how can they say that jsut becasue the language is real and that it is dated to that time, that it is real. Don't you need more evidence than that.
133108
You can say the same thing about the bible.  Other than faith there is nothing to say it is true just because some of the stuff mentioned existed in that time doesn't make the whole book true.
497289
The word itself couldnt have been used, because the language itself didnt even exist until after Jesus.\n\nGo, learn history...
533763
I'm not gonna look it up but we do know the Bible was penned by men, translated by men and retranslated by men,  is it not a miracle that though all that the message with regards to how you should behave (which is the message) is never corupted.  God does not ever give us the idea that those who penned the Bible were infallible buyt that they were inspired.  This is no doubt a trivial mistake or different battles, or different view points like two people who see the same accident.  What does it matter.  The Bible talks of evil people so they no doubt exist and some of them were no doubt scribs.  I know of two other inconsequencial errors but as I watch movies who do not have even 1/10 th script and many more editing tools I always see mistakes in continuity like these you ask about, so what these things do is make it all the more real.\n\ntry reading a court trial transcript one time and see what kind of continuity you get in there,  and those trials do not take 10000 years worth of testimony.
204709
Joshua.  People like you crack me up.  Really!  You argue about biblical-specific entries and events as if they were factual and undeniable.  "written 4000 years ago"  On what?  Notebook paper?  Do you have some copies of those 4000 year old writings?  Do you have some secret text that nobody else has ever seen?  Are you on heroin or acid?  What's your trip?  None of the authors of the NT witnessed the alleged resurrection.  No matter how you stretch it, there are no actual accounts of it.  Most of the NT was created and written in 320AD under the direction of Constantine the Great, and its puirpose was NOT for historic accuracy.  Its purpose was to create a doctrine at the Council of Nicea that all factions of religious doctrine could agree upon and pull everyone together.  Why does it appear that there only a few people that post here regularly who actually know this?  Is your only source of "history" the Bible itself?  Are you crazy enough to use the Bible to prove the Bible?  Talk about illogic!\n\nThe original poster is correct -- if the notion of god portrayed in the bible is accurate, then there is no need for "free will" -- God already knows how things turn out.  He already knows who chooses free will and who doesn't choose free will, how they act, and who the sinners are and who goes to hell.  He already knows the choices people made in the past and what they'll make in the future.  He already knows how things will turn.  Already been there.  Outside of the time line?  Fine, state it however you wish.  It's still the same.  He's all knowing.  He knows how the "souls" will turn out. There's no need for a test on earth.\n\nThe question is not flawed at all.  Your assumption that the Bible is incontrovertible is flawed, and your statements of biblical myths as assertion are ridiculous.  It is one of hundreds of unprovable myths on this whole planet, full of fatal flaws, like the one this question raises.
649004
I like your spirit. Keep it up!!\n\nAfter reading a few of the answers I can't help but break out in laughter. Is this 2006? or is it before Renaissance?\nMight I mention a few things: radio carbon dating, cosmic background radiation, speed of light, distance of some galaxies from us, the time to form heavy elements from hydrogen, half life of uranium...\nI think any one of these things will prove the age of the earth. Incidentally, the Hindu scriptures, Vedas are about 6000 years old. The last ice age ended 13000 years ago...\n\nI can't believe these same people boast about space travel. LMFAO.\n\nIncidentally for the person who said something about matter and energy. No matter and energy can't be created or destroyed. Matter and energy are actually the same thing in different forms. One is a more stable form, the other is a transient form.\n\nAnd the person who said the Bible is the truth. Well the bible didn't arrive by fax from heaven. It was written by men. The laws of physics, on the other hand, was written by God. Scientists merely discover them.
655838
Yes, it is real.  I have seen it before.  Of course many people are not going to like it because it quotes parts of the Bible they do not want others to point out.  Christianity is based on the premise that they follow a loving god.  To point out certain things in the Old Test puts a shadow on what they represent.  So, of course, they aren't going to like it.\nDisclaimer:  I am not saying everything written on the site is True.  But the site is real.
484764
It's hooey.\n\nAnd if you really want to know why it has to be hooey read Hume 'On Miracles' and associated commentaries.\n\nEdit:\n\nThe only evidence is eye-witness testimony recorded some hundred years or so after the event. It would get laughed out of a small claims court.
