# Various proofs for the Bible's unique status ## The New Testament canonization The New Testament was unofficially canonized within *many* first-century believers' collections. - The official canonization somewhat emerged among many Christians, who ended up having the same 27 books even while not consulting with each other. In 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea, the people who compiled the books presumed the Old Testament canon as the same as the Jewish leadership (the same way Jesus did) and placed 3 requirements to canonize the New Testament books: 1. The book had to have been written by an apostle, or at least someone closely associated with an apostle. 2. The book taught the established faith of the apostles. 3. The book had been widely accepted in the earliest churches from the beginning. For a host of reasons at the time, the Christian leaders of the time didn't admit other possible candidates into the Bible's canonization: - The canonized books have consistent central ideas across each other, but Christians [debate endlessly](people-conflicts-christian-why.md) about possible contradictions in other works' core ideas. - Some ancient Jewish texts like Enoch and Jubilees have historical and theological significance, but have analytical and consistency issues. - Many Gnostic books (e.g., Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Judas) were written *long* after the apostles died. ## The Bible couldn't have been man-made The Jews, as God's chosen people ([Deuteronomy 7:6-8](https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/7.htm)), have been extremely meticulous transcribing the Old Testament, even across multiple genocides and invasions. - One recent evidence for the Jews' accuracy is the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s and 1950s. Though the Bible's books were written in multiple ancient empires, their ideas are consistent with one another. *All* the canonized books had hundreds of identical copies. - The copies were spread across the known world and stayed consistent across language barriers. - The other works that weren't admitted to canon, on the other hand, weren't *nearly* as widespread or prevalent, and archaeologists *still* sporadically find them as one-off rare discoveries. - In particular, the New Testament had *many* copies distributed while it was *very* illegal 3/4 of the time under the Roman Empire. The authoritative Bibles of each language have always had few to no translation errors. - Every marked discrepancy between translations maintains the main idea or central concept of the original, even while they range from literal word-for-word to generalized "spirit" of the text. - Very few Bibles have changed their general ideas, and every time they do the Christian community at large will outright reject it (e.g., New World Translation). The Bible has been more attacked throughout history than any other book, but continues propagating openly and unchanged. - The Bible has thrived in publication before *and* after publication with numerous copies, despite its persecution, banning, burning, and political suppression. - While the *order* of the books has sometimes changed and there have been very minor modifications, it hasn't affected *any* of its narrative continuity, even across multiple languages. ## Claimed contradictions usually overlook a few things Many supposed contradictions of chronology or event order are two different events (e.g., Jesus didn't give every speech only once). Different accounts of the same experience (i.e., the Gospels) come from different eyewitness perspectives. - Since colluded lies provide the same details, they *can't* have been conspiring. Archaeological evidence consistently and frequently proves the Bible's authenticity. - The Bible expresses cultural traditions and practices, even obscure or forgotten ones, that archaeology is still proving as we uncover them now. - The Bible captured some elements that the rest of the world forgot as early as 50 years later. ## History has already proven many Bible prophecies [Hundreds of prophecies](theology-salvation-prophecies.md) were directly fulfilled by Jesus alone. Many passages predicted Israel's status: - [Israel](history-israel.md) would lose its land by being conquered twice, have no official government, then return later in one day: - [Deuteronomy 29](https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/29.htm) - [Hosea 3:4-5](https://biblehub.com/hosea/3.htm) - [Hosea 6:1](https://biblehub.com/hosea/6-1.htm) - [Ezekiel 20:34](https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/20-34.htm) - [Isaiah 11:11-13](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/11.htm) - [Isaiah 43:5-21](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/43.htm) - [Isaiah 66:8](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/66-8.htm) - [Jeremiah 25:11](https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/25-11.htm) - [Jeremiah 32:44](https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/32-44.htm) - [Luke 21:23-24](https://biblehub.com/luke/21.htm) - One man would rebuild Jericho and lose his oldest son when starting construction and his youngest son when completing it - [Joshua 6:26](https://biblehub.com/joshua/6-26.htm) - [1 Kings 16:33-34](https://biblehub.com/1_kings/16.htm) - Israel would regain its agriculture and ecosystem - [Isaiah 26:6](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/26-6.htm) - [Isaiah 35:1-2](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/35.htm) - Israel would form again with a pure language - [Zephaniah 3:8-10](https://biblehub.com/zephaniah/3.htm) - Israel would adopt the shekel as currency again - [Ezekiel 45:12-16](https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/45.htm) - All ancient names and settlements would return - [Ezekiel 36:11](https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/36-11.htm) - [Ezekiel 36:24](https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/36-24.htm) - Israel's nine suburbs would rebuild in specific locations and specific chronological order - [Jeremiah 31:38-40](https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/9.htm) - Three cities would remain in ruins - [Matthew 11:21-23](https://biblehub.com/matthew/11.htm) - Though Edom (now a part of Jordan) was once a fertile area, it would become a barren wasteland - [Jeremiah 49:15-20](https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/49.htm) - [Ezekiel 25:12-14](https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/25.htm) Babylon was considered impenetrable at the time, but the Bible predicted its fall: - [Isaiah 13:17-22](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/13.htm) - [Jeremiah 51:26,43](https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/51.htm) Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would overtake Babylon and liberate the Jews exiled at the time: - [Isaiah 44:28](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/44-28.htm) - [Isaiah 45:1,13](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/45.htm) Jesus' coming had [*hundreds* more prophecies fulfilled](theology-salvation-prophecies.md).