The Truth Is Spoken

In May of 2015, my seventh grade classmates and I were tasked to write an apologetics paper. [According to Merriam-Webster.com, "apologetics" is defined as "a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity".] I wrote my paper proving the historical accuracy of the Bible using five main points. It is very rudimentary, but the content of the paper itself is solid. Please enjoy!

According to Elie Wiesel, “… the Bible is … a source of inspiration. Its impact has no equal, whether on the social and ethical plane or on that of literary creation ... Its characters are dramatic, their dramas timeless, their triumphs and defeats overwhelming. Each cry touches us, each call penetrates us. Texts of another age, the Biblical poems are themselves ageless. They call out to us collectively and individually, across and beyond the centuries” (McDowell 14).

Everyone can agree that the Bible was written hundreds of years ago, but some say that it is historically accurate, while others say it is not.

The Bible is historically accurate based on the following: the riddance of Tyre, the destruction of Nineveh, the tower of Babel, David’s capture of Jerusalem, and the flood of Noah.

Henry Morris remarks, “Now, however, it is no longer possible to reject the substantial historicity of the Bible, at least as far back as the time of Abraham, because of the remarkable discoveries of archaeology” (99).

The first reason the Bible is historically precise is the riddance of Tyre. Foretold in the book of Ezekiel, Tyre would be destroyed and its ruins cast into the sea. “Tyre will be made a bare rock and the city’s ruins will be thrown in the sea.” (Ezekiel 26: 4, 12) Alexander the Great used the mainland city to make a road to an island where the people of Tyre had retreated to in 332 B.C. Alexander’s accomplishment was made over 200 years after the prophecy. The city of Tyre had been destroyed, and in Ezekiel, the fate of the city was told. “Where the city once stood, fishermen will spread their nets, but the city will not be rebuilt.” (Ezekiel 26: 5, 14) Modern Tyre is built in a different spot than ancient Tyre, and fishermen spread their nets on the rocky shores, just as Ezekiel foretold (Richards, 197).

Norman Geisler and William Nix affirm, “Other books claim divine inspiration, such as the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and parts of the [Hindu] Veda. But none of those books contain predictive prophesy” (12). The second reason the Bible is historically correct is the destruction of Nineveh. In Nahum, it is written that Nineveh will be destroyed in a flood. “Nineveh will be destroyed in ‘an overwhelming flood’.” (Nahum 2:6) Reported in Babylonian records, the river in the 150-foot wide moat overflowed. Part of the wall was washed away, allowing the enemy’s army into the city. The book of Nahum once again tells of Nineveh’s doom. “Nineveh will be totally destroyed.” (Nahum 3:15) The city was attacked by the Assyrian army in about 612 B.C. The city was destroyed so badly that its ruins were not found until last century (Richards, 198).

The third reason the Bible is historically accurate is the tower of Babel. In the Bible, it tells of Babel and the spreading of the people and languages. “The whole earth had one language and one speech… Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:1, 9) According to Josh McDowell, archaeology has found that the king of Ur, Ur-Nammu, had supposedly received orders to build a temple tower to worship the moon god Nannat. A monument of engravings shows that the gods were offended by the construction of the tower, so they destroyed it and dispersed the men upon the earth and made them speak different languages. Today, philologists say that the happening at the tower of Babel is most likely the origin of all the world’s languages today (McDowell, 105).

Millar Burrows states, “The Bible is supported by archaeological evidence again and again. On the whole, there can be no question that the results of excavation have increased the respect of scholars for the Bible as a collection of historical documents” (100). The fourth reason the Bible is historically precise is David’s capture of Jerusalem. “Now David said on that day, ‘Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.’ Therefore they say, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’” (2 Samuel 5:8) Interestingly, houses in biblical times did not have water shafts or gutters. This leads us to wonder what David was referring to. The Jebusites had created a large system of tunnels into a cave, and shaft going upward, to get to a spring of water. R. A. S. Macalister and J. G. Duncan found the ruins of a wall, but it would not be protecting the tunnel entrance, leaving it open to the enemy. Later, however, Kathleen Kenyon found ruins of another wall and she realized that the first wall had been misdated. Therefore, this newly found wall was safely protecting the entrance. S. H. Horn commented, “The Israelites apparently went through the tunnel, climbed up the shaft, and were in the city before any of the besieged citizens had any idea that so bold a plan had been conceived” (RIOT 15, 16) (McDowell, 96, 97).

The fifth reason the Bible is historically correct is the flood of Noah. Many people groups, including Mexicans, Greeks, Hindus, Chinese, Algonquians, and Hawaiians, have recorded a “great flood”. When comparing the dimensions of the ark and other types of boats, such as a Babylonian ship, it is proven that the ark was carefully planned to be the perfect dimensions. The Babylonian ship was cubical, which would not have lasted, and it would have easily caused death. In contrast, the ark was low and rectangular, making it easy to glide over the water. Many pagan cultures believe that the flood only lasted for seven days, although in the Bible, it says the flood lasted 40 days. The Bible is more reasonable because it could not have rained so badly in 7 days for the water to reach the heights of the tallest mountains. Babylonian records suggest that the water went down in a day, but the Bible is more accurate because it says that waters went down in 150 days. Joseph Free asserted, “In addition to illuminating the Bible, archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts” (92). In another version of the flood, the “hero is granted immortality and exalted”, but in the Bible it moves on to Noah’s sin; only a book of truth would reveal the reality (McDowell, 104, 105).

The Bible is historically accurate based on the following: the riddance of Tyre, the destruction of Nineveh, the tower of Babel, David’s capture of Jerusalem, and the flood of Noah. McDowell explains, “The Christian faith is faith in Christ. Its value of worth is not in the one believing, but in the one believed- not in the one trusting, but in the one trusted” (xxxiii) We as Christians can greatly appreciate and be thankful that the Bible is historically precise, so that we can show the nonbelievers that God is real, and all the “stories” of the Bible are absolutely true.

Works Cited

McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

USA: Here’s Life Publishers Inc., 1999.

Richards, Lawrence O. It Couldn’t Just Happen.

Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1989

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