why do you believe the bible?

[jaems-kun]

straight and simple question. Plz, no pointless, round about answers like "because it's true" "because God said its true", or worse "because the bible says its true". Just straight forward real reasons. Personal experiences/connections are acceptable, but don't expect a follow up reply. If you know of archaeological evidence which supports the history in the bible, sources would be preferred. Not just "I heard that," or "You know what, (insert uncertified historical reference)" crud. Reliable sources would be doubly preferred, but if all you got is a link to some random creation enthusiast, end-of-the-world fear mongering website which doesn't list the credibility of its own "scientists", so be it.


I'm not sure yet if I want to feed this into a discussion (people who reply might not be able to help it, but I'm trying to discourage it right now).

I'm not trying to question anyone's faith in the bible, I'm a christian too you know, I just notice that most christians don't have very satisfying reasons for believing what the bible tells. Sure, the followers of a religion should believe the book the religion is based on, but what would you tell a non believer? Can you give logical reasons that they can relate too? Or is it all just "faith", pride, and peer pressure?

[SnoringFrog]

For the most part, it's still because it's what my parents believe, and what's been drilled into me pretty much from birth on for the past 16 years. However, I realize that that happening doesn't mean crap in the end, and so I have thought hard about this religion and the Bible and about other religions. As far as I'm concerned, when you trace it all back, you either get God made everything or nothing made everything ((whether that be a big bang or if everything's always been around)); I realize that there can't be hard, tangible proof for either scientifically, and that if you want to think hard enough about it that also means you can't be certain of anything's true existance, or truth at all ((I say truth is little more than a belief shared by the world, at times)), but despite this, I choose to believe and place my faith in Jesus Christ and the Word of God because it all seems most probable, makes the most sense to me ((even through all the rough, confusing times)) and gives the most meaning to life.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Why do I believe the Bible? To that, I present a counter-question: Why would I not believe the Bible?

[Kunoichi]

For me, I questioned the Bible's authenticity tremendously. I was not raised in a Christian home and did not have any real basis to believe in it other than the fact that I felt it was true. I was not satisfied with this answer.

I started to look at secular history and biological/ chemical / physiological etc. secular evidence and ya know what i found? All of it supports the Bible.

There has not been one "concrete" inconsistency *such as someone never finding Sodom and Gomorrah or the fact that their are roman historical accounts of the Jesus and what was said in the Gospel* so for me, the Bible was readily confirmed.

There are other personal experiences of course, but I thought that was interesting.

[Radical Dreamer]

I want to remind everyone to not turn this into a theological debate. You have been warned. B[

XD That said, I agree with SmartyPants--what reason do I have to NOT believe the Bible? I'm not really in the mood to construct a deep, thought-provoking thesis of a post at the moment, but over the years, having learned about other religions and about apologetics, the Bible presents the religion that I think is the one that has the most credibility, not to mention the fact that my relationship with God is a very real thing. Additionally, believing in anything takes a step of faith. So my reasons for believing the Bible are my faith in God and the fact that, having compared it with other religions, it's the one that is most credible.

And just in case any of you forgot, I reiterate, do not turn this thread into a debate.

[Raiden no Kishi]

To truly study and list all the reasons for belief in the Bible, one would be very busy for years. Here's my short answer: I have found the metanarrative to be unfailingly accurate in its explanation of the world. I have come across nothing that the Bible cannot explain. To put it another way, it's a "theory of everything" that fits all the data. It is consistent within itself and does not fail to explain my own personal experiences. Therefore, it is a perfectly satisfactory tome of the deepest truth.

.rai//

[minakichan]

... I really don't know and I've never known. It probably has more to do with my mother pressuring me to (and my father pressuring me NOT to) than anything else. Sometimes I'm not even sure if I can call myself a Christian. I've never had the "CONVERSION EXPERIENCEEE" and my life hasn't really changed at all since I accepted Jesus etc. Part of my indecision is definitely fact or reasoning-based, although some of it is definitely due to my personal weakness. Often, I feel that it'd be easier for me to just ignore my doubts and quit trying to decide. Therefore, I'm really interested to hear what other people say about this, especially with concrete examples.

[jaems-kun]

Thank you all for your answer so far, I appreciate your honesty!

