Christianity fundamentally begins and ends with the Bible. All true knowledge about God is contained within its pages, serving as the sole permanent record of God's revelation to mankind. Within it, we find comprehensive instruction on doctrine, law, and morality, revealing standards for human harmony. It illustrates the depths of human depravity and the heights of potential, showing how God can elevate us from one to the other. A converted Christian bases every facet of life on the words written in this book. Billions recognize the importance of owning the Holy Bible, making it the world's bestselling book, with millions of free copies distributed globally. Yet, despite its accessibility, humanity's moral fiber remains weak, presenting a paradox. A major key to a successful and abundant life is within reach, yet most dismiss it as outdated and irrelevant. Few genuinely study or believe in it, often giving it mere lip-service without considering it authoritative. God instructs us to test all things and hold fast to what is good, challenging us to verify the Bible's claims and put its instructions into practice in our lives. Proving God's Word must be a personal endeavor to erase all doubts about its validity, requiring time, work, and the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit to reveal its richness and truth. Only then can we truly understand and believe. The Bible makes authoritative claims about itself, stating that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, literally God-breathed, a direct product of God's mind and being. Nothing has crept into the Bible that God did not intend, and nothing He desired has been omitted. God employed His Spirit to inspire His servants, the prophets and apostles, who recorded His revelations for successive generations. God has spoken through various means, including directly, in visions and dreams, and through His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to reveal the Father. As the Word, He is the Spokesman for God, communicating His will and the way to live in relationship with Him. The same Being who created all that exists inspired the words of Scripture, and since we owe our existence to Him, we also owe obedience to His Word in our Bibles. The Bible claims to provide truth to humanity, with Jesus Himself declaring that God's Word is truth. God considers every word He speaks or inspires to be true, guaranteeing the best instruction for us. Every word of God is pure, tested and refined like silver, of the highest quality to guide us toward His Kingdom. Jesus affirms the enduring authority of Scripture, stating that not even the smallest part will pass away until all is fulfilled, and that its authority cannot be diminished or annulled. The most convincing proof of the Bible's validity and authority lies in the ongoing relationship we build with God, seeing Him work in and through us as we journey toward His Kingdom.

The Bible, as the written Word of God, stands at the core of a deeply personal foundation, shaping life and beliefs from the earliest memories. Its rejection feels like a dismissal of an entire existence and purpose. However, a school of biblical archeology and history, known as minimalists, consistently questions the Bible's authenticity. These minimalists, though a small and extreme group, gain disproportionate attention from the media due to their unconventional theories, overshadowing their more moderate colleagues. Additionally, a book review by Larry Saltzman for PalestineChronicle.com celebrates the idea that the Bible is being revealed as a blend of propaganda, historical fragments, and Canaanite myths, citing the work of minimalist archaeologist Israel Finkelstein from Tel Aviv University, who is seen as a revolutionary in the field.

The Bible stands as a literary marvel, a glorious work of art surpassing the brilliance of any secular creation. Its artistry serves a purpose beyond mere aesthetics, aiming to impact the reader profoundly. God inspired the writers of His Word to compose each verse with thoughtful consideration, ensuring the language matches the intended meaning. A staggering 217 different figures of speech, each used multiple times, enrich Scripture, demonstrating deliberate stylistic choices to convey precise messages. Poetry, comprising a significant portion of the Bible, frequently employs figures of speech to express emotions and ideas through carefully chosen words. Parallelism, a common figure throughout Scripture, occurs over multiple lines where the first line establishes an idea, and subsequent lines expand or intensify its meaning. Chiasmus, another poetic form, presents ideas in an inverted order, creating a complex structure that reassures readers of God's consistent nature. Both parallelism and chiasmus describe God's character and justice, expressing His unfailing promises and unchanging faithfulness. Parallelism conveys consistency, assuring that in God's Word, all things fit together. Chiasmus reinforces the certainty that God's promises will come to fruition, evident in larger scriptural patterns where initial ideals are restored by the end. When studying the Bible, one engages with the inspired Word of God, where nothing is haphazard or careless. No work of literature matches the beauty, complexity, and depth of Scripture. Understanding how God inspired the use of figures of speech allows a deeper exploration of the meaning within His Word.

The Bible remains the world's bestselling book, yet it is often left unread. Despite ninety percent of American homes containing at least one Bible, and many having three or more, the dust settles on its cover far longer than it once did. Availability is not the issue, as free versions of Scripture are easily accessible online or on smartphones. However, only nineteen percent of regular worship service attendees in the United States read the Bible daily, while a nearly equal percentage never read it at all. The majority, sixty-three percent, read it only occasionally. In other nations with Christian heritage, the statistics are similarly disheartening. In Australia, only two in ten professed Christian churchgoers read the Bible daily. In Canada, just eleven percent of churchgoers read it every day, while thirty-four percent never do. In the United Kingdom, thirty-five percent of regular church attendees read their Bibles daily, but forty percent do not read it at all. Biblical literacy among younger generations is alarmingly low. In a survey of British children aged eight to fifteen, just under a third did not know that the birth of Jesus Christ is from Scripture. Forty-one percent failed to identify the story of David and Goliath as biblical, and fifty-nine percent did not recognize the origins of the stories of Jonah and the great fish or Samson and Delilah. Twenty-three percent had never heard of Noah's ark, and eighty-five percent were unaware of King Solomon. Historically, the Bible formed the foundation of education for many, with children learning to read from it and society expecting familiarity with its stories and teachings. This common knowledge once provided accepted boundaries for behavior and belief. The decline in biblical literacy has led to a loss of these boundaries, allowing for the embrace of extreme views. The Bible, as inspired by God, is useful for teaching what is true, revealing what is wrong in our lives, straightening us out, and helping us do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us to do good to everyone. It serves as a force for good, offering personal instruction to guide us toward maturity, providing solutions to problems, and urging us to live with integrity. As Jesus Christ says, knowing the truth brings freedom, but this requires hearing, reading, studying, and thinking about Scripture to receive its benefits and to know God, the essence of eternal life. As God's people, we are called to grow in biblical knowledge, evaluating how well we know Scripture, how often we read and study it, whether we have memorized parts of it, and if we can recall verses in relevant situations. We must strive to be unlike the world, which is losing its familiarity with the Bible, and instead grow in our understanding of it.