Bible Question:

What are some of the historical facts that back up Christianity? What are some of the scientific facts that back up Christianity?

Bible Answer:

There are many facts that support Christianity: historical/archealogical, scientific and prophetic. The most significant facts are historical and prophetic. The Bible records a lot of ancient history, a few scientific facts and many prophecies. History shows that the Bible is accurate when it speaks about historical facts. Jesus was a historical person. While the Bible has a smaller number of scientific facts, it has a temendous number of prophetic facts in order to demonstrate its supernatural authorship by God. Prochecy is the real test of the Bible. These are statements made 100-4,000 years before the events really occurred.

Historical Facts

Jesus Christ was a historical person about whom many ancient authors wrote. A large number of historical and prophetic facts about Jesus can be found on this website. The Bible also shows that Jesus Christ said He was God. Listen to what the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day understood Him to say,

The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (NASB) John 10:33

These Jewish leaders thought He was just a man, but not His followers. The Roman leaders had a different view,

. . . I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He should be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles . . .King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do. And Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian. (NASB) Acts 26:22-28

And Jesus’ followers obviously believed He was God.

Historical/Archeological Facts

One very interesting area of historical facts about Christianity is the area of archeology in the Old Testament. Here are two examples.

Example #1. Prior to 1853 there were some who did not believe that the nation of Israel crossed the Red Sea as mentioned in the Old Testament (Exodus 14:13-31). They claimed the Israelites really walked across ankle deep water. There are problems with this view. The first is very obvious – how did the Egyptian army drown in ankle deep water? The second problem is that the absence of an archeological record does not mean the event did not occur. It would be like saying 1,000 years from now that I did not go to a particular resturant for dinner because there is no record. What is worse, in 1853, Dr. P. A. Stanley discovered six ancient, Aramic inscriptions on the cliffs of the Wadi Sidri in the Penunsula of Sinai . The inscriptions recorded the historical crossing of the Red Sea. Here is an excerpt from the Aramic inscriptions (A. P. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, London: John Murray, 1905, p. 70),

The leader divided part the sea, its waves roaring.
The people enter, and pass through the midst of the waters.

The wind blowing, the sea dividing into parts, they pass over.
The Hebrews flee through the sea, the sea is turned into dry land.

Their enemies weep for the dead, the virgins are wailing.
The sea flowing down overwhelmed them.
The waters were let loose to flow again.

The historical accuracy of this account of the Bible has not been seriously questioned, except by those who do not know about this archeological finding.

Example #2. Another interesting archeological finding deals with the walls of Jericho. Again, critics of Christianity questioned the truth of the Bible because archeology had not discovered the city of Jericho. They doubted the existence of the city and the Biblical account that said the walls had fallen outward (Joshua 6). In 1930-1936, Professor John Garstang discovered the city of Jericho during an archeological dig (John Garstang, Joshua Judges, London: Constable, 1931). But the real finding was that the walls of the city were spread outward away from the city. That is, the walls had fallen outward just like the Bible said. This was a one-of-a-kind finding at an archeological dig.

Scientific Facts

The Bible refers to a few scientific facts. While the truth of the Bible does not hinge scientific statements, when it does speak to science, it is accurate. Here are a few examples.

Example #1. One of the most curious statements in the Bible is found in Amos 5:8. The King James translates this passage as “seven stars and Orion.” When the King James Bible was translated (A.D. 1601), science only knew of six stars in the Pleiades constellation. Consequently, the translators just wrote “seven stars.”

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion . . . (KJV) Amos 5:8

He who made the Pleiades and Orion . . . (NASB) Amos 5:8

Today, modern astronomy knows there are seven stars. The seventh star is very dim and can only be seen with telesecope. So modern translators can now put a name to the constellation – Pleiades. How did the Old Testament authors know there were seven stars in the Pleiades constellation?

Example #2. The book of Job records two very interesting scientific statements.

. . . And hangs the earth on nothing. (NASB) Job 26:7

This statement says the earth hangs on “nothing.” The Hebrew word for “nothing” means nothingness or void. The earth is floating in a void. This is a remarkable statement since the scientists of the time and the religious beliefs of the time said the earth was carried on the shoulder of a mythogical god, rested on the back of elephant for example. How did the writer of Job know the earth hung in space, before science discovered this to be true? The Bible stated this as truth in 2,000 B.C.

Conclusion:

These are just a few archeological/hisorical and scientific facts that demonstrate the accuracy and truth of the Bible. Again, I would encourage any reader to review the historical and prophetic facts about Jesus Christ. The Bible is loaded with prophecies that have come true.