Is The Bible True?

We live in an age when many say there is no absolute 'truth' (see ' What is truth?'). On one level the Bible seeks to tell people 'true' things about life in our world. The Creation story in Genesis for instance, states that God made the world and that its goodness is spoiled by our own selfishness and wrongdoing. Whether a Christian believes the world was made in seven literal days or over a period of millions of years does not change the truth of the story's message - that most suffering and pollution in the world today is the result of our own selfishness and greed.

Archaeology

Places mentioned in the Bible have been studied for many years and there have been many discoveries that support the Bibles stories. One example is the 'water tunnel' that David said his soldiers used to sneak in and capture Jerusalem ( The Bible, 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 8 ). The tunnels were made 3,000 years ago but were only discovered in the last 50 years. In the New Testament, Luke's books about Jesus and the first Christians are filled with details about the people and times. Much has been found that supports many of the details - for example:

• An Egyptian papyrus giving details of the Roman Census and an inscription in Antioch naming Quirinius as governor ( The Bible, Luke chapter 2 verses 1-3 ).
• An inscription in Corinth naming Erasmus as an important official ( The Bible, Romans chapter 16 verse 23 ).
• An inscription forbidding non-Jews to enter the Jewish Temple enclosure ( The Bible, Acts chapter 21 ).
• An inscription naming Pontius Pilate as Roman governor at the time of Jesus crucifixion. ( The Bible, Luke chapter 23 verse 13 ).

There are many more.