Confidence in the Bible

We're studying the inspiration of the Bible, the transmission of the writings from generation to generation, and the collection of the books and letters into one volume. We asked a rhetorical question: is there anything in the Bible that we can test and prove to be true? We said the answer was yes, that there are historical, mathematical, and scientific truths in it.... today we will continue our study.  (I'm glad you are here and didn't get scared off!)

As far as the historical notes go, the Bible can sometimes be verified by what we can call "extra-Biblical" sources. By that we mean they are ancient sources that are not related to the Bible, the Pentateuch, or Hebrew tradition. Writings, tablets, and such that are clearly from the same time period, but are not related to Jewish writings.
Let me explain why these are so helpful and so important.
If you were on trial in a court of law, unjustly accused of a crime, you would protest and proclaim your innocence, no? And probably you would have some family members who would get up and vouch for you; they would testify in your defense. The jury might look skeptically at these witnesses, though, and entertain the thought that they could be lying to protect you, out of the love and loyalty that they feel for you.
That is why defense lawyers routinely seek out unrelated people, experts in their fields, and people who are disinterested in you as a person, and ask them to testify. Since these people have no personal interest in your story or your innocence, they can "back up" your story and not be accused of trying to protect you.
It's not hard to see why unbelievers might look askance at some of the things they hear or read from the Bible. Some of the events are miraculous, and are hard for them to believe. How about Jonah in the belly of the "great fish" (or whale, as some translate it), the crossing of the Red Sea on dry land, and even the creation of the world in six days?
Other religious and historical writings of the time can be very helpful in increasing our faith in the hard-to-believe stuff . . . perhaps the event that has come under the most fire is the worldwide flood recorded in Genesis, in which all life on earth died except for eight people and all those animals in the ark.
Interestingly, there are many stories in many different cultures about a great flood. Possibly the most famous one is from the Babylonian culture, and is called the Gilgamesh Epic. In this story, the main character is a man who built a huge ship to ride out a coming flood. His boat was a gigantic cube, however, and it would slowly roll in the water! When we compare Noah's ark, which was approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, we can see this was a stable, sea-worthy vessel.
If there were a worldwide event such as a flood in Noah's time, we could expect that there would be many stories regarding that event in different cultures. The presence of accounts among many people-groups would seem to increase the probability that the event they describe actually occurred. And, even if the details don't match up exactly with the Biblical account, they do at least give us reason to believe that a world-wide flood did happen.

In the New Testament, unbelievers try to poke holes in the accounts (at worst) or to reason things out (at best). Some question whether or not Jesus Christ was the Son of God and our Savior, and some of them question whether or not He existed.
According to the Roman leaders of the time, He did!
Here is an excerpt from the writings of Tacitus, in the "Annals" around 100 AD:

“Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt...the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus (or Christ), the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius...” – Tacitus, Annals XV.44

We will talk about some archaeological finds that tie into this when we continue next week. I hope that we have covered some things that will spark thoughtful discussions, and that we can build on these next week when we study again.