Islam claims the Bible has been corrupted and that the Qu'ran is the true revelation. Mormonism states, "the Bible is the word of God insofar as it is translated correctly." The academic "German Critical School" concludes that the New Testament writers Paul and Peter contradict each other and there is no unified theology of Christ or redemption in the Bible. Are these groups right, or are they ignoring certain fundamental truths that contradict their own point of view? There are four solid points that can be and have been used to demonstrate the truth of the Bible:
ONE: SELF-WITNESS ARGUMENT: The Bible says it is the Word of God: "All Scripture is inspired by God [theopneuostos-"breathed out by God"] and is profitable for teaching.." (2 Timothy 3:16). "No prophecy of scripture.. was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20-21). Obviously, this would be a circular argument by itself. But it is important to note that in and of itself, the Bible does make this claim. How can this seemingly circular claim be backed up?
TWO: PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT: Jesus and the so-called New Testament fulfill prophecies given in the Hebrew Bible hundreds of years before. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on beasts of burden (Matt 21:5-6) in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. In his death, he was pierced through his hands and feet with nails, and the crowd gazed upon him (John 19:37), in fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10. Some cynics allege that Jesus knew the prophecies and manipulated circumstances so that he could fulfill them, but this is highly unlikely, since no one knew for sure he would be condemned to death at his trial. And in addition, he was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6-12), in fulfillment of Micah 5:2, which predicted that the coming redeemer would be born there. Jesus could hardly have chosen where to be born. There are many other examples. Fulfillment of prophecy makes the Bible different from the Qu'ran, the Bahagavad-gita, the Analects of Confucius, and all other holy books - they do not have prophetic fulfillment to prove their inspiration.
THREE: JESUS BELIEVED AND TAUGHT THE BIBLE TO BE INSPIRED AND TRUE: This point is a little more complicated, but compelling. Jesus predicted his death and resurrection many times in different parts of the gospel tradition. For example, in John: "Destroy this temple [his own body] and in three days I will raise it up" (Jn 2:19-21); in Mark: "The Son of Man must suffer many things.. and be killed.. and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31-32); in Q [the material in Matthew and Luke that is not in Mark] : "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt 12:40). After his death, Jesus was seen by Peter, James [Jesus' brother], the other apostles, and by over 500 people at one time. Paul lists these appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, a letter he wrote within 25 years of Jesus' death when the majority of the witnesses were still alive and could contradict him if he was lying. Jesus' appearances, for Luke also are a major foundation for faith: "He also presented himself alive by many infallible proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days" (Acts 1:3). The point is this: Jesus stated that David in the Old Testament was inspired by the Spirit of God (Mark 12:36). Jesus stated, "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). Jesus stated that no part of the Old Testament would be deleted (Matt 5:18). Therefore, Jesus believed and taught the truth and authority of the Hebrew Bible. He predicted his death and resurrection and then fulfilled his own prophecy, and was seen by hundreds of people over a period of forty days. THIS FACT PUTS HIS AUTHORITY ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL. If Jesus said the Bible is true, and he died and resurrected as he predicted, then his teaching is validated including his teaching about the truth of the Bible.
FOUR: ARCHAEOLOGY: Nelson Glueck, a Jewish archaeologist, not an evangelical christian, claimed there was not a single passage of scripture that has been controverted [disproved] by archaeological findings. Others have also demonstrated the truth of many passages of scripture in the same way. History and Archaeology have been very supportive of claims for the truth of the Bible [see E. Yamauchi, The Stones and the Scriptures; A.N. Sherwin-White, Roman Law and Society in the New Testament]. The German Critical School, in its claims against the credibility of the scriptures, has made almost no use of the findings of archaeology in their studies. Islamic apologists, following the German School, likewise ignore this point: Why? It disproves their criticisms. Their arguments are often based on a priori assumptions [for example, a miraculous event cannot occur, Jesus would never have claimed to be the Messiah, God cannot have a "Son"] rather than historical evidence.