Good Reasons to Believe the Bible

Why Believe the Bible? We can’t prove the Bible is true  But there is a lot of evidence on which to base a reasoning faith:

Why Believe the Bible? We can’t prove the Bible is true But there is a lot of evidence on which to base a reasoning faith The Old Testament of the Bible claims to have been written 3500 – 2500 years ago You may not believe it, but we can prove the Old Testament was written over 2300 years ago as it turned up in the Greek Alexandrian library in 300BC! Look at the following probabilities…

Snakes:

Snakes ‘So the Lord God said to the snake …  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’ (Genesis 3: 14-15 ) God promised that men would always hate snakes Just imagine if we had discovered some wonderful curative product from snakes and we all loved them now - the Bible would be wrong But no, men have continued to hate snakes for at least 2300 years Even the Simpsons Agree! (click here)

Snakes cont.:

Snakes cont. In fact, men have hated snakes (with individual exceptions) for 6000 years! No society loves them! How could anyone know this would be true for 6000 years? What is the probability that you could guess that all the human race would hate snakes forever? 4 chances out of 5?  Probability 0.8

Pain in Childbirth:

Pain in Childbirth ‘To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.“’ (Genesis 3:16) How could anyone know that medical science could never, in 6000 years, successfully prevent pain at childbirth? You may have heard of epidural blocks but they have a very limited window of application and often wear off before birth. Once this happens, another epidural can’t be given Women still suffer pain at childbirth Want Proof? Johnson & Slade (2002) BJOG 109 (11) pp 1213–1221 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1471-0528.2002.01351.x/abstract (click)

Pain in Childbirth cont.:

Pain in Childbirth cont. Just imagine if the Bible had said, ‘you’ll always suffer from leprosy, or small pox, or whooping cough’ We could say – Wrong! Medical science has fixed that! What is the probability that you could guess that the one medical condition never to be mastered by humans would be pain in childbirth? About 1 chance out of 20?    Probability of 0.05

Babylon & Egypt:

Babylon & Egypt During ancient Israel's time in their land, two great powers competed for control – Babylon and Egypt God prophesied that both would fall – in very different ways ‘Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown …She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations ; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.’ ( Isaiah 13: 19-22 )

Babylon & Egypt cont.:

Babylon & Egypt cont. This is modern Babylon – empty, except for the ruins of past glory Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild it c1980 but was thwarted by the Iranian war & subsequent wars with US. He only got as far as building a palace for himself Just about all the ancient capitals are still lived in to this day. Ancient Egyptian Capitals of Memphis & Thebes are still inhabited, Damascus, Nineveh (Mosul), Athens & Rome are all still inhabited. But not Babylon! What is the probability that you could guess the one ancient city never to be lived in again? About 1 chance out of 10?  Probability of 0.1

Babylon & Egypt cont.:

Babylon & Egypt cont. Poverty in the streets of Cairo The promise to Egypt was different: it would remain inhabited, but be the lowest of nations - never to rule the world again. Today, Egypt is a relatively poor, unimportant nation. If the Bible had promised the other way around; that Egypt would never be inhabited and Babylon a poor nation, we could have said it was wrong. What is the probability you could guess Egypt, the greatest kingdom the world has ever seen, would become poor and never rule again? About 1 chance out of 10?    Probability of 0.1

The Jews:

The Jews Jesus prophesied that Israel would fall after his death, and the Jews would be scattered over all the earth "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city...There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations . Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ” (Luke 21:20-24) AD 70, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem AD 150, all Jews were removed from Israel by the Romans, and scattered over the world The Romans renamed Israel, Palestine (the Latin word for Philistine) What is the probability that you could guess that the Romans would scatter Jews all over the world – they never did that to any other nation. About 1 chances out of 20?    Probability of 0.05

‘The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life... Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.”’ (Ezekiel 37:1-11):

‘The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones . He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. .. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. ”’ (Ezekiel 37:1-11) Nazi God prophesied that Israel would be mistreated in their 2000 yr dispersion. This culminated in the torture and murder of 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany 1938 – 1945

 I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.:

I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.

"Son of man, can these bones live?" :

"Son of man, can these bones live?"

Nazi cont.:

Nazi cont. By the end of WWII over 6,000,000 Jews had been murdered What is the probability that you could guess that scattered Jews would be persecuted for 2000 years? About 1 chances out of 20?    Probability of 0.05

Slide 14:

The Jews were scattered across the world from 140AD to 1948AD But God promised that they would be re-gathered After many years, they would be drawn back to Israel ’But they will say, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land .’ (Jeremiah 23:8) ’In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth .’ (Isaiah 11:11-12) After nearly 2000 years of scattering, worldwide Jewry stirred in 1890 – and began returning to Israel Israel

Slide 15:

The stirring became a flood of Jews returning to Israel Just 3 years later, in 1948,  the nation of Israel was re-established With it’s own army! The Israeli 'Haganah' Ship 'The Exodus' bringing Nazi abused Jews 'home' to Israel in 1947. Probability? About 1 chances out of 50?    Probability of 0.02 Israel cont.

‘So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them… Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ (Ezekiel 37:7-14):

‘So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them… Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army . Then he said to me: " Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ (Ezekiel 37:7-14) Israel cont. What is the probability that any nation, scattered across the earth for 2000 years, tortured and killed, could be re-gathered to become a nation again in their own land. This has NEVER happened to any other nation! About 1 chances out of 50?    Probability of 0.02

Slide 17:

Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would fall to the Gentiles, but be recaptured by the Jews when the “time of the gentiles was over” Luke 21: 24 “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” AD 70 Jerusalem fell to the Romans AD 1967 The Jews captured it back from the Arabs Jerusalem What is the probability that you could guess that one specific city would fall to enemies, then be recaptured by its original inhabitants, 2000 years later ? About 1 chance out of 100?    Probability of 0.01

Slide 18:

Total probability that all these were coincidences Total Probability 0.8 x 0.05 x 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.05 x 0.05 x 0.02 x 0.02 x 0.01 = 0.000 000 000 004 The chance that it was all coincidence is 4 in 100 billion Not good odds!

Slide 19:

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