none of the original documents of the New Testament. The loss of these documents is undoubtedly by Divine design because if they were preserved, people may have made idols of them rather than being directed to God. Despite the absence of these originals, however, thanks to the work of archaeologists and textual critics, the New Testament is a reliable text.
The original text of the New Testament is derived from three general sources: Greek manuscripts, ancient versions of the New Testament, and quotations from the New Testament in the writings of the early church fathers (from the post-apostolic age).
About 5,500 Greek manuscripts (in whole or in part) of the New Testament exist today. The John Reynolds fragment is the oldest dated, second century. The Chester Beatty (A.D. 250) and Bodmer (A.D. 200) collections shed an abundance of light on the New Testament word meanings. They demonstrate that Koine Greek was the language of the man on the street. These manuscripts demolish any claims of a late composition of the New Testament.
The most accurate manuscripts representing the New Testament are usually some of the ones from which the Textus Receptus (Received Text) was taken. They consist of the majority of Greek manuscripts that agree with each other and have been accepted by Bible-believing Christians through the centuries. This was the text that the Protestants of the Reformation knew to be the Word of God—inerrant and infallible.
Two other manuscripts, Codex Vaticanus (A.D. 325) and Codex Sinaiticus (A.D. 350), date within 250 years of the time of their composition. This may seem like a long span, but it is minimal when compared to most major works. Take Caesar’s “The Gallic Wars,” for example. The earliest copy dates back 1,000 years after the original. The first complete copy of Homer’s “Odyssey” was found 2,200 years after it was originally written. When the intervals between the writings of the New Testament and its earliest copies is are compared to other ancient works, the New Testament intervals proves to be much closer than the original!
In addition, we have over 10,000 translations of the New Testament in ancient languages, some reaching back to the second and third centuries.
Again, God preserves His Word. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
–Josh McDowell, “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict”
5. “What about all the other religions and beliefs that say they are right?”
There is only one path to the Almighty God. “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). There is only one truth. “Jesus said unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: No man comes unto the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).
A person can only be saved and reconciled to God because of the birth, life, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Nor is their salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus sacrificed Himself to take away our sins. Only He can remove our sins and only in this miraculous way.
All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical presumptions. “Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you in their attempt to lead you away from Christ’s fullness by pretending to be full of wisdom when they’re filled with endless arguments of human logic” (Colossians 2:8). Of the four world religions that are based on personalities rather than a philosophical system, only Christianity claims an empty tomb—the resurrection of Christ from the dead—as its foundation. (See Matthew 27:62-66 and chapter 28.)
The shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is the only sacrifice that can take away the sins of the world. There are not many paths or ways to God as some profess today. All people have sinned and broken God’s laws (Ten Commandments), and God created a perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins. He offers Jesus Christ, the only provision for a lost and dying world. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Either Christ is a liar or He is the Truth. You must thoughtfully decide. God has given each of us free will to choose, but the evidence is strong. Who is Jesus Christ to you? This is the most important question you will ever answer.
6. “If God is Love, how can He condemn people to hell? I’m a good person!”
God is love (1 John 4:16). He is also holy, just, righteous, and the Ruler of the universe (Isaiah 45:21-22). God’s standard is perfection. He is a God of mercy and a God of justice. “Note the goodness and the severity of God” (Romans 11:22). Many people call themselves good, but by whose and what standard? “There is a way that seems right to a person, but the ends are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
The Bible says that everyone has broken God’s moral absolutes. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all have broken His commandments. For example, have you ever lied, stolen, cheated, or lusted? We deserve His justice, but instead, He offers mercy and grace! He shows us His love by clearly warning us about His judgment for disobedience. “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: They will suffer the punishment of everlasting destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
God is light and His nature and character cannot allow sin in heaven
(1 John 1:5-6). Know this: A person without holiness will not see God (Hebrews 12:14).
Good news! God makes provision for all to be saved (Romans 2:11) because He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). He has set down a plan for mankind to respond to Him or face His judgment (Romans 1:18-32 and 2:1-16). “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
People choose to rebel, but God does everything He can to prevent it by offering His love. You have free will (Romans 10:13) and without it, no true love can exist.
God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). Hell shows the seriousness of breaking God’s laws and how He values His children who keep them. Probably the most popular New Testament passage summarizes His message of salvation:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17).
God loves and desires the best for you. Never forget His warnings are an act of love.
7. “How can an individual in Africa who has never heard about the Bible or Jesus be condemned? What about Muslims or those who believe in Islam?”
