In earlier blogs, I am discussing the question of God's existence and that it is possible to know that God does exist and even to know God. I also asked such questions as:
If such a being exists, can we know? (Yes)
How can we know? (Logic demands it– Necessary Being)
Has this God communicated to us in any way?
Did this Being leave any signs or hints that it exists, like a painter signing his art? (Yes - creation)
Has this Being interacted with us-- or anyone at all ---in any way?
We may also ask questions such as, “If such a being exists, is it good?
Is it benevolent towards lesser creatures or pay any attention at all?
Does this God set things in motion and then move onto something else, leaving us to our own decisions? Can we get its attention and perhaps win awards or favors? Or the opposite? That is, incur God's disfavor or wrath? I suggest that you read the series in order and that you should start here:
Through logic and careful observation of the existing universe, we can know that God is necessary, self-existent, eternal, a god of order, a god of law, a god with intelligence, a god of logic, a god of life, a god of beauty, a god of morality, a god of justice who is omniscient and omnipotent.
You can read that here:
The observable attributes of God
But can we know more? Has this self-existent God communicated with us in any way? Perhaps He has. It seems reasonable He would communicate with us or reveal Himself in some way other than creation (known as “natural theology”) if He existed. Throughout the world and history, there have been several books created claiming to be the Word of God. The Torah, the Quran, the Book of Mormon and the Christian Bible are some of the most known. There are also other works that are considered inspired like the Bhagavad Gita, the teachings of Buddha and the Tao Te Ching, but they do not directly claim to be from God that I am aware. Because the authors do not make a direct claim to be the word of God, we will not consider them.
So how do we know which ones are, if any, truly from God? It is possible none are from God. Just because a work claims to be divine does not mean it actually is. It has been demonstrated that God created an orderly universe, including the law of non-contradiction. It has also been demonstrated that God is just and therefore not a God of falsehood. Using these two concepts, we can know which writings are truly the Word of God.
The Bible and the Quran teach different and contradictory ideas and beliefs about God. The Bible says Jesus is God, the Quran says he is not god but just a prophet. The Quran claims that the Bible is the Word of God, except for the “Tahrif” or corruption that has been found. That is, if there are differences between the texts, the Bible is wrong. To claim that the Bible is God's word but contains errors, implies a contradiction in rationality and goes against the character of God. In the Quran are also found mathematical errors, self-contradictions, scientific errors, and other errors. The author is also a confessed false prophet.1 This would indicate a false claim by the Quran as the true word of God.
The Book of Mormon teaches ideas that contradict the Bible and the gospel such as that Jesus was a created being (not God) and that Lucifer is his brother. The Book of Mormon makes claims of places and people that cannot be confirmed by archaeology or history.2 These would indicate a false claim by the Book of Mormon as the true word of God as well.
So what about the Bible. Is it the word of God or not? The Bible has been accepted by most scholars, both secular and religious, as a reliable work of history. In fact, Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, is said to be a historian of “the first rate” and his works are written with great accuracy and detail. Archaeology also has shown over and over the Bible to be an accurate historical source.3 So, it can be said with confidence that it is, in general, an accurate, reliable book of history, at the very least on the same level as other books of history.
Another confirmation of the Bible as an accurate source are the thousands of manuscripts found. Over 25,000 manuscripts confirm that Bible we have today is the same Bible that was written thousands of years ago, some dating before 200A.D. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the accuracy and completion of the Old Testament even before Christ was born. No other book has anywhere near the sources available to confirm the accuracy of the original manuscript.
However, the Bible is full of more than just a reliable historical record and that is not its prime purpose. The Bible claims to be the word of God over 3000 times. There are miracles recorded and incredible things like a great fish swallowing Jonah, a great world-wide flood, fire from heaven, talking animals, angels, demons, prophecies, etc. How do we account for such things? Do they contradict laws of science or logic? So either it is the word of God or a sham that should be discarded.
If the Bible is a reliable source of history and in that source there are claims of fantastical things recorded such as miracles, we cannot completely dismiss the record of those miracles. God, who is omniscience, omnipotent, omnipresent and the creator of all things is outside of the created order and is certainly capable of doing miracles. God is not only omnipotent, but the only potent. As the only self-existent, eternal being, He is the only one capable of doing certain things outside of the created order. This is sound and reasonable. So we cannot rule out miracles just because it goes against a secular, materialistic belief system. Miracles are recorded in the Bible from eye witness accounts, many times by multiple people. We need to consider the possibility of miracles taking place in history. Miracles point to and are there to confirm the events and words recorded as being from God. Miracles are used by God to confirm that a messenger is truly from the real and living God.
Prophecy is one of those supernatural concepts that points to the Bible being from God, more than any other in my opinion. Hundreds of prophecies have been written and fulfilled, sometimes with minute detail hundreds of years later. It is something anyone today can confirm. Jesus himself fulfilled over 300 prophecies. There are also many other predictions that included the nations surrounding Israel such as Edom, Babylon, Assyria, Tyre, Egypt and others. Most have been fulfilled.
Scientific and statistical probability also confirm the Bible. Despite every effort, no scientific law or discovery has been proved to contradict the Bible. There are may claims of proofs, but none that can be confirmed. In fact, I would say science and history actually confirms the Bible over and over. The fact that Jesus fulfilled hundred of prophecies (or even just ten!) written in the Old Testament (that we have proof was complete before he was born) is so unprobable mathematically as to be supernatural.
With all of these supernatural events and prophecies authenticating the Bible, therefore, the Bible out to be received as divine. The Bible contains the doctrine of its own inspiration and is more than a generally reliable and historical record. It is a divinely inspired record. It is God's Word. It is God communicating with us.
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen...” Deuteronomy 18:15
And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” Joshua 3:9
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