Is the Bible just mythology? How can I know?

There are many reasons we can know the Bible is more than mythology. First and foremost, many of the historical events recorded in the Bible are also documented elsewhere in history. This alone shows the Bible is based on historical events unlike the stories found in mythology.

Second, the Bible has stood the test of time and criticism. The Jewish people have faithfully copied the Old Testament manuscripts since the time of its original composition. The New Testament documents include nearly 6,000 manuscripts and fragments in Greek, some dated within less than a century of the original compositions. No other historical writing compares in both the quantity and quality of manuscripts available to compare for reliability in research.

Third, the Bible has been confirmed through many archaeological findings. Some sources note as many as 25,000 archaeological discoveries that affirm facts from the Bible! From ancient Jerusalem to accurate accounts of the Egyptian Pharaohs to the ancient records of Persia, Greece, and Rome, the Bible connects with an amazing array of discoveries across the Mediterranean world. The Bible is not mythology.

Fourth, the Bible was written as history. The Gospel writer Luke, for example, notes his writing was "an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us . . . just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses." Luke claims that he had "carefully investigated everything from the beginning" and so wrote "an orderly account . . . so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" (Luke 1:1-4 NIV). Paul wrote of the many who had seen Jesus alive, claiming most of the eyewitnesses were still alive several years later when he wrote to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). The Bible is historically based, not mythology.

Fifth, the Bible includes hundreds of prophecies that have already been fulfilled in history. The fulfillment of prophecies was so frequent and so accurate that the early Christians used the Old Testament writings to prove Jesus was the Christ when speaking to the Jews. For example, Apollos "powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus" (Acts 18:28).

Unlike mythology, the Bible claims to communicate real, historical events and can be verified through additional historical sources. In addition, its supernatural nature can be shown through its accurate fulfillments of prophecy, especially in the life of Jesus (Isaiah 53) that point toward a historically accurate book of a divine nature that has changed lives for 2,000 years. The Bible is not mythology.

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