God is not a respecter of persons nor wants any to perish (Romans 2:11, 2 Peter 3:9). People will perish if they do not follow Christ. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). If any person wants to know the true God, he will hear the Gospel by some means, as you have. God made all things and knows every hair on your head (Luke 12:7). He searches the whole earth for those who will serve Him with a sincere heart (Jeremiah 23:24). Could anyone find Christ who truly wants to know Him? Yes!
God has also given us the creation to show that there is intelligence behind the grand design we witness daily. Is there a builder for a building or a painter for a painting? So how much more is there a Creator for the 40 million nerve endings in one eyeball alone? God has created all things—from invisible qualities to majestic landscapes—and He said because of creation “people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). All people are equally accountable before God.
We all have been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). We have the innate ability to believe in something. It may be in the one true God, a false god, or no god (atheism).
We are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26) as we have a mind to think, reason, and imagine. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord….” (Isaiah 1:18). People can understand the difference between right and wrong as God has put His moral law in each heart (Romans 2:14-15). The God-given conscience we have approves or condemns our actions and thoughts.
All people around the world are created to seek God. Cultural influences and pressures certainly have a great effect on a person’s beliefs. But there isn’t any power to stop God from reaching any person (John 17:2, 19:11; Acts 26:15-18). “For with God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37). The Gospel has gone out to the ends of the known world (Acts 2:5; Romans 1:8,10:18, 16:26; Colossians 1:6, 23). God is continually searching the ends of the earth for those who will acknowledge and seek Him (Psalm 98:2-3; Isaiah 51:4-8; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 11:3-7, 34:11-22).
There is one true God who has laid down a plan of salvation for all. There are not many ways to God—but only one—through Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). All people have sinned and broken God’s moral laws, and Jesus shed His blood as an atoning sacrifice for all those who believe in Him.
God can send a missionary, an angel, a message in a dream or vision—and this booklet to you. He is a creative, limitless God who reaches inquiring souls anywhere in the world. With God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). But the unfortunate truth is that most will reject His call (Matthew 7:13). Many say they want to know but are not willing to pay the price or seek the truth. God is responsible for reaching any who desires to know Him. God is love and does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:8-9).
8. “If God is so loving, how could He destroy all of those people in the Old Testament, including women and children?”
It’s precisely because He is a good God that He ordered their extermination. God wasn’t merely thinking of the present, as man does. He was wisely determining the future course of our human race. Moreover, God’s war was not merciless and unlimited, as some critics have slanderously suggested. These people were spared for as long as they could be, and only when it was clear that they would not change, God ordered their destruction. Even then, as many people as could safely be spared were allowed to live.
Further, total destruction was limited to some cities in Canaan, not all. It was not genocide or racial cleansing, as some carelessly claim. And this was not to be an ongoing policy for all time. It was never issued to anyone except the generation of Joshua.
The Scriptures affirm that God is morally perfect. He is holy (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8), just and righteous (Psalm 89:14), and good (Psalm 100:6, 106:1). Given this, some could be puzzled at certain commands that God gave in the Old Testament. When the Israelites were commissioned to take the land of Canaan, the Lord instructed them to completely smite the people and to show no mercy to them (Deuteronomy 7:1-5). And when Israel invaded Jericho, the same. “And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword” (Joshua 6:21). When looking at this passage we must consider some things.
God was very patient with these grossly immoral pagan tribes for a very long time. When Abraham first came into the land of Canaan, the Lord promised that this country would someday belong to His seed, but it could not yet be theirs for “the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full,” declared God (Genesis 15:16). It was as though the sins of those heathen people were gradually filling up a container; finally, a point was reached on the Lord’s moral barometer that He could no longer tolerate. They had to be destroyed. It was not a violation of His goodness; rather, it was to preserve it.
Baal, the Semitic god of life, caused fertility to be worshipped by many ancient middle eastern communities—especially the Canaanites. They had absolutely no concept of morality. Baal is represented as practicing vile sex acts and influencing others to do likewise. In the Canaanite religion, homosexuals and prostitutes were employed to raise money for the support of the temples. It is not an exaggeration to say that these pagans elevated sex to the status of a god. Sounds almost like today, doesn’t it?
The Canaanite religion was a horribly brutal system as well. For instance, the goddess Anath was pictured killing humans by the thousands and wading thigh-high in blood. She cut off heads and hands and wore them as ornaments. The morally depraved Canaanites also sacrificed their own babies to these heathen gods. Funerary jars have been found with the bodies of young children distorted by suffocation as they struggled for life after having been buried alive as sacrifices to Canaanite gods. Such young children have been found in the foundation pillars of Canaanite houses.Sometimes religious ceremonies were associated with their sacrifice.
It’s important to realize that destroying these wicked people was for the moral preservation of the nation of Israel. When they invaded Canaan, the Hebrews were not to allow enemies to live so their abominations could not be taught to their current generation.
