How is the Bible unique?

Answer

One aspect that sets the Bible apart from other religious texts is its remarkable popularity worldwide, despite facing significant opposition. It holds the title of being the best-selling and most widely distributed book in history. The Gideons International has handed out over 2 billion copies of the Bible and New Testaments since 1899 (www.gideons.org/about, accessed 8/11/21). Furthermore, the United Bible Societies distributed 160 million complete Bibles between 2010 and 2014, along with 428 million Scripture portions in 2014 alone (https://ministry.americanbible.org/bible-distribution, accessed 8/11/21). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Bible has been printed over 5 billion times (www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction, accessed 8/11/21).

However, the uniqueness of the Bible goes beyond its extensive circulation.

The Bible stands out in terms of authorship. While the Holy Spirit is considered the ultimate author of Scripture «For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.», (2 Peter 1:21), He worked through numerous human authors to compile the 66 books of the Bible. Approximately forty different writers over a span of about 1,500 years contributed to the collection of Scripture. These writers came from diverse backgrounds, time periods, occupations, and geographical locations. The authors ranged from kings, prophets, and fishermen to shepherds, servants, priests, and even a physician. This wide array of authors explains the various writing styles found in the Bible. Additionally, the Bible encompasses a range of genres, including poetry, prose, narrative, prophecy, and epistolary writing. The diverse authors and writing styles make the Bible distinct from other religious texts.Okay, here is the revised text:

It’s remarkable to discover that the entire collection of Scripture revolves around a common theme—God’s salvation of humanity—and highlights a central figure—Jesus Christ.

The Bible stands out in its content. Many religious writings promote good ethics and virtuous lifestyles. In contrast to other religious texts that promote good deeds to satisfy an unattainable deity, the Bible uniquely teaches that salvation is a gift from God that does not depend on human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9). While other religious texts lay down a set of laws and regulations to adhere to, the Bible offers freedom in Christ “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”, (John 8:36). The Bible reveals that Jesus is God “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”, (John 1:1) and that He saves us through His death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). No other sacred text asserts that a religious leader was resurrected (Matthew 28:5-7;Luke 24:5-6;John 20:20;1 Corinthians 15:4-8). The God of the Bible is not a distant, indifferent deity but the Creator of all things who is actively engaged in the lives of His creation (Psalm 139:7-12;Acts 17:25-27). No other religious writing offers the promise of eternal life “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”, (see 2 Timothy 3:16;1 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Bible is also unique from other religious books in that it contains prophecy. In fact, by one count, about 27 percent of the Bible is predictive (Payne, J. B., The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy, Baker Pub. Group, 1980, p. 675). This means that, when written, over one fourth of the Bible—more than one in four verses—was prophetic. Hundreds of the Bible’s detailed prophecies have come true in a literal fashion. No other religious book contains prophecy to this extent.

The Bible is unique in its language of writing. Most books are written in one language. For instance, the Quran of Islam was written entirely in Arabic, Hinduism’s Vedas were composed entirely in Sanskrit, and the Book of Mormon was written entirely in English. In contrast, the Bible’s authors used three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

The Bible is unique in its compilation. The Old Testament Scriptures were written as the prophets of God received God’s word, with little to no reliance on oral history. The New Testament Scriptures were written by eyewitnesses to the events soon after the events took place, within the first century. The manuscript evidence for the New Testament is overwhelming. There are at least 5,300 Greek, 10,000 Latin, and 9,000 miscellaneous copies of the New Testament extant today. This is in stark contrast to other ancient works, such as Aristotle’s Poetics, which only has five manuscripts preserved dating over a thousand years after the original was written. The Quran has very few early manuscripts, as the process of recording the Quran was controlled by Islamic leaders who burned any copies that contained variant readings. The Hindu Vedas were passed down orally over thousands of years before being written down.

The Bible is exceptional in its outcomes. God utilizes His Word, the Bible, to produce the outcomes of His choice «so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. », (Isaiah 55:11). One of these outcomes is transformed lives. Numerous individuals worldwide testify to freedom from substance abuse, destructive behaviors, falsehoods, theft, persistent anger, and more, as a result of adhering to biblical principles and having faith in Jesus Christ.

Distinguished among all religious writings, the Bible stands out by presenting Jesus Christ, God’s unique Son, as the exclusive path to salvation: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” «Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. », (John 14:6). Undoubtedly, there is no other book comparable to the Bible.