God put eternity in the hearts of men so the vast majority of people still believe there’s a God. You can reason with someone who still believes in God and you can show them the truth of God as revealed in the Scriptures of the Bible. However, in those cases where Satan has totally blinded the unbeliever and hardened their hearts to the point they no longer even believe there’s a God then it’s pointless to first approach them with the Scriptures. They have no faith. The Bible says God’s Word is foolishness to those who don’t believe and they have no concept of the spiritual world. The best way to start witnessing to an atheist is to discuss the supernatural elements of the Bible they can see. Atheists can’t understand or discern spiritual things but as creatures of the physical world they can weigh the facts about anything in our physical world that they can see, touch and hear; like the Bible. I’m listing the supernatural elements that prove beyond any doubt that the Bible is the Word of the living God in heaven:
1. Its amazing unity – Even detractors have to admit to the unity of the Bible. 66 books by 40 writers over a period of 1500 years (1400 BC to 100 AD) with no inconsistencies or errors. None of the Scriptures contradict each other or walk over each other. The Bible has a consistent message of God’s love for man and his salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Bible reads like one person wrote it even though writers included kings, priests, prophets, scholars, soldiers, farmers and illiterate fishermen. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible covers all the really important facts of human history. No one other than God could have authored the Bible.
Psalm 68:11 – The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it.
2. Its indestructibility – Political persecution by Roman emperors failed to eradicate the Bible. God’s Word simply grew stronger and multiplied exponentially. All throughout history governments up to and including communist China have attempted to destroy the Bible yet the Bible keeps flourishing and is now in every country and every part of the globe has received God’s Word. Religious and philosophical persecution abounds yet they can’t touch the Bible. Only the protective hand of God could have accomplished such a feat.
Luke 21:33 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
3. Its historical accuracy – For 2000 years detractors have attempted to find errors in the Bible and have failed to find even one. In fact, archeological facts keep coming to light that corroborate the names, places, events and people mentioned in the Bible. It has been proven King David did rule Israel, the Hittites were an ancient kingdom in Asia Minor and the walls of Jericho fell all at once just as the Bible said.
4. Its scientific accuracy – Long before man could prove it the Bible stated the world was a sphere suspended in space. Ancient man could only see about 1200 stars but the Bible said the stars were innumerable which has proven to be correct. In ancient times people thought the bottom the ocean was smooth and gently sloping like a bowl. The Bible stated there are mountains, canyons, springs and fountains in the sea which we now know to be the case. The Bible said there were ocean currents which wasn’t proven until 2000 years later. The Bible contains facts about the hydrological cycle and health and sanitation that only came to light in the last century. The Bible describes the two laws of thermodynamics which weren’t realized by scientists until about 1850.
Isaiah 49:22 – It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
Job 26:7 – He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
Isaiah 43:15-16 – I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters.
5. Its prophetic accuracy – The bible contains over 1000 prophecies, over 500 of which have been fulfilled and documented as fact. Over 60 prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ and documented as historical fact. The Bible names King Cyrus as the person who frees the Jews from their Babylonian captivity. The Bible says Israel will be reborn in a single day and that actually happened on May 14, 1948. In all the fake religions of the world combined not one prophecy has ever been fulfilled.
Isaiah 66:8 – Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.
Isaiah 44:28 – Who says of Cyrus, he is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
6. Its universal influence on civilization – Western civilization was founded directly on the Bible and its teachings. The world’s calendar and most of its holidays stem from the Bible. Art, music and law are the result of the Bible’s influence.
7. Its care and copy – No book in history has been copied as many times with as much care as has been the Word of God.
8. Its amazing circulation – The Bible is everywhere in the world. Only one half of one percent of all books published survive seven years. 80% of all books are forgotten in one year. The Bible is the number one best seller every year and has most volumes in the world by a large margin.
9. Its absolute honesty – The Bible is not a book that man could write if he would, or would write if he could. Man didn’t have all the facts contained in the Bible when it was written so the writers received them from a higher authority, namely God. The Bible puts man in such a bad light no man would ever write a book so critical of himself as a species. God writes bad things about good people and good things about bad people. Only God would be honest enough to do that.
10. Its life-transforming power – Throughout the centuries the Bible has shown an amazing ability to change corrupt humanity. Millions have given their public testimony but you don’t hear that from any of the fake religions out there. Millions of books on bookshelves around the world proclaim the truth of Christianity but the false religions have very few books on the shelves because they’re all fake. Only Christianity is the power of the one true God to change our lives. For those who have ears let them hear and come to Jesus while he may still be found. The evidence is compelling. Now is the day of your salvation! Come quickly!