Kunoichi, I'd love it if you could post some more examples for us! pleaseandthankyou!

[Kaligraphic]

Because I've met the author. I've known God personally, talked with Him, listened to Him. I've learned things from listening to God that since proved true, without having any other foreknowledge than what God gave me. I've seen the power of God manifest. I've seen miracles, and the powers of the world to come. I've asked God to heal people, and they've been miraculously healed. I've seen lives changed, hearts mended, life renewed. I've seen people on the brink of suicide turned to vibrant life by the Lord - not just deciding to continue to exist on this Earth, but living in restored joy. I've seen all this from a God who endorses this book, and who acts in accordance with what it tells me He has said and done.

In short, because I have experienced that of which it speaks, and confirmed it. You can't really argue away an experience.

[ich1990]

Here is a link to a website that I have found immensely useful in combatting the anti-Christian arguments that I have encountered in college. The site contains a large collection of well documented scientific and philosophic articles pertaining to the Bible, Jesus, Aethism, and Science. Here is a link to the section about the validity of the Bible:

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/authenticity.html

[Technomancer]

I will say that I do not find the search for scientific/archaeological "confirmation" of the bible to be a meaningful one. It is clear to me that much of the portions of the bible that deal with early history are most usefully interpreted as mythological in nature and not as being historical in any literal sense. They were written in a paritcular time and within the intellectual constraints of their society. Rather, I believe in the meaning of the bible as it relates to humanity itself. I see in the Christian faith not only the truth about what it is to be human, but also the fulfilment of our species' longing for God.

[minakichan]

Because I've met the author. I've known God personally, talked with Him, listened to Him. I've learned things from listening to God that since proved true, without having any other foreknowledge than what God gave me. I've seen the power of God manifest. I've seen miracles, and the powers of the world to come. I've asked God to heal people, and they've been miraculously healed. I've seen lives changed, hearts mended, life renewed. I've seen people on the brink of suicide turned to vibrant life by the Lord - not just deciding to continue to exist on this Earth, but living in restored joy. I've seen all this from a God who endorses this book, and who acts in accordance with what it tells me He has said and done.

In short, because I have experienced that of which it speaks, and confirmed it. You can't really argue away an experience.

I love hearing people's stories like that because they're so powerful and personal; at the same time, it makes me wonder whether people who have never had those kinds of personal experiences (like myself) have an ability or even a right to be "Christians." (There's also the fact that people from different religions claim similar things.)

[Fish and Chips]

The credibility of the Bible is the sort of discussion I'd take up case by case. What is being called into question? Translation errors? Infallibility? Accuracy? Divine inspiration? Bit too broad to have one simple, concise answer.

[bakura_fan]

...I don't read it enough to really understand much of it anymore. Used to...but it's rare to read it but once a month. I guess I've fallen into the really don't care anymore thing. *shrugs* however, if and when I get back into it, if I come across anything that stands out to me, i'll post it here (if this thread hasn't been lost to time, or locked that is.) I guess to answer the q though, I believe it because I grew up with it.

[Dante]

Disclaimer: The following views are not meant to suggest that you or anyone else should agree with me... frankly I'm not a big fan of me either (not for these reasons) so I wouldn't want to make any clones of me in thought . You've been warned.

Well, I'll have to be honest and say that I no longer believe EVERYTHING that's in the Bible, I place the value in whats said according to whose saying it and I don't believe everything is to be taken literally. For instance, if God is being quoted, I would think that its rather relavent and true. However in these cases I cannot deny that the quote is comming from a second hand source and so even though they are INCREDIBLY close to one another in form, one finds small variations between Mathew and Mark for instance (I'm referencing a Kings James Version) take for instance Mark 1:15 and Mathew 4:17. They appear to be reffering to the same thing but the phrase is slightly different in each. Jesus could have said both of these things, but difference shows more of a variation in writing style than a variation in truth, but it does show that the writings were the results of human authors in my experience.

I believe what Jesus says, particularly that he loves me (I'm not quite sure why) and that he died for my sins and because of him I can go to Heaven. Why? Because he revealed it to me by baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is real to me not because I read it in the Bible, but because he made it real to me through that personal experience.