Because the salvation of mankind was at stake, the extermination of the wicked inhabitants of Canaan was an example of moral surgery to eliminate their pagan practices. Children were victims because of the evil of their parents. Given eternal judgment, God treated these children fairer than if they were allowed to live. We have a difficult time understanding this, but God does not want any to perish. And with His warnings, He gives us the grace to obey.
Important Note: In Genesis 6:1-6, fallen angels had sexual relations with women on the earth, resulting in giants and other abnormalities. When you look at the science of genetics, various genes cause different physical characteristics in children. Many Bible scholars say that the reason God singled out some tribes to be annihilated was that the gene pool was defective and polluted in these tribes due to sexual relations between fallen angels and women on the earth. Not getting rid of them would have caused great difficulty to mankind and would have brought on greater rebellion toward God.
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,that the sons of God (fallen angels from heaven) saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strivewith man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be 120 years,” There were giants (Nephilim) on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1-4).
Top Reasons for God to Eliminate Some Canaanite Cities
The Canaanites were orgiastic and grossly immoral—even sacrificing their own children to their gods. God had given them 400 years to change their ways, but they had not (Genesis 15:16). After their annihilation, God eliminated the diseases associated with their sin (Numbers 31:19-24) and destroyed every trace of their evil religion to keep it from spreading any further. If He hadn’t done so, we would still consider orgies and child sacrifice normal today.
As a result of their destruction, God prevented the women from leading more men astray with their ceremonial prostitution (Numbers 25:1-2). God also prevented the children from avenging their guilty fathers and from following in the evil ways of their parents. God sent the children to heaven due to a lack of moral accountability, rather than letting them become idolaters who would go to hell. God showed the Israelites (and ourselves) the consequences of sin, however God established a holy nation—the only kind through which He could bless the world.
God the Creator has the right to unmake what He has made.
9. “Why does God allow evil and suffering to occur in the world?”
God does allow evil and suffering to take place. They come as a result of man’s disobedience to His Word, and God is not to blame (Romans 1:21-32). Read Deuteronomy 28 (Book of Consequences) very carefully, and you will see how God considers right and wrong actions and choices.
When God’s standards are broken, man or nation always receives the resulting judgments and consequences. “He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow” (Proverbs 22:8a).
We have free will to obey or disobey, and according to our choices, we will receive blessings or curses.
Consider this verse: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed shall live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
So, sin or rebellion against God’s moral law is the root cause of problems. We should not blame God for the loss of a loved one or sickness and disease. When we continue to break God’s spiritual, physical, and natural laws, we pay a price.
But God does care and has set up a plan of lifelong blessings:
- Jesus Christ gave His life for you so you can be saved, healed, and restored (Romans 5:8-10).
- God has promised those who love Him to take care of them (Matthew 6:25-34).
- God desires no one to perish but that all should come to His saving grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- God is our shelter and can take any evil and turn all the surrounding circumstances into good for those who trust Him (Romans 8:28).
10. “Why did my family member die of cancer? Why did my friend get killed or commit suicide?”
Death is among the most difficult issues to address. The grief and shock are almost too much to bear at times. No one has escaped experiencing various life challenges. We must remember that God is love, and He desires that you have a relationship with Him. God created man to fellowship and dwell with Him forever. So why does life seem to be very cruel at times? When someone chooses to disobey, evil consequences come. There is a law in effect called the law of sowing and reaping.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8).
Sin brought on devastating consequences that only Jesus Christ can alleviate. Man was not created to die, but death came with sin. The creation now suffers with violence, hatred, selfishness, death, sickness, and disease.
God has physical, natural, and spiritual laws. If we break them, we will suffer consequences. A person who dies of cancer could have had it brought on by a host of reasons. It could have been genetic. Most times the causes are physical/natural and spiritual reasons. God’s will allows things to take place for a greater good. We may fail to see the purpose, but God is always just, fair, and kind.
We must realize there is an enemy of the soul called Satan (1 Peter 5:8) who is out to destroy us at all cost. He and his fallen angel army are at war with God’s creation and are wreaking havoc across the earth.
Satan hates God’s creation. Sickness is one of his main devices. The only hope we have is to fall under the umbrella and grace of God’s protection.
A person can have a relationship with God yet walk out of that protective zone. Sometimes it is by ignorance, a lack of faith, or even bitterness and unforgiveness that can hold a person back. It is proven that 85% of all diseases have a spiritual root cause. So much lies beneath the surface and beyond our understanding. We won’t understand all of God’s purposes in situations. But because God is love and extends that love, we can realize He is drawing us to save each of us for eternity.