A friend of mine was talking to his friend about Christianity. Along the way, the topic of the truth of the Bible came up. But it seemed that no matter how he tried, he couldn’t convince his friend of the authority of the scriptures. In frustration, he asked me for some help. He asked, “How can I prove to someone that God wrote the Bible?”

Good question… Tough question… My answer might surprise a lot of people. Here’s what I think:

I don’t think that anyone can “prove” that God wrote the Bible. It’s not like we can point to some signed affidavit. “Written by Me… Jehovah…”

But what we can do is prove the reliability of the Bible (the New Testament, in this example) and then look to its contents, which point to God as its author.

We demonstrate Biblical reliability by looking at a number of facts, including:

1. What ancient (non-Biblical) historians said about Jesus. Historians like Tacitus, Josephus, and Pliny (none of whom were Christians) verify the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. A man that they report did unusual, miraculous things and attracted numerous followers who worshiped Him as a God. This testimony gives us external confirmation from sources other than the Bible itself
2. The fact that archeology has confirmed hundreds of places, people, occupations, titles, and events that the Bible uses in its narratives. This scientific confirmation gives the scriptures a foundation of truth and accuracy. It dispels the accusation of legendary content.
3. A study of ancient handwritten Biblical manuscripts that we still have available today. Still in existence today are nearly complete Biblical manuscripts from the 300s AD. There are many smaller manuscripts that even date back to the 100s AD. Collectively there are over 20,000 ancient handwritten Biblical manuscripts still available for study today. They come from many different geographic locations and are written in many different languages. Scholarly comparison shows a consistency in the wording of over ninety-five percent. Sure, ninety-five percent sounds great, but what about the other five percent? Those variations are mostly comprised of spelling differences and inconsequential word placement differences. Having this manuscript confirmation, we can be quite confident that the New Testament we have today is the very message of the Apostolic authors themselves.

Once we’ve examined all of the above, we can start to discuss the actual content of the scriptures. Since all these factors attest to the Bible’s credibility and accuracy, we then notice that the Bible describes God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It talks of miracles, including all of creation, and of course, the resurrection of Jesus. It tells us about the changed lives of the eyewitnesses (apostles and more) of those who saw the risen Jesus alive. Remember that the apostles went from being scared, weak cowards to bold, confident witnesses after the resurrection of Jesus. Their lives changed! They actually saw the miraculous! They were even willing to be martyred for that belief. They could have easily recanted their professions of the risen Christ but they didn’t. They were all (except for John) martyred for their stance.

Couldn’t they just have been mistaken or lying? Remember that they were actual eyewitnesses. They knew what they saw. What’s more, it is extremely unlikely that they would all lie in the face of pending death. Liars make poor martyrs.

So, to summarize an answer to my friend’s question: No, I don’t think that anyone can “prove” that God wrote the Bible. But I do think that by looking at the culmination of evidence, it reveals the undeniable truth of a miraculous God who loves His people so much that He sent them a Savior in the Person of His only Son, Jesus Christ.