Can We Prove the Bible is True?

Lies and fake news have long existed, but in today’s media-saturated world, you likely encounter examples of it multiple times a day. What’s more, our expectation for the most up-to-date and breaking news leads even our usually trustworthy sources to release stories before they’re thoroughly fact checked and finalized. This new reality means it’s necessary for us as consumers to become more vigilant about checking the reliability of our sources. Skepticism in our reading has become vital.

The Bible has never been exempt from such skepticism. For centuries, unbelievers have questioned the authorship and veracity of the Bible. And it has led many Christians, like Groundwork listener, Collete, to ask, “I keep hearing unbelievers saying the Bible was made up by man. That God's word is just a fairy tale. So sad. How can we prove the Bible to be true?”

A Better Question

Our natural instinct is to guard and protect that which we find precious. It’s no wonder we desire to prove the Bible is true; the contents of the Bible make it a believer’s most precious book! Wouldn’t it be nice to silence all the skeptics with irrefutable proof?

But the Bible is not simply a book of historical facts. It’s also a compilation of documented oral tradition, poetry, letters, and prophecies. All very different styles of literature with varying levels of “provability.” Yes, historians have found evidence in ancient documents that verifies events from scripture. But only seeking facts, proof, and evidence for the Bible in its entirety ignores the  nature of the Bible and denies our need to believe in it. Some of our most profound truths cannot be proven by scientific method and yet are foundationally important. These are the things of faith.

So maybe “can we prove the Bible?” isn’t what we mean to ask. Maybe a better question is: Can we trust the Bible?

The Trustworthiness of the Bible

That’s the question we dig into scripture to answer in our Groundwork series “The Trustworthiness of the Bible.”

I invite you to join Groundwork in studying the biblical texts that have led believers throughout the millennia to determine that the Bible is indeed trustworthy. Join our conversations in:

• What Jesus Says about the Bible - Luke 24:27, John 5:39-40 and Matthew 5:17-20
• What the Bible Says about Itself - 2 Timothy 3:10-17 and 2 Peter 1:16-21

...and together we’ll study the source of our beliefs about the Bible and affirm why we indeed can trust the Bible as the word of God.