WHY BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE IF IT WAS JUST MADE BY MEN?

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If you ask many people why they doubt the Bible, this is probably the answer you’ll get: “It’s just made by men.” Actually, that’s true. The Bible was written by men. But what people are indirectly saying is that because the Bible was made by men—and men make mistakes—then the Bible must also contain mistakes. As believers, how do we respond to this?

1. The Bible is not the only thing made by men.

Hardly anyone has a problem when we read the news, scientific explanations, or historical records—even though these were also produced by people. This shows that, even though people are prone to mistakes, we can still trust human work if we have good reasons to do so. How much more with the Bible!

We have overwhelming evidence that it is trustworthy: archaeology supports what the Bible records, the resurrection of Christ is historically well-supported, and countless ancient manuscripts confirm that the Bible we have today is consistent with the original writings. To discuss them all would take forever! But then someone might say, “Still, humans make mistakes.” Which brings us to the next point.

2. People don’t always make mistakes.

The reasoning that “since humans make mistakes, therefore the Bible must have mistakes” assumes that humans always make mistakes. That’s not true. Yes, people commonly err, but that doesn’t mean every single thing they do is wrong. We can still write grammatically correct sentences even though we sometimes misspell words. We can still solve math problems accurately even if we occasionally miscalculate. Mistakes can be avoided.

If we are capable of avoiding mistakes, it’s not impossible that the biblical writers did the same—especially since they were not working alone. Which leads us to the next response.

3. The Bible is not merely a human book.

It’s not wrong to say that the Bible is a human book. Some of its books even identify their writers (Ex 24:4; Rom 1:1; James 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1, etc.). But that’s not the whole truth. The Bible also has a divine origin. Its writers were guided by God Himself (2 Pet 1:20–21; Jn 14:26; 2 Tim 3:16). That’s why we can say that what they wrote is free from error. Just as God does not make mistakes, His Word—though written through men—is also without error.

But what about the claims that the Bible does contain mistakes? Let’s address that.

4. It is unfair to assume the Bible is guilty of error from the start.

Critics often assume that the Bible is wrong until it proves itself right. So when they come across a verse they don’t understand, or passages that seem contradictory, their immediate reaction is: “See, the Bible has errors!” But fairness requires the opposite: the Bible, like any person or document, should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

If you assume the label on a can is wrong, you’ll probably open it before even buying it just to make sure. If you treat traffic signs as false from the start, you’ll end up in an accident before realizing the signs were right and you were wrong. Those who claim that the Bible is full of contradictions must first prove that these alleged errors are truly errors. If what they point to can actually be explained, then their accusation is invalid. In fact, if critics would take the time to carefully study the context of verses, most of these supposed contradictions could easily be resolved. With honest effort, one would see that there are actually no proven mistakes strong enough to discredit the Bible as the Word of God.

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The Bible remains the Word of God. It is no problem that God chose human writers to record His words. We have solid reasons to believe in it. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8). Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Geisler, N. (2021). Objection from the Human Nature of the Bible. 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺: 𝘐𝘯 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦. Bastion Books
Rhodes, R. (2010). Holy Spirit Agent of Inspiration. 5-𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. Harvest House Publishers
Geisler, N. Howe, T., (1992). How to Approach Bible Difficulties. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘬: 𝘈 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. Victor Books.

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