65917
Well, since the Bible is referenced in historical texts, more than any other book, and the story of Jesus is told in the Bible, I think that is considered historical proof. These stories are not new. The concept of Jesus' existance is harder for the modern day person to believe because we are 2000 years removed from that time. However, several texts, scrolls, letters, etc. were written soon after the death and resurection of Christ. Also, do not forget that zealous Jewish priests were persecuting Christians in order to try and get them to deny the message of Christ. This went on for a long time, and yet, the message has survived until now...2000 years later. Is it possible that it is all made up? I suppose there is no 100% evidence that it existed. But then, can you 100% proove that your great (time 5) grandfather existed? If you never met him and no one alive on this earth ever met him, how can you "proove" he existed. The simple fact is, you can't. But you believe because 1) you have faith. and 2) all the evidence presented supports that he did exist. All the evidence supports the existance of Christ. \n\nI suggest you pick up a copy of the book "The Case for Christ" by Lee Stroble. This presents the stories in a very "judicial" method. Giving the evidence and the opposing sides views and why the evidence supports the message of Christ.
461664
I quite agree that it is possible.  I'm not saying it did not happen here.  I just haven't seen the evidence yet to convince me at this point.
272168
Hollywood intends to re-write history but one only needs to research for themselves the validity of the claims. For example the quality of the New Testament documents can be validated outside of the Bible through the research of Josephus Flavius, Tacitus, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Herodotus, and Thucydides. In fact there are 5366 documents discovered so far to validate that the Bible we have today is 99.5% as accurate as it was way back then. \n\nInternal evidence is pretty clear as well. 2 Peter 3:15-16 clearly states that the canon was already in the process of being collected for what we have today in the Bible. There were gnostic books but they were not accepted because they were written by Hellenistic writers that intended to change the original message of the Greek translation to imply that Jesus was not the Son of God. \n\nSee the sources below for addition research. \n\nSource(s):\n\n"Exploring the Da Vinci Code"\n"Breaking the Da Vinci Code"\n"Is the New Testament Documents Reliable?"\n"The Gospel Code"\n"Hidden Gospels - How the Search for Jesus Lost the Way"\n\nLast this is a personal favorite of mine...\n\n"New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" \n\ngo to any book store and pick them up.
300619
You want to know the answers to why the Bible is historically accurate and reliable? Well this is going to be long but it will answer your question. This writing discusses common myths held by most people concerning the Bible and analyzes the evidence that points to the Bible’s authenticity.\n\nMyth #1: The Bible’s been copied, translated, and handed down for so long it looks nothing like the original and cannot be reliable anymore.\n\n    This is undeniably a misconception and misinterpretation that’s been around for over a century. It is probably the most common and told myth of the Bible. It has no doubt hindered many people from ever reading and even considering the Word of God.\n\nThe Facts\n    In the early nineteen hundreds scholars started to seriously question the Word of God particularly the Old Testament. Since the earliest copies we had dated to around 900 AD, they started to question how reliable are copies really were. Since we didn’t have the original and since they’ve been copied so many times, we had no idea how accurate our version was. Critics mocked believers of the Bible claiming that the prophecies (particularly about Jesus) could have easily been altered to fit history.\n\n    Enter a small Bedouin boy. In 1947 in an effort to recapture a lost goat he accidentally stumbled upon a cave with hundreds of clay jars found near the Dead Sea in Israel. Further investigation revealed that inside those clay jars lay ancient copies of the Bible written over a century before Jesus. Here were copies of the Old Testament dated around 130 BC written a thousand years earlier than our oldest copies!\n \n    When compared to our version of the Old Testament it was analyzed that the two versions were 95% identical. The 5% variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling. Not a single teaching or main passage of the Bible was in question or in error.  So now we can rest assured that our current Old Testament is completely and utterly reliable because it has not changed in over 2,000 years!\n\nMyth #2 of the Bible: It’s contradictory.