Introduction

Several millions of people in the world read the Bible, believing it to be the word of God. Several millions of others believe it is simply a book written by men, from men's ideas. Is there evidence that The Bible is the inspired Word of God? Let's take a good look at the variety of evidence that points to the Bible being an inspired work from God Himself.

Scientific Accuracy

There is a vast quantity of scientific truth supported in the Bible that opposed the erroneous science of the ancient times. Prime examples include:

1 -- The science of the times said the earth was flat land propped up by a god (Atlas) or animal ( turtle, elephant, etc.). In spite of this, the Bible correctly speaks of the earth as being a sphere (Isaiah 40:22) that is not propped up by other things (Job 26:7).
2 -- Astronomers at the time believed there were only about 1,000 stars in the sky. In spite of this, the Bible correctly states that the stars in the sky are innumerable (Genesis 15:5, Hebrews 11:12).
3 -- The ancient people were completely ignorant of the presence of germs. In contrast, God wasn't ignorant, and thus gave the Israelites thorough sanitation laws to protect them from disease (Leviticus 6:28, 7:24, Numbers 19:14-17).

Aside from providing correct scientific information, the Bible also supports other scientific truths: Science has shown the common ancestry of humanity dating back to one human couple (Genesis 2:21-24); springs exist in the ocean floor (Genesis 7:11, Job 38:16); and that water cycles in a continuous manner (Job 36:27-28, Amos 9:6). The then-unknown concept of atomic-sized particles is also mentioned in Scripture (Hebrews 11:3), as well as the then-unknown concept of ocean currents (Psalms 8:8, Isaiah 43:16).

The fact that all of these scientific truths prevailed throughout the Bible despite the errors of the times is a strong indicator that common man couldn't have authored the Bible.

Biblical Locations

Another thing to look at is the archaeological evidence supporting places and situations described in the Bible. Other "holy" books, such as the Book of Mormon, don't boast such evidence:

Biblical accounts of the walls of Jericho miraculously falling flat (Joshua 6:1-23) and the account of a global flood (Genesis chapters 6-8), have been verified through archaeological finds. Archaeologists have also found the pool of Siloam (John 9:11), Hezekiah's Tunnel (2 Kings 20:20, 2 Chronicles 32:30), Babylonian king Belshazzar's palace (Daniel 5), and Jacob's Well (John 4:5-6). Also, they have found King Eglon's palace in Jericho (Judges 3:15-30), the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1-14), and the synagogue at Capernaum (John 6:59), along with many many other previously unknown places. These finds all verify various events that are recorded in the Bible, events that were previously thought of as fiction.

Biblical Characters

Research has also verified the records of many people mentioned in the Bible such as the Herods (Matthew 2:1) and the Caesars (Luke 2:1, Luke 3:1, Acts 11:28). As for the Hittites (Joshua 1:4), they were considered to be legend until their city and records were found in Bogazkoy, Turkey. Solomon's wealth (1 Kings 3:13) has been verified, and the extistence of King Sargon (Isaiah 20:1) and Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1) have also been verified. This is just a small number of the many biblical characters who have been found to have existed in real life.

Biblical Events

When Sargon's palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq, the account of his capture in the Philistine city of Ashdod (Isaiah Chapter 20) was recorded on the walls. Fragments of a clay tablet commemorating this victory were found in Ashdod as well. The uprise of Moab against Israel (2 Kings 1:1, 2 Kings 3:4-27) is found on the Mesha inscription. Assyrian king Sennacharib's (2 Chronicles 32:9) attack against Judah is recorded on the Taylor Prism. The Babylonian Chronicles record the fall of Jerusalem into the hands of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:10-14). The tablet of Nabopolasar verifies the fall of Nineveh that was prophesied by Zephaniah (Zephaniah 2:13-15).

In other words, archaeologists and scientists are continually finding evidence that the accounts in the Bible were real instead of being the myths and legends they were thought to be.

Of course, these are all just a scant few of the innumerable Bible-related items that are verified by science and archaeology. The Bible has been found to contain more accurate information than any other holy book every written. It is more accurate than the Book of Mormon, the Quran, the Hindu Vedas, or any other holy book. The Biblical Archaeology Review site found at
http://www.bib-arch.org/
gives loads of information about Bible-relevant archaeological finds.

Summary

According to the Bible, Our Heavenly Father is a God of truth (Psalms 25:10)(KJV). Thus, a book inspired by Him would contain truth, not the myths and errors of ancient human thinking. It would contain verifiable information. According to Scripture, the Bible is the inspired word of God. It is complete and is the only text needed for direction on how to live and worship (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God's word is truth (Psalms 31:5, Psalms 119:160, John 17:17, 1 John 5:6), and God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18, 1 John 2:21). Since God cannot lie, the truth and accuracy that dominates the Bible points to God-originated authorship, not human.