The Bible was written over a span of nearly 1,500 to 2,000 years (depending on the dating of some books). It had over 40 different human authors from numerous walks of life including kings, military personnel, peasants, prophets, priests, philosophers, doctors, rabbis, fishermen, tax collectors, poets, musicians, statesmen and shepherds. It includes book by both Jews and Gentiles. It was written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic on the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. It was written in times of war and peace, in times of sovereignty and captivity, and in times of great joy and great grief. It includes poetry, historical narrative, songs, romance, letters, memoirs, biography, autobiography, law, prophecy, parable and allegory. There is a gap a roughly 400 years between the New Testament and the Old Testament.
Despite all of these factors, the Bible is amazingly (infallibly) consistent. It presents one cohesive story throughout, and that it the story of God and the redemption of mankind. The lead character throughout all 66 books is God.
Despite the vast numbers and backgrounds of the human authors, they are amazingly (i.e., 100%) consistent on a litany of controversial topics such as:
- Marriage
- Divorce and remarriage
- Homosexuality
- Obedience
- Honesty
- Parenting
- Drug Abuse
- Stress Management
- Benefits of love and forgiveness
- Roles of men and women
- Sexual Conduct
- Life after death
- Adultery
- Character and Development
- Nature and revelation of God
- Means of salvation
…and many many more! Imagine for a moment giving the above list to just five contemporary commentators. Assume, for a second, that are all of the same political persuasion and live in the same geographic area of the United States. Now, let’s assume they all have similar educational backgrounds…as a matter of fact, let’s assume they all went to the exact same university. If you sat down and read all of their essays on the subjects above, do you think that they would be consistent and uniform in position. It is doubtful at best..more likely impossible! The internal consistency of the Bible is yet another indication of its supernatural origin.