I don't have this sort of experience all the time with the rest of the scriptures, it was special and I don't like to take things off small feelings, they generally end up bad. Faith is one thing, using feelings as a "sign" is another. My experience with the Holy Spirit was more than a feeling, it was like a conversation wrapped up in the most perfect hug possible with the uniqueness of how I would imagine vision would seem to someone completely blind. As a results I can't scientifically say that everything else confirms itself to me in the same way, and to say contrary would not only be lying, but it would also be playing down the original experience in a way that to me seems blasphemous.

Some things for instance have simply proven themselves out (and I continue to take data on these things) through experience, take for instance the Biblical description of love, or even the messages of Jesus (I can't say for certainty that someone else long ago didn't edit these things, but I can put them into practice and see if they are truthful).

I don't for instance agree with the statements of Paul in 1st Corinthians 11, I'm not sure how many girls cover their heads while praying, or how many guys look in the mirror going "man I am the image and the glory of God! Woman are simply MY glory... I'm gonna get me a trophy wife" Ok that really sounds sad... But really these statments made here seem... well just plain wrong and I am really not sure where he grabs this doctrine from. It doesn't seem to be something of Jesus as much as its something of him. So no, I don't believe it.

Anyways, there are my two cents, yes I am one of the more liberal Christians, I once believed the other way, and I was even once a Creationist, but after giving it years of deep thought I've eventually concluded that the above position is a better system even though it does stand contrary to what stands as the popular belief I think (Although I realize that I'm hardly alone and those with like minds make up a good percentage of the Christian faith as well).

[ADXC]

Why? Because its the only thing that makes since. I do not think this whole universe could be created by just mere chance and an explosion. And also if it did then where did the explosion come from out of nothing? Another reason is because christianity provides hope for after we die. Im not saying that that is the only religion that promises something in the afterlife(Like the one if you attach a bomb to yourself and destroy your enemy you receives some kind of alcohol and 72 virgins.), but its the only one that in my opinion could actually exist or is something people will want.

The prime basis for the christian faith is simply faith. We can't prove in human terms that God exists. And even if we try we might be commiting some fallacy of argument that some non-christian scholar might try to use to discredit us and our testimony. But I do think this whole world was invented by someone, not mere chance.

[Radical Dreamer]

I don't for instance agree with the statements of Paul in 1st Corinthians 11, I'm not sure how many girls cover their heads while praying, or how many guys look in the mirror going "man I am the image and the glory of God! Woman are simply MY glory... I'm gonna get me a trophy wife" Ok that really sounds sad... But really these statments made here seem... well just plain wrong and I am really not sure where he grabs this doctrine from. It doesn't seem to be something of Jesus as much as its something of him. So no, I don't believe it.

Just to point out, Paul was writing to a very specific audience, the church in Corinth. This passage in particular has a lot to do with cultural context. In the Middle East, if a woman didn't wear a veil, it gave off the impression that she was promiscuous. So Paul wasn't instructing American women to cover their heads while praying. He was telling women who lived in a culture where it was required that they cover their heads. Hope that makes more sense now. XD

[Dante]

Just to point out, Paul was writing to a very specific audience, the church in Corinth. This passage in particular has a lot to do with cultural context. In the Middle East, if a woman didn't wear a veil, it gave off the impression that she was promiscuous. So Paul wasn't instructing American women to cover their heads while praying. He was telling women who lived in a culture where it was required that they cover their heads. Hope that makes more sense now. XD

Exactly, thats a wonderfully good point, it is something that has more to do with culture than with Christ in many ways.

I feel very strongly that God did not make women a lesser creation. That stated, statements like those made in 1st Corinthians 11:7-8 are often used by street preachers at ASUto LITERALLY play down women as lesser creatures, demanding they be more slaves to their husbands (they must be married or else they also rebelling against God O_o) then free human beings if they ever harbor hopes of seeing heaven.

It causes much grief because they get a lot of publicity by standing out in the open with huge signs that state that everyones going to burn in hell, and as a result many college students come to conclude that all of Christianity believes this doctrine because these guys claim to be the voice of all Christianity (sadly you'd hope that they would do a little more research themselves as well, but some don't ) Admittedly most of these guys do themselves appear to to be single .

