Exhausted and overheated, the unnamed man stumbled through the desert that is somewhere across the ocean. Suddenly, his foot was caught and he tripped, falling in a pile of sand. When he turned to see what caused his fall he noticed, barely extending from the parched ground, the corner of an old but perfectly bound book. He hurriedly dug it up, knowing that it must be something important. Once in his hands, he immediately sat down and began reading, not even seeking shelter from the blistering sun. This book contained stories of the beginning of mankind, great miracles by God, and the death and resurrection of a Savior, all preserved in King James English with no known origin, attestation, or supporting evidence. This is where we got our Bible.
At least, this is how I pictured it as a young child. To be honest, I had no clue where the Bible came from, how we got it, who wrote it, or why we should trust it. All I knew is that I was raised to believe that what it says is true. Sadly, many people who believe in the Bible cannot explain why they believe it. Even more depressing are the statistics that point to fewer and fewer people believing it at all. It is clear that knowledge of Scripture, as well as respect for it and competence in it, are a dying trend in our society (and even in churches). But today, we want to take some time to look at why we trust the Bible and how we know we can trust it.