How accurate is the Bible?

The bible is a collection of the works of many authors writing over a long period of time. The Old Testament was likely passed down verbally at first as people sang of their history around the campfires and told stories of how God had worked in the lives of their ancestors. While it is true that people make mistakes and tend to remember events by highlighting what is important to them, it is encouraging that the stories basically agree in content and much of the individual details are confirmed by multiple writings. This is especially true in the New Testament as various deciples recount the same events surrounding Jesus. Certainly, verification lends credibility as well as knowledge as we seek to understand the works of God and the heart of Jesus. The accuracy of the hand copied scroll writings is also built on multiple findings of similar documents in various regions and even some accounts being confirmed in other religious writings completely foreign to Christianity. The words of Christ, the deciples and the prophets hold more value in finding God’s truths for without God’s help, people are much more apt to come to wrong conclusions. For example, take the incorrect conclusions that Job’s friends came to about the circumstances of his problems that conflict with why God actually allowed his testing. It is encouraging that God wanted the whole story accurately told even though the “friends” were wrong. We also see the humanness of Job as he struggled without personal understanding or moral support. The point being that God does not lie but humans do err. Scripture faithfully records the whole story. The best method of understanding scripture is to look at the big picture of who God is and how Jesus came in love to save a lost world. In 2 Corinthians 3:6 we are told that the letter (attention to small details) kills, but the Spirit gives life. Here, the Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit as well as the open acceptance of the general nature of what is being said. God’s Spirit helps us to understand all things when our faith helps us align details with the nature of God.