Anyways, I'm getting off topic now. Everyone else, back on track, RD can have the closing discourse to my conversation here if she'd like.

[Nate]

Why do I believe the Bible? To that, I present a counter-question: Why would I not believe the Bible?

That's not a very good counter-question.

"Why do you believe in invisible pink unicorns?" "Why would I not believe in invisible pink unicorns?"

If your answer is "Why would I not believe the Bible?" I would then counter with why would you not believe the Qur’an? Why would you not believe the Abhidharma? Why would you not believe Operating Thetan III?

You are incorrectly assigning the burden of proof. The burden of proof is not why you shouldn't believe the Bible, but rather, why you should.

To answer the original question in the thread, I also don't believe everything in the Bible completely. However, I believe the important things, and I suppose I do so because it makes sense. It's hard to describe, y'know?

[Mave]

I would say that I believe in the Bible and read it mostly because it gives me hope as a human being and for all humanity. The accounts of ppl in the Bible demonstrated how imperfect we are regardless of the time period and how it somehow works out in the end by God's plan. I'm not sure how I would live without this hope for the future.

Some parts make perfect sense to me while other parts make me want to duke it out with God. It's nice if the Bible can be proven scientifically or archaeologically but that isn't a priority to me. What's important is what impact it has on me on a personal level and how words of wisdom or other ppl's accounts in the Bible lifts me when I'm feeling the weakest mentally and emotionally. That's something that can't be measured scientifically and that's OK.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Nate, I'd rather not get into a lengthy (and pointless) discussion about this, so I'll just say that I stand corrected. Fair enough.

Though admittedly, you always do sound condescending when you make an attempt to correct people.

[termyt]

There are only two systems I've studied that do not trip my "What a Load of Crap" meter. I've studied Christianity the most, due to my upbringing and allegiance to Christ. I continue to study Islam a little at a time. I'm not impressed.

I suppose, one might question that if I had been born in Afghanistan, would I be a Muslim? Since it is illegal to be anything else, probably so. Perhaps then, I would see the clever dancing about that Muslims do to explain certain passages of the Koran as reasonable explanation.

The only two explanations I see as reasonable and possible are Christianity and the Random Chance.

You can't really fight Random Chance. The religion of randomness, by it's very definition, gets to change as the winds of science blow. With Science as your god, well, I'd think it's pretty comforting. You don't have to worry about anything outside of yourself for moral guidance. Existential Heaven - it made Nietzsche feel all warm and gooey inside to deny the existence of anything greater than himself. But that's just it. While the theory of Chaotic Randomness is, in my head, a viable theory, it does not ring true. If there is truly nothing more to a man than his own humanity, why does man spend so much time searching for something outside of himself?

That brings me to Christianity. The Bible's purpose is not to give us history lessons. If it was, then we'd have dates and a clearer time line instead of historical accounts and allegorical tales all jumbled together so that it is often hard to tell one from another. The Bible is meant to be God's revelation of Himself to man - to help us understand His character and nature in a way that we can comprehend. The Bible is a bit vague on some key points because God is not simple. I doubt I could describe myself so eloquently as the Bible describes God and I'm nowhere near as complex.

Why do I believe the Bible? There's no document from antiquity that has a better pedigree than the Bible. Very old texts show that through the constant transcribing of the Biblical text through the centuries, the text itself has changed very little. The archeology is fairly interesting, but not really why I believe - a well documented lie is still a lie.

I believe the Bible, as MSP said, because I have found no reason not to. When something is presented to you as the truth, you should accept it as true unless you have some reason not to. That's really good advice, by the way. If someone tells you something, believe it until you have cause not to. You don't necessarily have to act on the information until you know for sure, just accept it as true in the meantime. It will save you a lot of strife.

So, as Nate pointed out, that could logically be extended to other religions such as Islam. Do I know the Koran to be false? Besides that it trips the "What a Load of Crap" meter in my head (which in it of itself is not sufficient evidence to claim something untrue), I haven't studied it enough to know whether the Koran lies. It does, however, contradict the Bible, which I have studied a lot. Since they can not both be true and my study indicates that the Bible is true, then my study also indicates that the Koran is not true.

