Is the Bible reliable?
The Bible is a library of 66 books written by many people over roughly 1,500 years: history, poetry, letters, wisdom and more. Part of reading it well is reading each part as what it is.
It's also one of the best-preserved ancient texts we have, with thousands of early manuscript copies. Historians and archaeologists keep finding people and places it mentions. And the writers often included details that make their heroes look bad, which isn't what you'd do if you were making things up.
Where Christians differ: Christians read some parts differently, for example how literally to take the early chapters of Genesis. They share trust in the Bible's central story about God and Jesus.
Read it for yourself
- Luke 1:1–4 · Luke explains how he carefully investigated before writing.
- 2 Peter 1:16 · Not clever stories, but eyewitness accounts.
- 2 Timothy 3:16 · Why Christians call Scripture God-breathed.
A next step: Read it for yourself. Start with Mark or John, and notice what surprises you.