Is the Bible Real?

If I were asked what I thought about the existence of extraterrestrial aliens, I would reply, “they are not real.” This conclusion is founded on the basis that nothing in my worldview leads me to believe that aliens are real. This does not determine whether they truly exist. My worldview alone does not constitute enough evidence to support an educated opinion on the matter. I would need to pursue academic research regarding the possibility of alien life in order to logically conclude whether they are real or not. My answer would hopefully become closer to the truth.

In order to avoid thinking about the possibility of one day being judged by their creator, many unbelievers hold onto the ignorant presumption that the Bible is not real. Believers call the Bible true, and not real, but to the person who has not attempted to expand their worldview to consider the existence of the biblical God, truth is relative and cannot be possible under their present presuppositions about nature and the universe.

In attempts to satisfy the curiosity of millions of Christians and future Christians, honest historians and archaeologists attempt to present the history of earth as the present evidence suggests. They often offer us unbiased interpretations (to the best of their abilities) of what the artifacts and stories suggest about history. In the context of the Bible, we should not want such scholars and experts to attempt to prove that the Bible is true. This would influence their understanding of history. We should hope that they will present their expertise of what their findings represent. In the Bible’s defense, it should be remembered that the sixty-six books included in the cannon themselves constitute historical sources. Scholars who (very unscholarly) suggest that events and characters in the Bible should not be considered historical unless an extra-biblical source supports them are mistaken. Extra-biblical sources may bolster the credibility of the biblical record, but their absence does not negate the Bible.

One publication that I have come to respect is the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR). This magazine is upfront about their integrity to unbiased journalism. Although most of the articles pertain directly to either biblical history or early church history, the writers are not bound to draw conclusions that entirely support the biblical account. Does this mean that the biblical account is in error? Possibly. We already know that parts of the Bible are either incomplete in content or later fabricated. For instance, the four gospels record different accounts of which woman/women visited the tomb of Christ (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke:24:1; John 20:1). Also, we know that the passage, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” was added to the Lord’s Prayer by Catholics (Matt. 6:13, NKJV). Denial of such occurrences is no good; we must accept that they exist and not embarrass ourselves by claiming that they represent some powerful mystery of God that can only be understood through prayer or something more than reasonable thought.

Do such unfortunate entries damage the integrity of the Bible? Of course not. Had the original authors not had minor differences in details then they would be suspect of collusion. Had the Catholic church not taken liberty with some of their translations, then they feared heresy would worsen. I am not justifying these decisions but can, in good conscious not let them affect the integrity of biblical books any more than I would any other topic. For example, we might expect some disagreement on how many girlfriends Abraham Lincoln had in his lifetime. However, no one questions his marriage to Mary Ann Todd. The integrity of his marriage his historically sound. So too is the integrity of all events, characters, and locations in the Bible. None have ever been successfully disproved!

So what can we know about biblical history that can make it true to our unsaved loved ones? The following is a non-comprehensive list of people, locations, and events that writers of BAR have verified as corroborating with the Bible, all of which are further supported by extra-biblical sources such as documents, artifacts, tombs, inscriptions, or simply never being lost.

PEOPLE

Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1-8, 16)

Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-4)

Annas & Caiaphas (Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6)

Ananias (Acts 23:2; 24:1)

Hezekiah (2 Kings 16-20)

People of Cush (multiple references in OT)

Hazael (2 Kings 10:32; 13:3)

Ahaziah & Joram (2 Kings 9:29)

Philip the Tetrarch (Luke 3:1)

Nathan-melech (2 Kings 23:11)

Abel Beth-maacah (2 Sam. 20:14-15; 1 Kings 15:20, 29)

Timnah (multiple references in OT)

Jehu (2 Kings 9-10)

Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18-19)

Nahum (Nahum 1:1)

King David (multiple references in OT)

James, brother of Jesus, (Matt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19, James 1:1)

Isaiah (multiple references in Bible)

Jonah (2 Kings 14:25; Jonah 1:1)

LOCATIONS

Hilltop fort where Herod Antipas’s daughter danced (Matt. 14:6; Mark 6:22)

Uzal (Gen. 10:27; 1 Chron. 1:21; Ezek. 27:19)

Synagogue of Capernaum (Mark 1:21; John 6:59)

Hadid (Ezra 2:33; Neh. 7:37; 11:34)

Bethsaida (Matt 11:21; Mark 6:45; 8:22; Luke 9:10; John 1:44)

Sela (2 Kings 14:7)

Mount Gerizim (Deut 11:29; 27:12; 28:1; Josh 8:33; Judg 9:7)

Susa (Ezra 4:9; Neh. 1:1)

Colossae (1:2)

Ashkelon (multiple references in OT)

Azekah (multiple references in OT)

Shimron (multiple references in OT)

EVENTS

Earthquake during Uzziah’s reign (Amos 1:1; Zech. 14:5)

Sennacherib’s siege (Isa 36; 2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chron. 32)

Destruction and burning of Hazor (Josh. 11:10-13)

There is even one article acknowledging that eighty-three people from the Bible have been confirmed as “real.” Many more examples abound than these listed above. People can still see with their own eyes the western wall of Herod’s temple, the excavated remains of the walls of Jericho, and the ruins of all seven churches of Asia (Matt. 24:1; Josh 5-6; Rev 1:11). The historical records contained within the Bible are under constant attack. Not only is it reasonable to trust in these accounts given the strong geographical, biographical, literary, historical, and archaeological evidence but it is also unreasonable to deny that they happened simply based on one’s inability to understand how they could have occurred.

November 26, 2021