Why do we accept the Bible?

Bible Question: I have a question about the Old Testament. Here is a quote from the article about the accuracy of the Bible:

"At the time of Jesus' life the only scriptures that existed were the Jewish scriptures - the Tanakh. Jesus quoted from them. He taught them. He believed them."

It is my understanding that the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, were the scriptures about the religion that was practiced in ancient Israel. One can observe some of the pagan practices that are mentioned through the Old Testament, such as the stories of human sacrifice (Isaac, Mesha, Jephthah, etc.). Didn't the appearance of Jesus bring clarity to the fallacies in the Hebrew Bible? Also the books of the Bible, I believe, were once the word of God; but after centuries of translation, the meaning behind some of the books and stories may be thwarted. The orthodox Jewish rabbis of the 1st century are the culprits behind the compilation of the Old Testament. How do you explain the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, if these books too were the word of God like all the other books included in the Bible? I am a devout Christian, I read the Bible, but I'm just looking for some clarity on these issues. I don't question my faith, but I do sometimes question my interpretation of the Bible. This may be a question of reader response versus author intent, when reading the Bible. How is there any way to know exactly what the authors of the Bible were trying to tell us? One other question. It seems that God speaks directly to several people in the Bible. Why do we accept these instances at face value in the Bible, when if a person in the modern world claims to hear the voice of God, they are dubbed insane?

Bible Answer:The quote that you refer to from the article "How Accurate is the Bible" is similar to a study which is called "What is the Bible?" We would like to encourage you to read that study since it provides some of the information that you are seeking.

Old Testament, Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, and Scriptures. First, the Bible that is read by Christians and some non-Christians is composed of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament can also be called the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or scriptures. Usually the entire Bible (containing both the Old and New Testaments) is called the scriptures. Since the terms Old Testament, Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or scriptures all refer to the same set of writings, they all refer to "the religion that was practiced in ancient Israel." The ancient practices that Israel followed were directed by God. You refer to the ancient pagan practices of Isaac, Mesha, and Jephthah, but it is important to understand that none of those were "practices." Yes, God did direct Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but God also stopped him from doing it (Genesis 22:12). God was only testing Abrahams's love for Him. He never wanted Abraham to actually sacrifice his son as we can see in Genesis 22:1-12. This was not an ancient practice but a one time event.

Mesha was the King of Moab and he sinned before God when he sacrificed his sons (2Kings 3:1-27). It is important to understand that the Moabites were not Israelites. They worshipped their own gods. God did not ask him to do what he did. Also, God had nothing to do with the stupid and cruel deed that Jephthah performed. That was Jephthah's decision. He was not following a custom or ancient practice but made a misguided decision. One cannot find any command or directive from God in the Bible calling anyone to do what what Jephthah did. You might be interested in a previous question and answer about Jephthah.