Bible is accurate far beyond science

A recent Wall Street Journal article “Prophet Sharing: The Good Book Is the Best Seller” states that the Bible is the best selling book in America, becoming so popular that one can purchase a wide variety of Bibles such as pocket versions, accessorized Bibles and even manga Bibles.

The article claims that 90 percent of households own one copy, and the numbers keep adding up. Though it is the most read book, it is sometimes the least understood.

Why should one believe the Bible and is it trustworthy in its statements? I would like to argue that it is.

The 66 books in the Bible were written by 40 authors in Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew over a span of approximately 1,500 years. Though each author lived in different geographical locations like as Africa, Asia and Europe — and each author had different backgrounds — the messages remain consistent and accurate.

Is there any archaeological, scientific or historical proof to back up what the Bible says? Stories such as Noah and the flood have undergone scrutiny from skeptics, but are there scientific explanations for a global deluge?

Researchers have discovered that every major mountain range in the world would have been underwater at one point because of sedimentary rocks and fossils of marine life discovered near the summits.

The Earth’s crust consists of sedimentary rocks, which must have formed by rapid or catastrophic floods. The proof is visible by billions of preserved plant and animal fossils imbedded inside. In tribes over the globe, there are legends of a great flood that once swept across the planet.

Scholars did not acknowledge the figure of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus Christ to be crucified, to be true until 1961, when a group of archaeologists lead by Antonio Frova uncovered a rock in Caesarea with the inscription, “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans.” The limestone rock is on display in the Israel Museum.

Stories such as the parting of the Red Sea, the cities that the Bible lists,
historical figures like King David and Belshazzar have all been supported by
archaeological discoveries.

One of the most interesting elements of the Bible is its prophetic nature. In 1947, a shepherd boy stumbled upon a collection of handwritten copies of the Old Testament near the Dead Sea in Israel.

Now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, these manuscripts date back from 100 B.C. to 68 A.D. The books contain prophecies of Jesus Christ — written 400 to 1700 years before his birth — that add up to over 400 entries. From his genealogy to his birthplace to the death that he would die, Christ fulfilled these 400 prophecies with exact precision.

Mathematician Peter W. Stoner calculated in Science Speaks that the probabilities of a person randomly fulfilling eight prophecies about the Messiah are one in 10,000 trillion, trillion. He continues that the chances of 16 prophecies being fulfilled are almost double the amount. In essence, Christ’s prophecies were phenomenally accurate beyond anything conceivable by scientific explanation.

For some Americans, the Bible is an ancient book; a sacred manuscript with well-known myths and fables that are irrelevant to everyday life.

If one digs deeper, they will see just how relevant it is to us today. History, archaeology and science all prove that the Bible is trustworthy and consistent with its statements.

Becky Yeh is a junior journalism major and a columnist for the Daily Forty-Niner.