The Bible as a Historical Document

Christians ought to believe the Bible not because they were raised in it or because it changed their life, but because,

... it is a reliable collection of historical documents

 written down by eye witnesses during the lifetime 

of other eye witnesses. They report to us supernatural 

events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies

 and claim to be divine rather than human in origin.

This quote is from Dr. Voddie Baucham's incredible lecture on why the Bible is a credible source that can be trusted.

Let's break this down into two major points.

1. Eyewitness Accounts

The four synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - each contain eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus from four separate perspectives. Skeptics question the authenticity of the four accounts on the basis of minor discrepancies between parallel passages such as whether a rooster crowed once, twice, or three times. 

The thing is — it doesn't matter how many times the rooster crowed. What matters is that the rooster crowed exactly when Jesus said it would: right after Peter denied Him a third time. The overarching story is still the same, regardless of how minor details are recorded.

Anyone who works in criminal justice knows that if eyewitness accounts line up exactly, there is room to be suspicious. Because of human error, it is far more likely that different people, with different perspectives, will have different details recorded. If they were each exactly the same, it would lend us to believe that each writer consulted one another to straighten out the details (i.e. lie) about what really happened. 

2. Specific Prophecies Fulfilled

The amount of historical events that took place during the lifetime of Jesus in fulfillment of specific prophesies given thousands to hundreds of years before are almost too many to count. For the purpose of this brief article, we'll look at one specific passage.

In Psalm 22, David wrote a striking account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He includes details such as the fact that no bones were broken, Gentiles (aka dogs) surrounded Him, soldiers cast lots for Jesus's clothing, and so on. He even writes the iconic phrase, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

The specific details prophesied are in themselves affirming, but what is even more incredible is that this Psalm was written 1,000 years before Jesus, and hundreds of years before the crucifixion was invented.

In Conclusion

So the next time someone asks you why you believe the Bible, don't give a weightless generic answer. Give a historically-backed one, and suggest they give it a read or two.