A few basic questions about books throw a most interesting light on the Bible:
How many books are there that run to over half a million words?
There are a few super-long novels that most people have never heard of. Among the famous ones, War and Peace, Les Miserables, and Gone With the Wind all come in at around a half-million. Dickens’ David Copperfield, his longest work, clocks over a third of a million. The Book of Mormon is a little shorter. The Koran and the Bhagavad Gita both have less than a tenth of a million. Marx’s Das Kapital reaches about two-thirds of a million. Mission Earth by L Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, reaches over a million. The Bible has over three-quarters of a million. Not unique, but very special.
How many books were written in two different languages?
Silly question! Who would produce a book in two languages? However, the Bible was written in both Hebrew and Greek. It is probably the only book to be written in two completely different languages.
On the invention of the printing press, which book was most printed?
The Bible.
What is the most printed book today?
The Bible.
Which book has been translated into the greatest number of different languages?
The Bible.
Which books have their own special paper?
The Bible. It’s a very highly specified paper, typically about 30gsm, always known in the print industry in the past simply as “Bible Paper.”
Which books have people been willing to kill or die for?
The Koran. The Bible. Das Kapital. Mein Kampf. A number of others.
Which books have people been willing to die for, but not to kill for?
The Bible.
Which books were written partly in Palaces, partly in Prison?
The Bible. Possibly some others.
Which books have taken thousands of years to write?
Silly again! How can somebody plan to write a book over thousands of years? However, there’s the Bible.
Which book holds the record for being burned the most?
Any guesses? The Bible?
Which book has gathered the most dust ever?
Has to be the Bible!
And finally, (with some minimal reading) of all books written over 1,000 years ago, which speak in detail about key issues in the World today?
No surprise! Middle East, Judaism, Israel, the Temple rebuilding . . . .
Now add in what the Science tells us . . .
Check out the Science Page if you haven’t already. It is very clear that the exquisite design seen everywhere in living things must have a Designer. Chance alone would not even come up with something as simple as a chair. And billions of years does not get round the problem, since Time is the enemy of Order (Second Law of Thermodynamics.)
Given the existence of a Creator who produced such an astounding Creation, it is barely conceivable that He would not wish to communicate with it. Hence we should expect there to be some outstanding candidate for such communication. Something preserved through time, and at least potentially accessible to all people, in both non-digital and digital ages. A book would be the natural choice, but it would have to stand out clearly from every other book ever published. The Bible does. You don’t even need to read it to know that it is the Prime Candidate for God’s communication with us.