The Bible - Inspired Word Of God

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a university student asked me, “Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?” Now this is a very interesting question, and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves.
What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?
In answering this student’s question, I encouraged him to consider the following facts about the Bible.
First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than more people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to name a few.
Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets and others. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.
Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500 years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew nor collaborated with one another in writing these books.
Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible, we have books that were written in the ancient language of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.
And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God’s people.
Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What’s more, this collection of books shares a common storyline - the Creation, Fall and Redemption of God’s people; a common theme - God’s universal love for all humanity; and a common message - Salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions. God’s word truly is an amazing collection of writings!
After I shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge: I said to him, “If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a super natural origin, then I challenge you to a test.”
I said to the student, “I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library that you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message with no historical errors or contradictions.” I went on to say, “If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God.”
The student’s reply was almost instantaneous; he emphatically stated, “But that’s impossible!”
“But that’s impossible!” It truly is impossible for any collection of human writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents with no historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of divine inspiration.

B, Simonton