Hey everybody,
Lately I've been getting into conversations with my friends who don't believe in Christ about the validity of the Bible. Even though I feel like I'm not ready to get into these conversations because I haven't done enough research and because I haven't read the Bible enough, and even though I try to avoid these kinds of conversations because I know I'll get stuck, I always seem to be arguing with my friends how there is so much proof and evidence that the Bible is true. However, they always reply by asking what kind of evidence, and they ask me to show them tangible evidence. At this moment I usually get stuck, or I find a way to avoid the question by trying to explain something else. So, can someone explain to me how I can persuade these people that the Bible is valid and very true and everything that happened in the Bible really happened?
Thanks and God bless.
Comments
It's a proven subject. Read all 22 pages in this ebook as background.
I'll search around for more.
http://www.copticnet.com/Books/English Books/H.G. Bishoy/The Status of the Bible.pdf
Here are more in this great page:
http://www.suscopts.org/literature/orthodoxfaith.html
These ebooks are under: Holy Scriptures (2nd in list)
» Authenticity & Reliability of the Holy Bible
» Infallibility of the Holy Bible
» Biblical Interpretation
» Alleged Discrepancies of the Holy Bible
» How to Read the Holy Bible?
However, if he attempts to argue that the Bible appears to be a "fabricated tale", you may do well to inform him that it is the most documented and reliable historical source in existence today. This is especially true for the four Gospels. Historians have expressed that it takes at least two centuries after the occurrence of an event, for the earliest documentation of the event to be substantially fabricated. This is because the very fist hand eye witnesses to the event would have encountered the false documentation and publicly exposed its fraud. Especially, for the sincere apostles and church fathers that were willing to die for the gospel message.
It is particularly interesting to note that in comparison to historical works such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, the documentary evidence for the Holy Gospels far outdoes any such works. Please refer to the chart placed under the subtitle "The Historic distinctiveness of the New Testament Gospels" under the forum entitled Attacks against the Bible (http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=3225;start=msg47784#msg47784).
If your friend finds your evidence unsatisfactory, then he may as well opt to expunge all of the History books. There are very little historical events that comprise their reliability from more then one or a few sources of documentation….usually composited centuries after the original event. Remember, the Word of God should be maintained as “innocent until proven guilty”. For as it stands now, many a skeptic credulously banters the Christian world view, all the while presuming no need to defend his own. If you have any more questions please feel free to approach me on the subject at hand.
God Bless you.
God bless.
Thank you gmankbadi for your inspiring replies and for the good Tasbeha link above for replies against gnostics. God bless you too.
(pray for me for i sin)
I just recently read 1 Corinthians chapter one, and what I understood from this chapter really surprised me.
In verses 22-24, it says, "For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
What I understand from this is that when we talk about Christ, we just talk about Him and how He loved us and was crucified for us. So, when we talk about Christ with others, we shouldn't be worried about giving them proof. We just do our part by preaching Christ, and the rest we pray about and that's it. So, for those that want proof, the message of Christ will either be a stumbling block for them or it will seem like foolishness to them, unless Christ works in them and they will make sense out of what we say without providing them proof.
If my understanding on this passage is correct, then is there really any reason for me to provide my friend any proof on the validity of the Bible? If the answer to this question is yes, the next time this conversation comes up should I just tell my friend about this verse and go from there?
I think what the passage is saying is that while we preach Christ, His power and wisdom will only be understood by those who are 'called'. And for the others the message will be either foolishness or a stumbling block. So this does not mean we stop preching or that we start preaching just by using the words 'Christ was crucified' and thats it.
St Paul still preached to the romans about the 'unknown God' they worship and to the jews about the Christ of prophesies. We should be able to use the gift God gave us to preach His word, even if that means being able to provide logical and historical evidence. However, for those which are not called, they will still not understand.
Those links sound great that people have sent, there is also a popular book called 'The case for Christ' by Lee Strobel, it includes interviews with 12 prominent historians, sociologists and other scholars regarding the reliability of the Gospels and their account of Jesus' life.
God bless
Often their will be people who will refuse to listen to any apologetics or homiletics and will meticulously search for any evidence they can salvage against Christianity. For these people, the message of the cross seems foolish since they are so closed-minded. Be discerning when you talk to your friend, always remembering that reason, science and philosophy are ultimately the attributes of God’s truth. While many may distort their purpose, God always utilizes such fields for His own work.
My advice to you then is this. Question your friend and get him/her to open up to his pre-suppositions. When he has begun to vacate his false ideologies, then introduce to him the message of Christ’s gospel. In a sense, you’re “knocking down” your opponent with two stones. You remove the intellectual stumbling blocks, so as to facilitate the reception of the Gospel message.
God bless you.
Whenever I talk to my friend about these stories from the Old Testament, he always feels like these sound more like fairy tales rather than things that actually happened.
If people believe the magician can do it then they can also believe when a stranger explains to them he saw the magician do something however extravagant, even if they do not witness. Yet the magician, were he a kind person gifted by fast trick talent not a real evil magician, is in fact pointless and aimless regarding their lives and they do not gain anything by believing he is a good magician (rather they spend money buying expensive tickets for a show).
The same attitude is found in sceptical people, though the difference is huge between a mere human and God (there is no comparison of course): we believe God is the Builder and the Controller of all things in nature (He created this nature that obeys Him) and since we believe Him, we know he can do any thing He decides: either immediately or not immediately, this can take minutes, hours, days or years according to His wisdom, will and aim while using available tools from His creation, or in other situations using completely different approaches beyond our mind.
The most important rock solid basis to understand and insist on: literally anything is possible to God.
He can change a stick into a snake and back again into stick (He created both elements and living creatures). He had the aim to practically prove to the king that his two powerful magicians are nothing and powerless when confronting His Power and that He can destroy whatever they do just like that and that He could have destroyed both them and the king if He decided to.
He can order the winds (wind is a direct symbol of the Holy Spirit) to gather within few hours (or immediastely if He decides otherwise) to form a sort of unique type of storm whose aim is to lift the sea water as two walls so that His people are able to cross the sea by foot.
He can order water to come out from rocks in the midst of a desert.
He can command the sky to rain food to feed His people.
He designed the arch and tought Noah how to build it. It took Noah many years to finish it, God was guiding Noah all the way till they were inside the arch with all the collected animals.
I hope the above helps. If they do not even believe in God, ask them as argument: why not? because if God exists then all these things are logically possible and nothing is impossible. Thus I do not have to prove everything to you. You are totally free to believe or not. If one day you believe in God I hope you remember this discussion. I read plausible details in this page:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c010.html they got some idea:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c013.html
You might want to try reading Miracles and the Modern Thought by Norman L Geisler, if you are looking for particular refutations to the most common arguments against miracles.
God bless.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.." (1 Peter 3:15)
"Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature." (1 Cor 14:20)
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Col 4:6)
God Bless.