Why Should I TRUST the Bible?

Main ideas / lessons

• People often trust the Bible through circular reasoning, e.g., “trust it because it says it’s true.” The video addresses the question: “Why should I trust the Bible?”
• God reveals Himself in two ways:
  • General revelation: through creation, history, and human conscience.
  • Special revelation: through direct communication (prophets/apostles) and ultimately God’s written Word, preserved in the Bible.
• The speaker argues that trust in the Bible is supported by evidence, not blind faith alone—and that the Bible also has application (what a person should do with it).

Evidence-based reasons given (4-part list)

Reason 1: The Bible is supported by thousands of early manuscripts

• The claim is that Scripture has been carefully preserved over time (“word of our God will stand forever”).
• New Testament manuscript evidence (as stated in the video):
  • Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts
  • More than 10,000 Latin manuscripts
  • At least 9,300 copies in other ancient languages (examples given: Coptic, Syriac, Armenian)
• What manuscripts are:
  • A manuscript = an old written copy of part of a passage.
  • Early believers copied letters/gospels because they lacked modern copying/communication.
• Dating and consistency:
  • Many manuscripts date as early as the second century AD (copied within a few generations).
  • Manuscripts are described as consistent with each other.
• Extra evidential claim:
  • Church fathers/early leaders quoted the New Testament so extensively that (the video argues) much of it could be reconstructed even without surviving manuscripts.
• Comparative examples (to suggest manuscript reliability):
  • Julius Caesar’s Gaelic Wars: ~10 surviving manuscripts; earliest copy ~1,000 years later.
  • Plato’s works: ~7 manuscripts; gap ~1,200 years.

Reason 2: The Bible is the product of many eyewitness accounts

• The video’s cited idea: New Testament writers presented their claims as eyewitness testimony, not fairy tales.
• 2 Peter 1:16 is used to support that Peter claims eyewitness experience of Jesus’s majesty.
• The video also asserts:
  • 1 Corinthians 15 describes Jesus appearing to hundreds after the resurrection.
  • Many witnesses were said to still be alive when Paul wrote.
• Public proclamation argument:
  • The message is described as something publicly proclaimed by those with firsthand experience of Jesus’s life, death, teachings, miracles, and resurrection.
• A personal anecdote is used to illustrate eyewitness testimony: the speaker describes witnessing an incident and giving details; the judge’s fairness is tied to multiple eyewitnesses.

Reason 3: The Bible contains prophecies that were miraculously fulfilled

• Claim: biblical prophecy is portrayed as specific, not vague—and fulfilled with precision.
• Acts 3:18 is cited to argue Jesus’s suffering and fulfillment were planned and foretold by prophets.
• Scope includes Old and New Testament:
  • Old Testament: predicts the Messiah’s coming and details about Him.
  • New Testament: presented as the fulfillment of those predictions in Jesus.
• The video cites a statistic (attributed to Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict): prophecies about Jesus are said to number around 300.
• Examples of messianic fulfillment listed

Birth / lineage

• Isaiah 7:14 — Messiah born of a virgin → Matthew 1:18, 24–25
• Micah 5:2 — Messiah born in Bethlehem → Luke 2:4–7
• Genesis 49:10 — Messiah from the line of Judah → Luke 3:23, 33
• Jeremiah 23:5 — Messiah from David’s lineage → Luke 3:23, 31 (references as given)

Early life / roles

• Isaiah 40:3 — messenger prepares his way → John 1:23
• Zechariah 9:9 — rides into Jerusalem on a donkey → Luke 19:35–37
• Psalm 118:22 — rejected as a stone of stumbling → 1 Peter 2:7

Death

• Psalm 41:9 — betrayed by a friend → Matthew 10:4
• Zechariah 11:12 — sold for 30 pieces of silver → Matthew 26:15
• Psalm 22:16 — hands/feet pierced → Luke 23:33
• Additional death-related items are also mentioned as fulfilled (without listing every citation in detail), including:
  • being silent before accusers
  • being wounded and bruised
  • spat upon
  • mocked
  • crucified with thieves
  • hated “without a cause”
  • no bones broken
  • side pierced
  • buried in a rich man’s tomb
• Mentions also:
  • Daniel predictions about empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome)
  • Jesus foretelling Jerusalem’s destruction; described as occurring in AD 70

Conclusion of this section: The video argues that the chance of one person fulfilling many prophecies is “astronomically low,” implying inspiration rather than coincidence.

Reason 4: The Bible has incredible theological unity

• Claim: written over 1,500 years by 40+ authors across diverse contexts, yet presents one unified message.
• Core storyline described:
  • God created humans for intimate relationship.
  • Sin severed that relationship.
  • A Messiah/Savior pays sin’s penalty and restores intimacy with God.
• Structure described:
  • Matthew to Revelation is described as looking back at Christ.
  • Genesis to Malachi is described as pointing forward.
• Illustration using “Moriah” and sacrifice:
  • Genesis 22: Abraham commanded to sacrifice Isaac; Abraham says God will provide “a lamb.”
  • 2 Chronicles 3:1: Solomon builds the temple on Mount Moriah.
  • The video links this to Jerusalem and Christ, emphasizing that both father-son “love” is present across testaments (as stated).
• Hebrews 1:1–2 is used to connect Old Testament prophets and New Testament communication through Jesus as one unified redemption plan.

Application / conclusion offered

• The speaker says there is more than evidence—there is an application component:

  Quote of Jesus: those who hear and do his words are like a wise person building on the rock.

• The Bible is portrayed as:

  • stable amid changing opinions and uncertainty
  • truth-revealing
  • life-equipping
  • leading to deeper relationship with God
• Final exhortation: if the Bible can be trusted, it provides confidence that Jesus loves the viewer.

Speakers / sources featured (as named)

• Joe (speaker; “my name is Joe”)
• Impact family (audience address used by the channel/host)
• Josh McDowell (cited as source in Evidence That Demands a Verdict)
• Bible authors / figures referenced:
  • God
  • Isaiah
  • Peter (1 and 2 Peter)
  • Paul (1 Corinthians)
  • Luke (Acts and Luke)
  • Jesus
  • Abraham
  • Solomon
  • Daniel
  • Church fathers (generic category of early Christian writers)