I am a believer in God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in His son, Jesus Christ. This is the third of a six part series about Why I Believe.
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The Bible, my primary source of information about God, has integrity. It has integrity in all three senses of the word: it is honest, it is an integrated whole, and it is sound.
The Bible is honest and authentic. The people in the stories are realistic in that they have real personalities and real problems. Even though the stories are thousands of years old, I can relate to many of them, because human nature has not changed. When the writers relate stories about people and nations, they are honest and include the bad along with the good. They faithfully record both moral victories and moral failures. The writers continually point out bad behavior in their own societies, and challenge people to change.
The Bible is an integrated whole, even though it is a collection of 66 smaller books written by over 40 writers over a period of 1300 years. The writings consistently build on common themes like justice and mercy, authority and submission, wisdom and foolishness, love and compassion, faithfulness and rebellion, and many more. The writings also include mysterious themes like the anointed one, the son of man, the son of God, the sacrificial lamb, and the Day of the Lord. Multiple authors contribute to these themes, but leave them partially developed until the time of Jesus Christ, when they all come together. There are other themes that are introduced in the early chapters of the first book and brought to closure in the last chapters of the last book.
The Bible is historically sound. It contains a continuous story stretching over thousands of years about a relationship between God and human beings. Each writer builds on what earlier writers have written and their stories mesh well with other histories of the Mideast. Since the lands of the Bible are extremely rich in archaeological treasures, there are many findings that give support or credence to the historical and cultural backgrounds presented in the Bible.
The Bible is unique. I have found nothing comparable to it.