\nThe Bible is unbelievably and completely harmonious with itself. In simpler terms the Bible addresses hundreds of controversial topics (i.e., marriage, divorce, salvation, morality) yet from Genesis to Revelation (the first and last books) the Bible is in complete agreement with all of these topics. \n\n    Let me just put this into perspective for you. How often do two people agree on anything? How often do three people agree on the same issue? How about 30? The point is that given the hundreds of books out there hardly any of them agree on any one issue. They are all horribly contradictory with each other. One book says to eat eggs, another says to not eat eggs, yet another one says to eat only the whites of eggs. Which one is right? \n\n    Yet when it comes to the Bible every single topic is completely in agreement with each of the 40+ authors. “But what about the contradictions in the Bible?” you ask. Well, show me them, or simply show me one. Every contradiction that people claim are never actually checked up on. People just believe what other people say and they believe because someone else said it, so on, and so forth. If they actually read the passage they might see that there is no contradiction. In any event saying that there are contradictions in the Bible is just an excuse to keep people from reading the Bible which might contain the very thing people are looking for.\n\nThe Facts\n    Most if not all contradictions are due to interpretation error. There are several tests or principles you must use to determine the meaning of any given passage in the Bible. Some include: 1. You must understand the context of the passage, 2. Interpret difficult passages in the light of clear ones, 3. The Bible uses non-technical, everyday language, 4. Note when the Bible uses different literary devices, 5. Don’t base teaching on obscure passages.
338330
On the contrary my friend...\n\nThe writings you mention date from after the time of Christ (and after the writings of the NT gospels).\n\nThe NT gospels were authenticated by immediate disciples of Jesus Christ.\n\nLater writings from 150-1000 years after Jesus were NOT authenticated by the disciples of Jesus Christ (the ones who had actually spent time with Jesus, and so were eyewitnesses of the things he said and did).\n\nCordially,\nJohn
570506
The Bible is true.  It was written by men who were inspired by God to write what they wrote.... sorry for the confusing wording.  Even if you don't believe in God, the Bible is full of historical facts.  You can go back thousands of years in history and some of the same events will be recorded in the Bible.\n\nThe English versions are different because people translate the Greek and Hebrew text differently.  Like, the King James Version was translated by candlelight in the 1600s, and since it is one of the oldest versions, it is taken by some as the one and only true Bible.  The newer versions, however, may even be more credible because of newer technology and electric lights.  There are different versions of the Bible because there are not always English words that acurately portray what was written in Hebrew or Greek, so the people who translate it are forced to get creative in what the foreign word means.  Also, our language changes so dramatically over time that newer versions are needed so people who speak the newer English will more easily understand the Bible.  Like, we don't speak with "thee" and "thou" or "shall" and "needst" so it is adjusted for better understanding, but the stories are the same, wonderful events that happened so long ago.
7864
at the point in time it is truly impossible to say if god is real, a myth or man made. I believe that he is real but his word has been passed down and wrote and rewrote so many times that nobody can truly prove what is real and what isn't
71734
This is a logical fallacy, appeal to novelty, that states that because something is newer it is better.  There is nothing, per se, wrong with following customs that are centuries old just because they are old.  It's just as wrong as the "Give me that old time religion" argument, which states that because it was good enough for Paul and Silas, it's good enough for "me".  That's an appeal to tradition.  People should follow what actually works, regardless of when it was developed.  I guess this isn't really an answer to the question, though.
617997
It's absurd to believe that ANYTHING passed down for hundreds of years, and translated into hundreds of languages could be EXACTLY the way it was in it's original form. Not to mention that there are now different versions of the bible, King James Version, etc. \n\nLike now with all the hype over the Da Vinci code, people should ask questions and understand the origin of the religion that they believe so deeply in instead of just following it blindly.
665629
That's because parts of it seem contradictory or counter-intuitive if you take them literally, or out of historical or literal context.  After all, the Bible is a set of books written by different people in different languages thousands of years ago.  It is only reasonable that there would be something lost in the translation, especially given the ambiguity of the English language.  It may also require a great deal of research to resolve the issues you confront them with, and they satisfied themselves of what they believe and do not remember how to explain it to you.  Ignorance and laziness are also sometimes reasons, but there are some people who are able to explain those issues to you.  If you really want good answers to your questions, you should try a few apologetics websites.