How can I know God exists?  Am I really expected to believe in something that I've never seen?  Am I supposed to just read the Bible stories and decide that they sound true?  If that's the case, I have a hard time believing because they don't sound true.  For example: Jonah and the Whale, Noah's Ark, and Joshua using horns to bring down the walls of Jericho.  There must be more to it; please teach me.
Sincerely,
Serious Skeptic

Dear Serious Skeptic,

The best way to show you that the Bible is accurate is to show the uniqueness of the Bible. The writers of the Bible admit that it is their hands that wrote it (Gal 6:11), but they also explain that God’s Spirit guided those hands (Eph 3:3-4). If that is true (and it is!), then the Bible would show signs that it was written by God and not man. Here are some simple reasons that the Bible is unique from every other book:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.

2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.

3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.

4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.

5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

These are only short answers to the question ‘Why should I believe the Bible?’, but they are a good start. If you want a more detailed answer, we recommend Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel as great reference material on this topic.   SB