There are a few things to consider when considering the validity of the Bible. It is my contention that the Bible is not the word of God but any opinion is worthless without evidence.

Let\’s say you had no understanding of anything spiritual. Someone comes to you one day saying he found an old book in the woods. He is all excited and tells you that it is the word of God. Do you quickly say “Okay, then let us follow it to the letter” or do you say something else like “How do you know it is the word of God?” Think long and hard about it. He tells you that the book has many good things about basic morality in it and the book itself hints at being the word of God. Do you then conclude that it really is the word of God or do you ask for real evidence that it is Heavenly inspired?

After all, the Koran claims to be the word of God as does the book of Mormon. Are they the word of God because they claim to be? Of course not. Why is the Bible considered by so many to be the word of God without putting it to the test? The Bible does not anywhere claim that its 66 books are the “word of God.” It simply matches up with itself in many places and some writers in the book quote other writers.

However, nothing in it has a divine stamp that says specifically what is to be followed. Instead of saying the Bible is or the Bible is not the word of God, it needs to be tested. How would you test a book that made such a claim anyway, one should ask? Simple. You put it under the microscope of critical analysis. You study it under the assumption that maybe it is or maybe it is not but you do not ever arrive at a conclusion first before beginning the study. You arrive at one last. Christians already have been told the Bible is God\’s word without putting it up to a challenge. Instead of simply believing that it is because one always has and was taught this since childhood, one has a duty to oneself to find proof or at least a reasonable amount of evidence that it is. The problem is that Christians make the fatal mistake of starting first with the conclusion that the Bible just is the word of God. Some will tell you to prove it is not. If you go to court to accuse someone of committing a crime against you, they do not have to prove they did not. You have to prove they did. For Christians, it is just the opposite.

It needs to be pointed out that if God Himself did not tell anyone that the Bible was His book, then why believe that it is without a test? Christians are quick to condemn the Muslims for believing in a book (the Koran) that contradicts theirs but what right does a Christian have to claims that theirs is the truth? What about the content of the book? If it is good and decent and makes sense for peaceful living, should we consider it to be the word of God? No. Anyone can write up a peaceful standard of living but it should not be considered “scripture.” However, the Bible has many dark things that no one would consider peaceful. Yet, regardless of those things, how does anyone consider the possibility that any book is inspired by God without proof or even some evidence of inspiration regardless of the content? Our cultures and our upbringing almost always influence what we choose to believe first, especially when it comes to spirituality.

Brett Winstead is the author of the book, How to Answer a Christian