As I continue to study scripture I have come to a conclusion. We use a misnomer when referring to the bible which I believe has led to a widespread misunderstanding. The misnomer is calling lessons in the Bible “Bible stories.” The oldest known textbook, lessons for life, purpose, and creation is not full of “stories” but rather historical, documented history lessons. Most of our modern-day Bibles are based on a 1000-year-old manuscript. But after the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956, researchers found biblical manuscripts going back to 250 B.C. that confirmed the accuracy of the manuscripts they already had. Dr. Peter Flint concluded: “The biblical Dead Sea Scrolls are up to 1,250 years older than the traditional Hebrew Bible, the Masoretic text. We have been using a one-thousand-year-old manuscript to make our Bibles. We’ve now got scrolls going back to 250 BC. Our conclusion is simply this—the scrolls confirm the accuracy of the biblical text by 99 percent.”

This alone should concern so many that choose to believe the bible is simply stories. I have never heard someone say the bible is just stories without using the statement “I believe.” Believing and knowing are not the same and a belief cannot hold water without some form of evidence. And if someone says there is no proof of the Bible’s accuracy, I assure you they have not taken the time to confirm that.

Take for example the famous history lesson of Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus sailed the sea in 1492. One thousand four hundred ninety two years after Christ. If you remember this history lesson he sailed to prove that the world was round while the world “believed” the world was flat. This was a belief based on a suggestion (a belief) by Aristotle centuries before. Yet do you realize in the Book of Isaiah written in 470-701 BC that it states in verse 40:22 “God sits above the CIRCLE of the earth…” Whats more the bible explains the world floating in space in the Book of Job which was written between 540-330n BC. Job 26:7 “God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.” This is all historical evidence that people have been denying our creator for centuries with beliefs they could not prove when the answers were within the textbook of life.

I do not proclaim to be any sort of expert in theology but in taking the time to do my due diligence I am finding there are many discoveries that solidify the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. This excites me because that means when we quit relying on our own made up beliefs and seek the information, we can determine purpose. We all face death one day…maybe even today, yet we have a textbook inspired by our creator that gives you lessons for a happy life and a promise of an everlasting life after death. Remember, your body does not have a soul, your soul has a body. Truly think about that! Could it be that so many disregard the Bible as stories because if they face the facts of it’s authenticity that they would have to face their own sinful imperfections and fear consequences? Accountability can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow and denial can blind us to the need for accountability. But denial based on beliefs rather than evidence can be eternally devastating.