Critics of the Bible often decry it as a massive piece of
fiction. Some even deny that Jesus existed at all. The Christian response is
often to launch into an effort to convince the non-believer that the Bible is
true and, of course, it is. But
angrily rushing at critics is probably not the best way to respond.
It is a provable fact that the Bible is more historically
attested than many ancient secular documents which are themselves almost
universally accepted as genuine.
Whether or not the Bible is accepted as a supernatural book, it is
increasing being proven as a historically accurate document. The kings and kingdoms mentioned
actually existed. Many of the places
mentioned have been found by digging where the Bible says they were. The problem for the Christian apologist
is that these arguments will probably fall on skepticism-deafened ears.
I recently found an old book from 1946 which gave me an
insight about which I had never before thought. The book is How to Read the Bible, by Dr. Edgar Goodspeed. Dr. Goodspeed points out that the
parables of Jesus were fictional.
Jesus was a master storyteller; it was his “favorite and characteristic
vehicle.” He used his stories,
some of which are as short as a sentence in length, to teach spiritual insights
in a simple and clear manner.
A very good opening to start with a non-believer might be
Jesus’s parables. Once the
non-believer is interested in the parables, the Christian should point out that
though the parables are clearly fictional, the Bible itself is historically
based. Even if the non-believer
cannot be brought to a place of conviction, they may at least come to a place
where they recognize that the events depicted in the Bible actually happened.
This is progress which may later bear fruit.
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