How can you trust an old book?

The Bible, an out of date and out of touch book or the meaning to life? A big question. I know when I first started looking at Christianity I thought how can you trust a book, and so much of what is in the Bible goes against what I believe, isn't it a legend that has built up over the years, there are many good things in the bible you just shouldn't insist that everything is correct.

3 ways you can trust the bible - historically, culturally and personally.

Historically - the arguement goes, who knows who the real Jesus was, the stories were made up to create a following and build an empire. However, the new testament accounts are simply written to early for legend to be built up. The gospel of Luke says it is written as testimony from the eyewitnesses of the day. Paul who wrote some of the letters in the Bible wrote them within 15-20 years of Jesus' life. Most of the people would have been alive when he wrote this public document, he could only write that if it were the case. He even quotes a hymn that talks about who Jesus was as God and his resurrection, this hymn would have been written even earlier than Paul's writting. Therefore from the begining Jesus was being held up as risen from the dead as God. Imagine I said that there was an explosion today in London and two buses were destroyed, if this didn't happen (and it didn't) then it would simply be disregarded and never hold weight. In addition there are so many things in the bible that wouldn't have been put there if it was made up, the disciples are made out to be cowards, making silly mistakes, women as eye witness testimony when women held no credit at the time, if you were making things up you would never say things like that. There is loads more than this, too much to write here. There are so many prophecies in the old testament of the Bible about Jesus, there are over 5 seperate references to him. Including where he would be born, when, to whom, town, how he would die, what name he would be given and on and on....

Culturally - don't make the mistake of thinking our culture (whatever our culture might be) is the right one, just think back to 1800's and how silly we think their behaviour was, make no mistake in 100 years your family will look back on this time and think primitive. Our culture is not a dictate of the truth, these things are ever shifting. Also don't simply dip into the Bible and think that you have the teaching correctly understood, a bit like dipping into 2 minutes of the middle of a film and saying I will never watch it. If there is something you are struggling with, please ask someone or investigate it. There were so many things I thought when I first started out, this is weird and actually it turns out I was weird the teaching was totally opposite. A bit like when you are at school and your teachers tell you that you'll miss school when you leave or your parents say what till you have kids, the point being we let our surroundings give us blinkers and prevent us seeing more. Let me give you an example our culture may say what the bible says about sex is old fashioned, however what is says about loving your neighbour and forgiving people is great and helpful. However take that to the middle east and they would say the sex thing is great, but loving your enemy and forgiving is foolish. The Bible is going to contradict every culture at various points, that doesn't make it untrue.

Personally - SO many millions of people have had their lives transformed by the Bible's teaching it is untrue. Are these all made up? A trick of the mind? Just convinced a bit like a placebo? Turn that on its head, maybe you have been convinced by something? Who has the bigger motive here, I know for me the if the Bible was true then it meant a total change of life, that was reason enough for me to ignore it for a number of years! However once I came to God and said I give up, I need help, I surrender to you, wow, he got involved and has given me a new heart and it has cost me everything yet it has been everything.

I encourage you to visit these links for help and some typical questions, they are so helpful.

IS the bible reliable? - http://download.redeemer.com/sermons/Literalism_Isnt_the_Bible_historic.mp3

How can God allow suffering? - http://download.redeemer.com/sermons/Suffering_If_God_is_good.mp3

Don't we all just find the truth for ourselves? - http://download.redeemer.com/sermons/Absolutism_Dont_we_all_have_to.mp3

Drop me a line if you need anything - georgeosborn@hotmail.com