I feel very strongly that God did not make women a lesser creation. That stated, statements like those made in 1st Corinthians 11:7-8 are often used by street preachers at ASUto LITERALLY play down women as lesser creatures, demanding they be more slaves to their husbands (they must be married or else they also rebelling against God O_o) then free human beings if they ever harbor hopes of seeing heaven.

Indeed He did not. Women were created to be companions to man. How good of a companion would she be if she were inferior to him?

Anyone who use this passage to proclaim the inferiority of women perverts the scripture and nature herself. Limits and expectation were foisted on both men and women - apparently to solve a contentious problem currently plaguing the church at Corinth. If anything, the meaning of this passage is that worship is to be a time of respect and admiration of God and not a time of social experimentation and reevaluation of societal norms.

A man who enjoys head coverings (can't count the number of times I've instructed a young male to remove his as he enters worship - although I've never tackled one to shear off his excess hair) may find this passage to be prejudicial against him. Why are girls allowed to leave their hats on?

It's true that women are traditionally protected, that is, it is men who leave the safety of the home to fight and struggle and work and die. Before the industrial revolution, work outside the home was extremely hazardous. Besides the rigors of manual labor, there were threats of wild animals and of other men - robbers, invaders, etc. If men were truly superior, then they would not have been the ones risking their lives. If anything, this proves women are of greater value, not lesser. After all, women can nurture and give birth to children. I can not imagine anything greater than that. So I can train myself to kill lions and lift up 500 pounds over my head. It doesn't really compare to being able to birth children, does it?

[ShiroiHikari]

I believe it because I would be a fool if I didn't. I mean, you can't serve God very well if you don't believe what the Bible says. XD

But seriously, I grew up in church and even though I haven't always had Christ in my heart, I have never had reason to doubt the truths in the Bible. They just...make sense.

For example, doesn't it make sense not to kill, murder, or rape? Nobody wants to be killed, murdered, or raped, so it's obvious that the Bible is right on when it comes to morality. It boils down to "treat others how you would want to be treated". I'd say pretty much anyone can believe in that.

As far as Jesus' existence is concerned, well, that one's a matter of faith and personal experience. I believe that Jesus existed not necessarily because it says so in the Bible, but because He dwells within me. I may not talk to Him as much as I should, but He has come through for me more than once. The chronicles of his life that are written in the Bible are...well, how to explain this? It strengthens the belief that I already have. Or something like that.

However, I don't take every word of the Bible literally. I also don't really think that it's as exhaustive as people say it is in regards to being a handbook for living a Christian life. Sure, it has the basics covered pretty well, but for specific things, you really should pray. I'm not trying to say that God can't speak through the Bible (He does!) but in my experience, relying on scripture alone isn't always effective. (Urgh, got off-topic there. Sorry.)

I also interpret some scriptures differently than others, and I don't even bother with Revelation, because what's the point? Clearly we're not meant to understand it, and worrying about the end of the world will get you nowhere anyway.

[Kanerou]

I haven't thought about it much. I believe in God, I believe in spirits, and I acknowledge the power that He has. I've seen testimonies, heard about healings...that seals it for me. And I do hear the Holy Spirit. I admit, I'm one of those "I'm doing this in part because it's how I was raised" types. But really, why shouldn't the Bible be true? That's my thoughts on it, rational or not.

[Fish and Chips]

I believe it is worth brushing up on the exact nature of the different books of the Bible in this thread, a bad move to assume it's all the same spiritual "Mumbo jumbo" as some would write it off as. The Old Testament is largely a historical narrative, though including heavy references to God, and I think we can accept it as such; for a piece that the Jews would have written down themselves, it's certainly not very charitable towards them as a whole, which I think lends to it's credibility (as opposed to a glossy, self-aggrandizing history). The rest is prophecy, the majority of it pertaining to historical events that did happen, or the coming of the Messiah as documented in the Gospels. There are also the books of law and poetry, but those are fairly self evident.

