The Bible tells a reliable story

The Bible is historically, scientifically and spiritually completely trustworthy, but is discarded based on modern Enlightenment assumptions.

Coherence

There is a deep sort of coherence in the Bible. It all begins with God's single purpose: He’s forming a great community of people, with whom He can live together forever in an eternal covenant of love. This goal remains the same from start to finish.

The route to the goal did change: a new start with Noah, a new people with Abraham, a law for Moses, outer structures such as kingship, charismatic leaders, prophets, hard consequences, and new opportunities. However, it didn't work. Why did every method sooner or later fail?

The overarching story is told through all these changes. This larger story gives coherence to all individual parts. Step by step it becomes clear that the problem lies not in outer structures, failing plans, fragmented politics, or fanatic groups. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Humanity has chosen to live in a lie and is unable to pull itself out of this swamp. The Bible tells the story about the unwillingness and inability of people and about the unfathomable love of God to make it all possible. Throughout world history God Himself sets the tone for His eternal covenant of love. He Himself laid the foundation for our future in the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah. Therefore, everything comes together in the life of Jesus. He is the focal point of the Bible and the cornerstone of God's future world.

Prophecy

In addition to the (theo)logical coherence that can be found in the Bible, it contains many remarkable prophecies, for example about the coming the Messiah, written hundreds of years before He was even born. Ben Hobrink offers a probability calculation in his book Modern Science in the Bible (pp. 164-165). You can't just ignore a book that tells you in detail what will happen so long in advance, can you? Here are a few examples of texts, written long before they came about:

  • Isaiah 7:14 He was born of a virgin
  • Micah 5 : 1 He is born in Bethlehem
  • Hosea 11 : 1 The Flight into Egypt
  • Isaiah 40 : 3 A forerunner comes (John the Baptist)
  • Zechariah 9:9 He rides on a donkey into Jerusalem
  • Zechariah 11 : 12 He is betrayed for 30 coins
  • Daniel 9 : 25-26 Here even the exact year of Jesus' death is foretold
  • Psalm 22 Describes His death by crucifixion and clothes being dice
  • Isaiah 53 Pierced and buried in the tomb of a rich man

Genesis is history

Hebraist Steve Boyd explains why you can safely assume Genesis is a serious historical document.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=84BqOxVae70

Alleged contradictions

Jason Lisle wrote the book Keeping faith in an age of reason. In this book, the author discusses numerous so called 'problems' and alleged 'contradictions' in the Bible. Every one of them turn out to arise from a lack of logic, historical awareness or good reading. The Bible is solid ground to stand on in every way. If you have any questions about this subject, this book is recommended.

https://biblicalscienceinstitute.com/product/keeping-faith-in-an-age-of-reason/

Tradition texts

The Bible is a reliable book. There are many manuscripts that support it. Still, in the history of the text's lore, some versions have been introduced that are questionable. Read more about this largely ignored topic under [Jesus: Good news for all the nations]. Or listen to the lecture of Walter Veith, explaining this both trustworthy and dubious history of Biblical manuscripts.

Why So Many Bible Versions? The UNTOLD Dark History of Bible Translations | Battle of the Bibles – YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tNv-zzpIwBs

The relationship between the Old and New Testament

Did you know that there is a great spiritual revival going on among the Jewish people right now? Many Jewish people are exploring and wondering if Jesus might be the long-promised Messiah after all. You will find many impressive testimonials on YouTube. Search for 'One for Israel' and listen to one of these life stories, in 5-8 minutes!‍

Read about it in the Bible

  • Luke 24:13-32 (Jesus talks about the coherence in the Bible)
  • Mark 12:24-27 (Jesus bases His argument on a tense of just one word)
  • II Timothy 3 (Paul on sound doctrine and the inspiration of the Bible)
  • Revelation 22 (You cannot omit or add things from the Word of God)