Gideon Church Report

Why Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Other Religions or the Non-Religious Should Want To Read the Bible

1. More copies of the Bible printed than any other book known to mankind.

Printed in more languages than any other book known to mankind.

Conclusion: any person sincerely seeking truth would at least want to consider a book with its many qualifications.

2. Unique book, no other book known to mankind like it:

a. One-third of its prophecy is historically verifiable (Isa 46:9-10) “…I am God and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. 1). Incredibly specific and detailed 2). Opposite of the natural expectations of human beings 3). Example: Tyre (Ezek. 26:4-5, 12-14, 19-21) destroyed, never rebuilt, never inhabited again “…I will scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea … And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water …”

History: Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon laid siege to Tyre, it lasted 13 years, then fell; thousands fled into the sea by boat to form the new city of Tyre on an island a half mile out in the Mediterranean – prophecy only partially fulfilled.

250 years later, Alexander the Great attacked the Persian Empire. He commanded Tyre to surrender – they laughed at him. Alexander built a causeway across the half mile of the Mediterranean to the island of New Tyre. He used the material from old Tyre, literally scraping the rock bare. New Tyre was destroyed and leveled. Today, fishermen spread their nets on the flat rock to dry.

b. Only ancient book that we know which has been preserved accurately. Jews kept tabs on every letter, syllable, word and paragraph.

c. One of the oldest books known to mankind; goes back about 6000 years.

d. Written over 40 generations spanning over 1500 years; written by over 40 authors from every walk of life, yet it has consistency and harmony:

Writers: Moses, a political leader with the highest education; Peter, a fisherman; Amos, a Herdsman; Joshua, a military general; Nehemiah, a cupbearer; Daniel, a prime minister; Luke, a doctor; Solomon, a king; Matthew, a tax collector; Paul, a Rabbi.

Different places: Moses in a wilderness, Jeremiah in a dungeon, Daniel in a palace, Paul in prison, Luke while traveling, John on Isle of Patmos, David in rigors of military campaign.

Different times: David in times of war, Solomon in times of peace.

Different moods: Some in heights of joy and some from depths of sorrow and despair.

Written on 3 continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.

Written in 3 languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

Hundreds of controversial subjects: history, law, poetry, parable, allegory, biography

e. Unique in its survival: written on material that perishes; yet, there is more manuscript evidence for it than any 10 pieces of classical literature combined.

Survival through persecution: many have tried to burn it, ban it, or outlaw it from Roman emperors to present-day Communist countries. Voltaire, a Frenchman who died in 1778, said that in 100 years the Bible would cease to exist. Today few people know who Voltaire was; 50 years after his death, Bibles were produced on his printing press and distributed from his home. Circulation of the Bible continues to increase.

Survival through criticism: no other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and villified; it is unique in facing its critics.

f. Unique in its influence on other literature: Bible dictionaries, Bible encyclopedias, Bible lexicons, Bible atlases, Bible geographies and many thousands of books on theology, education, hymnology, missions, history, commentaries, philosophy, apologetics and general literature.

3. Foundation of Western Thought:

President Herbert Hoover in 1943: The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life.

Motto in England is: God save the queen. Motto in America is: In God we trust

4. Foundation of our Government:

The principles for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution come from the Bible.