The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. – Psalm 14:1 (ESV)

I am blown away!

As part of a new believer’s project I’m working on, I’ve been studying about the accuracy and validity of the Bible.  And, wow… nearly 25,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament – some fragments, some entire books, some the entire NT – exist.  The oldest is a fragment of John’s gospel, dated to a mere 25-70 years after the original writing.  Compare that to Homer’s The Iliad, the second best preserved ancient writing.  There are 643 copies in existence – a far cry from 25,000 NT artifacts.  And we’re not considering the Old Testament manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.). 

And consider the canon of Scripture itself: 66 books, written by over 40 writers from vastly different walks of life (from mighty kings to humble fishermen), on three continents in three languages using several different, disparate genres, over the span of roughly 1500 years.  And still, despite all that, is incredibly homogenous, telling one continuous story from Genesis to Revelation.  It all fits and, even more amazing, does not contradict itself at any point.  No hoax goes on for 1500 years.  Clearly, despite the 40 writers, there is obviously only One Author: God Himself. 

Yet there are still people who want to disprove the validity – and value – of Scripture.  Doubts are cast (ex.: “how can the Bible be accurate after being translated sooooooo many times?”, etc… etc… etc…).  But the proof is there.  Look at the historical data and you will see that Scripture is real, accurate and alive.

Think about it… the disciples gave their lives to Christ, and died for Him.  The same fate befell many of the early church fathers who left written testimony of the accuracy and historicity of the Scriptures.  Now, ask yourself: how many people do you know who would die for a fraud or a hoax?  Which is more delusional: to accept the incontrovertible facts of the accuracy, authority and legitimacy of the Bible – the very living and active Word of God revealed through man to the world.  Or to refuse to look at the reality of the evidence about the Bible.

Consider this:

¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:1-5, 14 (ESV)

Once you accept that Scripture is true and valid, you must accept all it says as such.  When Scripture makes audacious claims as being God breathed, then you must accept that this is God’s Word.  And, further still, when you realize the Word became flesh – Jesus Christ Who is God Incarnate – then denying the authority of Scripture is the same thing as saying there is no God. 

And only a fool would say there is no God.