Can I Trust the Bible? Understanding Its Reliability and Alleged Contradictions
Exploring the Bible's textual integrity, historical credibility, and internal consistency in an age of skepticism.
This is part of a weekly series called The Questions We All Carry: In Search of God, Truth, Beauty, and Meaning.
In our information-saturated world, trust is a rare commodity. We are flooded daily with headlines, opinions, and conflicting narratives. So it’s no surprise that many of us, when introduced to Christianity, have found ourselves wondering:
Can I really trust the Bible?
Isn’t it full of myths, contradictions, and errors?
These questions aren’t new, but they are deeply important. And behind them often lies a deeper longing: to know if there is a story big enough, true enough, and good enough to live by. If the Bible is indeed God’s Word, then it matters more than anything. But if it’s just a flawed human document, then its influence - and its claims - should be viewed with caution.
Christians believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, a collection of 66 books that speak with one voice about who God is and what He’s done. But we also recognize that Scripture didn’t fall from heaven on a golden pillow. It was written by dozens of human authors over many centuries, in different genres and contexts. It invites both faith and honest questions.
So what reason do we have to trust the Bible?
Let’s explore three foundational things related to the question: the reliability of the Bible’s text, the credibility of its content, and the nature of its alleged contradictions.
Far from being an ancient version of the telephone game, the Bible has been preserved with astonishing accuracy.
Take the New Testament, for example. We have over 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts, plus 19,000 more in Latin, Coptic, and other languages. Some of these manuscripts date within a few decades of the originals. In comparison, works by Plato or Aristotle survive in only a handful of manuscripts copied more than a millennium later - yet few question their authenticity.
The sheer volume of biblical manuscripts allows scholars to cross-check and reconstruct the original text with nearly 100% certainty. Minor differences exist, but they mostly involve spelling or word order - and none affect core doctrines.
The Old Testament's reliability is also impressive. The Dead Sea Scrolls, dated around 100 B.C., include a nearly complete copy of Isaiah that is virtually identical to manuscripts copied a thousand years later. This demonstrates careful transmission over centuries.
The Bible’s text has not been lost or corrupted over time. The documents we read today are essentially what the original authors wrote.
As renowned biblical and linguistic scholar Bruce Metzger has said, "There was no great time lapse for legend or distortion to creep in." In other words, the stories and teachings of Scripture were not the product of generations of embellishment, but rather the faithful witness of those who were actually there, witnessing it all unfold in real time and space. God, in His providence, saw fit to entrust His Word to communities committed to truth-telling and preservation. These were people who feared Him too much to tamper with what He had revealed.
The early church treated the Old and New Testament writings with deep reverence, copying them meticulously and widely. Eyewitnesses to Jesus' life were still alive during the writing of the New Testament - over 500 of them - holding authors accountable to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The textual foundation of Scripture is among the strongest in all of literature, both ancient and modern.
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Even if the Bible has been accurately copied - and strong evidence says it has - can we trust what it says? According to archaeology, historical research, and the Bible’s own surprising candor, the answer is a resounding yes.
For years, skeptics dismissed biblical references to groups like the Hittites or figures like Pontius Pilate as mythological. But archaeology tells a different story. Excavations have uncovered Hittite ruins, confirming the civilization's place in history. In Caesarea, archaeologists found a stone inscription bearing the name of Pontius Pilate - the Roman governor who authorized Jesus’s crucifixion. Places once thought legendary - Nazareth, Jesus’s hometown, and the Pool of Bethesda, described in John 5 as having five colonnades - have been discovered, matching the biblical descriptions in striking detail.
Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, is often praised by historians for his precision in naming cities, officials, and local customs. His attention to detail points not to fantasy, but to a sincere commitment to telling the truth.
And here’s something else worth noting: The Bible was written over a span of 1,500 years by about 40 different authors - prophets, kings, fishermen, physicians, and more. Despite their differences, they speak with a unified voice, telling the same grand story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
Perhaps most compelling of all is the Bible’s honesty - especially when it comes to its heroes. Scripture doesn’t airbrush its characters into paragons of virtue. We read of Jacob’s deceit, David’s abuse of power and his orchestrated murder of Bathsheba’s husband, Solomon’s descent into idolatry, Peter’s denial, the disciples’ cowardice, Paul’s violent past as a persecutor of the church. These aren’t flattering profiles. They read more like self-exposing confessions than self-validating propaganda.
If someone were inventing a religion, these details wouldn’t make the cut. But the Bible includes them - mess and all - which makes it read more like truth than fiction.
Jesus Himself affirmed the Old Testament as trustworthy and promised that the Holy Spirit would guide His apostles into all truth. Christians believe the New Testament is the fulfillment of that promise. Add to that the hundreds of eyewitnesses to Jesus’s resurrection - many of whom chose martyrdom over recanting their testimony - and you get a picture of Scripture that is not only sacred but historically grounded.
“But so much of the Bible doesn’t make sense to me,” we may say.
Even the apostle Peter acknowledged that some parts of Scripture are “hard to understand” and can be twisted (2 Peter 3:16). That doesn’t make them untrue - it just means they require humility, patience, and thoughtful engagement.
As pastor and evangelist R.A. Torrey once put it, “The Bible is perfect, but we, being imperfect, have difficulty with it.” What we find in the Bible isn’t contradiction - it’s often paradox. God’s justice and mercy meet at the cross. The four Gospels don’t contradict each other; they complement one another, offering four unique yet harmonious portraits of Jesus through the eyes of four different authors, each shaped by their own experiences and calling.
And perhaps that’s the beauty of Scripture: it doesn’t flatten mystery, but invites us into it.
Beyond textual and historical analysis, there is another undeniable dimension to the Bible’s trustworthiness: its transformative power. Billions testify to how Scripture has spoken directly into their lives, offering comfort, conviction, and hope. Current data estimates that 2.4 billion, or 31% of the world's population, share and affirm that testimony.
Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Christians across centuries have found this to be experientially true. The Bible doesn’t just inform; it shapes hearts, heals wounds, and leads people to God.
In the end, it is much more difficult for us to find errors in the Bible than it is for the Bible to find errors in us.
If you’re skeptical, consider this invitation: read one of the Gospels, maybe starting with the Gospel According to John. Ask yourself, does this sound like truth? Does it resonate logically and emotionally? Does it reflect the human condition as I understand and have experienced it, both in myself and others? Does it offer real hope? Do I want it to be true, and if so, where does that desire come from?
Many who do this find not a flawed document, but a faithful guide in the Bible - and with it, a living encounter with Jesus Himself.
That's certainly been my experience, and I hope it will be yours as well.
Coming This Week:
Companion Teaching Videos
A two-part video teaching series called "Can We Trust the Bible?" will release this week, expanding on this essay's themes.
Releasing Monday, June 2: Does the Bible Lie to Us?
Releasing Wednesday, June 4: The Bible Contradicts Itself!
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