Stepping into the New Testament, the gospels cover the life of Jesus Christ as depicted by four different authors, all of them making a case for the divinity of Jesus and the nature of his message. All four either witnessed the actual events described, or interviewed those who had, in order to write encompassing documents of proof. Assuming we have no reason to cast the integrity of these men into question, we can accept all four of the gospels as legitimate. Following suit is a brief bit of history (Acts) which can be taken at face value, and a stack of letters, mostly penned by the Apostle Paul, to be taken with a small grain of salt for cultural context (such as the infamous women with uncovered heads spiel), but still relevant to the Church of today. Topping it off is the book of Revelation, which I'll touch upon in a second.

So I believe the vast majority of the Bible can stand the tests of time under its own merit. The few passages that fall under suspicion would be the beginning and ending of the world, as detailed in Genesis and Revelation (respectively), as well as the individual supernatural claims of the Bible, but that rests entirely on one's personal convictions as to the portrait and portrayal of God and Jesus in the text.

[king atlantis]

i belive because its the only thing that makes since.

after reading MANY books on evolution, and against evolution; evolution no longer made any sense for me.
the only thing to explain it had to be a God.

so i went throught the different religions...and realy, christianity is the only one that makes any sense, or has any credibility at all- at least in the historical view point of it.

frankly, i belive because its logical to. i know many may disagree with it...but realy, theirs no way id belive something unless it had facts to back it up.
and that is why.

since my conclusion was reached, ive seen God working, however. things like that cant be proven except for those who have seen/lived them....so i suppose i began because of truth, and keep because of what ive seen God do..

[uc pseudonym]

As others have mentioned, that's an incredibly broad question. In order to narrow it down, as well as hopefully address an angle that hasn't been mentioned so far, I'm going to interpret the question as "Why would you even consider the idea that a collection of documents from relatively inconsequential tribes are related to God?"

Of course, to ask that we have to skip questions of if anything other than the material exists and why a deity would be interested in humans. With those assumptions in place, my question is what written communication from such a being would look like. Humans are capable of creating morality or inventing spiritual answers to things, so something has to stand out. There are a variety reasons that the Bible seems other than a human fabrication to me. Here are the only ones that occur to me immediately, but hopefully this is specific enough for you:

- The initial intent is inclusive: God speaks to Abraham in order to bless the entire world (see Genesis 12:1-3). Lots of religions have this, but it seems to fit, if for some reason a god would need to use individuals.

- Self-criticism. The central people of the narrative are often portrayed in a negative light and said not to do God's will. That's not as common and suggests more than religious interpretation thrown onto history.

- A nonviolent creation. Whereas most of the cultures of that age and region have very violent openings (the world being the corpse of a fallen god, for example) in Genesis God speaks and the world is brought into being. For all of the bickering about seven days, that's also a much less superstitious way of thinking about it.

- Pervasive moral logic: Creation/flood stories have obvious parallels to older traditions, but in the Bible they have been given a moral framework. Things happen according to a principle of justice, not on the whims of gods. If a divine being was going to communicate truth to people, working with stories in this way makes sense.

- Emphasis on justice: Various Psalms seem to be lifted from regional odes to Baal. However, while Baal is praised for being powerful, in the biblical versions the praise is for being just and merciful. If there is a god, one would hope it is less trivial than the kind humans tend to create.

- Principles over customs: All throughout the prophets, we see messages from God condemning people for their attachment to rituals and sacrifices and asking for justice/compassion. The only example that's coming to mind is Hosea 6:6, but that's representative of a lot.

Getting from the Torah to the New Testament isn't covered here, but that's another question entirely. This also isn't very convincing, but I hope it gives an idea as to why I bother.

[quote="minakichan"]I love hearing people's stories like that because they're so powerful and personal]
I certainly hope so. Represent.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Kinda a tough question to answer.

Because I know it's all true and everything in it is good and right. And the core of it all is that it's all about God and not us. And that is rather unique.

[Gabriel 9.0]

I believe in the Bible because its the words of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Even when it was done through various mediums.

[Danderson]

Hmmmm....It's hard to explain. I was rasied a Christian, but these past 8 years I've really started making the words, lessons, storys, and teachings of the worlds longest best-selling book (AKA The BIBLE!!!) a part of life, applying them to it...

And ditto on it's the only thing that truly makes "real sense"......That may sound over used, but it really isn't for me......I've looked into everything else the world has to offer, and nothing has compared to what is written in the Bible.......Seriously, I've looked.....