Christians: How do you know that the Bible is the Word of God?

We believe. We cannot 'prove' it in the way many unbelievers want. They got to WANT to believe and pray. God will be there for them. It's faith.

I think that the bible is the Word of God, but also the word of man, for man wrote it.

God did inspire what was written, and man, in his ways, put that in the bible...but also added or changed things.

Some gospels were written years after Jesus had died, and by reading the Gospels of John, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, you will find some differences in what they write....That can only be expected seeing as there were over 60 years or more from the time of Jesus' death, to when it was written.

There were actually over 30 gospels written that were known to be written, and some probably that were not known....but yet, the church only kept the 4 gospels....so it is unknown what is written in those that were not included.

Recently, the gospel of Judas was found, and it is close to the same as the others, but there are some differences, such as the Last Supper....what happened during that supper, is different according to which gospel you read. Especially that of Judas.

And mostly, one has to remember, that man had only a small aspect of what we know today about the universe, about dinosaurs, and about witches, lesbians, gays, and lepers.... So these were put into the bible as they saw it to be, at that time.

I think Moses was probably the first to have input into the bible. Not many people were literate at the time, so writing was something most didn't do. Things said and done had to be remembered and then passed on to the next generation, and the next, until they would be written down...this allowed for mistakes, and misinterpretations.

As for proving it to a non believer, I wouldn't try. That person must want to know, and if so, he can then go about finding it by research...His own research might prove more valuable to him then if I just told him things.

Believing in the bible is matter of faith. The More I read the bible the more believe in the words. Plus all the evidence for bible is real. The dead sea scrolls prove that the bible was translation correctly.

Consider the Evidence

So can the Bible be trusted? It is important that you decide correctly on this matter. Why? Because if the Bible does contain communication from God himself, it would be foolish—if not fatal—to ignore it. The extent to which you let it be a real influence in guiding your actions and forming your beliefs will be greatly diminished if you view it simply as the words of men rather than the Word of God.—1 Thessalonians 2:13.

How can you decide? Well, how do you decide whether to trust people you meet? One thing is sure. It is very difficult to have real trust in anyone about whom you know very little. Only as you get to know people well do you learn over time if they are truly honest and trustworthy. You can get to know the Bible in the same way. Do not accept without question speculative or even prejudiced theories that undermine confidence in the Bible. Take the time to consider the evidence that supports the Bible’s claim to be “inspired of God.”

Why You Can Trust the Biblical Gospels

A valuable fragment of John’s Gospel was found in Egypt at the turn of the 20th century and is now known as the Papyrus Rylands 457 (P52). It contains what is John 18:31-33, 37, 38 in the modern Bible and is preserved at the John Rylands Library, Manchester, England. This is the oldest manuscript fragment of the Christian....

It is easier than inspiring the Holy Bible writers!

“God” was probably too drunk inspiring the Bible writers!

Psalm 78:65 “THEN THE LORD AWOKE AS FROM SLEEP, AS A MAN WAKES FROM THE STUPOR OF WINE”* (*did he get too much worship? spiritually speaking, of course!)

Numbers 28:7 (NIV) The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of FERMENTED DRINK (KJV = "strong wine") with each lamb* (*according to the Bible stories, the Jewish Priests used to sacrifice animals to the God in the Bible by the thousands, even when they were starving to death and had to eat their own children for dinner, the Priest always ate from the sacrificed animals, though! –Jer19:9, 2Kin6:26-29, Lam4:10) POUR OUT THE DRINK OFFERING TO THE LORD at the sanctuary* (*no wonder God wakes up in the morning with a horrendous hangover puffing some illegal smoke off his Holy Nostrils! Psa18:8).

Revelation 14:10-11 (NIV) [Jesus says] "he, too, WILL DRINK OF THE WINE OF GOD'S FURY* (*Only God knows REAL STRONG BOOZE!), which has been poured FULL STRENGTH into the cup of his wrath.* (*sheer Boozer God talk… Not even God Bacchus is that dissolute!) He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever…

…and ever… and ever… for this Boozer God’s full enjoyment!

God makes it known to us that it is his true word. It is inspired. But as far as proving it to a non-believer, that can't be done. God has to reveal himself to them also when they search for him with all their hearts. Since they push him away instead, they may have to have a big emergency and call upon the Lord in the day of trouble. When that happens he shows up.

Several things allow this knowledge to come, and as a side note, these things require "action" or "works" for them to come about.

First is to have faith, or a desire to know the truth regarding the Bible.

Second is to read it, learning for oneselves the truth found therein.

Third is to ask God, the one being who would know if it is a work about Him, of Him and for Him, asking God for a witness of its truth.

Fourth way is to do what the Bible tells us to do, and that is in John 13:17, that in order to know if it is true, we DO the doctrine, and see it play out in our lives.

By doing these things, we can KNOW for ourselves if the Bible is true or if it is not true.

Coincidentally, one can follow this Biblically shared pattern of seeking the truth on other works to see if they are or are not true. This same pattern can be followed, for instance, in learning if the Book of Mormon is God's word or not.

You know when your grandmother tells you stories about the history of the world and about famous people? Its the same thing with the bible, these are stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, people of Jesus's time have told these stories to their children and great grand children.

I would start with the Bible's reliability especially when considering prophecies. Following is one of the prophecy I would share:

Prophecy: Isaiah 44:24, 27, 28; 45:1-4: “Jehovah . . . the One saying to the watery deep, ‘Be evaporated; and all your rivers I shall dry up’; the One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out’; even in my saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘You will have your foundation laid.’ This is what Jehovah has said to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before him nations, so that I may ungird even the hips of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, so that even the gates will not be shut: ‘Before you I myself shall go, and the swells of land I shall straighten out. The copper doors I shall break in pieces, and the iron bars I shall cut down. . . . For the sake of my servant Jacob and of Israel my chosen one, I even proceeded to call you by your name.’” (Writing by Isaiah was completed by about 732 B.C.E.)

Fulfillment: Cyrus had not been born when the prophecy was written. The Jews were not taken into exile to Babylon until 617-607 B.C.E., and Jerusalem and its temple were not destroyed until 607 B.C.E. In detail the prophecy was fulfilled starting in 539 B.C.E. Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates River into an artificial lake, the river gates of Babylon were carelessly left open during feasting in the city, and Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians under Cyrus. Thereafter, Cyrus liberated the Jewish exiles and sent them back to Jerusalem with instructions to rebuild Jehovah’s temple there.—The Encyclopedia Americana (1956), Vol. III, p. 9; Light From the Ancient Past (Princeton, 1959), Jack Finegan, pp. 227-229; “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial” (New York, 1983), pp. 282, 284, 295.

I don't even know if there is a god. I am pretty sure the bible is the word of men.

Because the Bible tells them So.