IS THE BIBLE OUTDATED AND IRRELEVANT?

 

“The Bible is a product of ancient times; therefore, it is not relevant today.”

This is often heard from those who believe that the Bible is outdated and no longer useful for our modern lives. They argue that ancient people lived very differently from us, and since the Bible was written by them, we cannot benefit from it. They claim that their thinking was too “primitive,” making it impossible for us to learn anything from them. Is the Bible still relevant to modern-day people? Yes—and several points should be mentioned here.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀

The wheel was already used by Mesopotamian cultures as early as the 4th century BC. This means it is also a product of ancient people—yet it remains useful and will likely continue to be so in the future. It is wrong to generalize that just because something is old (or comes from ancient times) it is no longer beneficial. Things may change in form or method of use, but their usefulness remains.

The same goes for the Bible. Anyone who wants to claim that the Bible is obsolete must first convince the countless people who still draw comfort, meaning, and insight from it every time they read it. The Bible itself rightly declares: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). Yes, the Bible is very old, but it is wrong to say it is outdated and irrelevant.

𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

The Bible was written in languages, settings, and cultures very different from ours. Does this mean we should leave it in the past? Not at all. The truth is, people have always been essentially the same. The people in the Bible lived, loved, sinned, prayed, worried, faced challenges, and died—just like us.

The differences between their lives and ours are not so great that we cannot learn from their stories. We may not fully understand what it meant in ancient culture for Jacob to deceive his brother to obtain the rights of the firstborn, but we can still relate to his actions because we too, at some point, have deceived others for our own benefit. We may not know firsthand what it’s like to shepherd sheep, but we can still grasp the great love behind leaving the ninety-nine just to search for the one that was lost.

See? Far more similarities connect us than differences divide us. Because the Bible addresses timeless human experiences, we can still understand its stories and truths—and therefore still benefit from them.

When it comes to the differences in language, culture, and setting, this is where hermeneutics (the science of correct interpretation) and exegesis (the practice of drawing out the intended meaning) come in. The idea that the Bible is outdated often comes from ignoring these disciplines.

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁

The pyramids of Giza, built around 2550–2490 BC, remain an architectural marvel today—so precise that some speculate aliens must have built them! Ancient people already knew by the 5th century BC that the earth was not flat, whereas even now, with all our scientific advancement, some still cling to “flat earth” theories.

We know some things that they didn’t, but they also knew things we have lost. Much of what we understand today was passed down from them. They were not as ignorant as many assume.

The same is true for the biblical authors.

• Moses, writer of the first five books, was educated as a prince of Egypt—one of the most advanced civilizations of its time.

• Luke, author of Luke and Acts, has been called a “Historian of the First Rank” for his accuracy, which modern archaeology continues to support.

• Paul, author of 13 New Testament letters, was a brilliant thinker and theologian, second only to Jesus in his influence on Christianity.

So-called “contradictions” in their writings usually stem from misunderstanding context, genre, grammar, or culture—not from their carelessness. Their writings remain reliable even today.

𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲

The Bible declares that God does not change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8). If the Bible revealed who God was in the past, we can trust that He is the same today. That makes Scripture eternally relevant, for it reveals the same unchanging God—His character, His actions, His likes and dislikes, and His will.

The Bible is not just an “ancient moral guidebook” that can become outdated. From beginning to end, it tells the story of God’s redemption—how humanity drifted from God and how God reached out to us through Jesus Christ. That story is as relevant as ever. Sin is still the problem. Redemption through Christ is still the solution. And while people still need salvation, the Bible will remain essential to show the way. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10–11).Stay Curious.