No book has as many character witnesses and recommendations as the Bible
A person who is on trial, as part of making the case for their innocence, can call on “character witnesses” to defend them. These witnesses are friends or notable community members, who, on taking the stand, give testimony to the good character of the one on trial. Under oath to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” they wax eloquent about the nobleness of the accused’s character and talk about all the good things their friend is responsible for making happen. In a way, the Bible has its character witnesses too, and they are not a few. Significantly, those who have come forward in its defense are among the noblest and most respected figures in human history—many people who have shaped our world have stood up to give evidence of the wisdom, truth, value, and power of the Word of God.
The testimony of founding fathers and Presidents of the United States
The United States of America was founded on the principles of Christianity. Many of the original settlers came to the shores of this land looking for religious freedom. America’s Founding Fathers (and mothers) had deep knowledge of the text of the Old and the New Testaments. Their writings and speeches abound with references to the Bible. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that humankind is “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The first amendment to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The three branches of the U.S. government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) are derived from Isaiah 33:22 which says that the Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King. American history is full of our greatest minds explaining the importance of the Bible.
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”—George Washington, 1st President
“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”—Patrick Henry, Founding Father
“The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the Word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”—John Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
“I have always said that a studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.”—Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to The Ten Commandments of God.”—James Madison, 4th President
“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year.”—John Quincy Adams, 6th President
“[The Bible] is the rock on which our Republic rests.”—Andrew Jackson, 7th President
“If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity”—Daniel Webster, American Secretary of State under three presidents
“In regards to this great Book [the Bible], I have but to say it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are found portrayed in it.”—Abraham Lincoln, 16th President
“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man.”—Abraham Lincoln, 16th President
“It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men’s lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.”—Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President
“I am sorry for men who do not read the Bible every day. I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and pleasure”—Woodrow Wilson, 28th President
“[The United States is] founded on the principles of Christianity.”—Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President
“The fundamental basis of this Nation’s law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings which we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul.”—Harry S. Truman, 33rd President
“Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”—Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President
“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face. Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”—Ronald Reagan, 40th President
The recommendations of other world leaders
To the testimony of such significant leaders in the history of our own country we can add the evidence of great rulers and statesmen of Europe who have also felt the Bible’s tremendous influence.
“The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it.”—Napoleon I, Emperor of France
“Tell your prince that this Book (the Bible) is the secret of England’s greatness.”—Queen Victoria, to an African ambassador who had asked why England was such a great nation
“We rest with assurance upon ‘The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture’.”—Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, and first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States
“To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this Treasure House, the Bible?”—Queen Elizabeth II
What scientists say about the Bible and Christianity
In modern times, it is often said that science and religion do not mix. But the history of science is full of scientists who were inspired in their scientific quest by their knowledge of the Bible and who found no problem with reconciling their scientific discoveries with their Christian faith. Indeed, it was the belief in a Creator that pushed early scientists to discover the immutable laws of His creation. Without Christianity, it is doubtful there ever would have been a scientific revolution.
“There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error: first, the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the Creatures, which express His power.”—Francis Bacon, who helped to establish the “Scientific Method”
“We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever. No sciences are better attested than the religion of the Bible.“—Sir Isaac Newton, responsible for the discovery of gravity and the creation of Calculus
“O God, I am thinking Thy thoughts after Thee.”—Johannes Kepler, astronomer and cosmologist
“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.”—Louis Pasteur, biologist and chemist who discovered the principles of vaccination
“The conduct of God, who disposes all things kindly, is to put religion into the mind by reason, and into the heart by grace. But to will to put it into the mind and heart by force and threats is not to put religion there, but terror.”—Blaise Pascal, mathematician and physicist, who developed theory of probability
“It is His work,” he reminded them; “and He alone carried me thus far through all my trials and enabled me to triumph over the obstacles, physical and moral, which opposed me. ‘Not unto us, not unto us, by to Thy name, O Lord, be all the praise’.”—Samuel Morse, inventor
“When with bold telescopes I survey the old and newly discovered stars and planets when with excellent microscopes I discern the inimitable subtlety of nature’s curious workmanship; and when, in a word, by the help of anatomical knives, and the light of chemical furnaces, I study the book of nature I find myself oftentimes reduced to exclaim with the Psalmist, How manifold are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all!”—Robert Boyle, chemist, physicist and inventor
“Finite man cannot begin to comprehend an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and infinite God … I find it best to accept God through faith, as an intelligent will, perfect in goodness and wisdom, revealing Himself through His creation.”—Werner Von Braun, aerospace engineer and rocket scientist
“The flowers’ leaves…serve as bridal beds which the Creator has so gloriously arranged, adorned with such noble bed curtains, and perfumed with so many soft scents that the bridegroom with his bride might there celebrate their nuptials with so much the greater solemnity.”—Carl Linnaeus, biologist and zoologist who is called the “Father of Taxonomy”
Philosophers support the Bible
History’s greatest philosophical minds have wrestled with the existence of God, and many philosophers have decided to trust in the God of the Bible.
“The Bible is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by God on the children of men. It has God for its Author, Salvation for its end, and Truth without any mixture for its matter. It is all pure, all sincere; nothing too much; nothing wanting.”—John Locke, English philosopher
“The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.”—Immanuel Kant. German philosopher
“The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.”—Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher
What famous authors and poets say about the Bible
Scattered throughout Western literature are allusions and references to the Bible. In times past, children learned to read from the pages of the Holy Book.
“Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields. God’s Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.”—Noah Webster, author of Webster’s Dictionary
“Western literature has been more influenced by the Bible than any other book.”—Thomas B. Macaulay, English historian
“The most learned, acute, and diligent student cannot, in the longest life, obtain an entire knowledge of the BIBLE. The more deeply he works the mine, the richer and more abundant he finds the ore.”—Sir Walter Scott, Scottish poet and novelist
“Bible reading is an education in itself.”—Lord Tennyson, poet laureate of Great Britain
“The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.”—Charles Dickens, English novelist
“England has two books, the Bible and Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare, but the Bible made England.”—Victor Hugo, French poet, novelist, and dramatist
Testimony from preachers and theologians
Of course, the Bible has inspired preachers and theologians. What do they have to say about the Word of God?
“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”—Saint Augustine (of Hippo), Early Christian theologian and author
“For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.”—Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation
“I am a creature of a day. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God. I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book.”—John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement
“The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.”—George Mueller, Christian evangelist and missionary
“God’s Word is as good as He is. There is an old saying that a man is as good as his word. Well, God is as good as His Word. His character is behind what He has said.”—J. Vernon McGee, Presbyterian minister
While so many notable character witnesses attest to the trustworthiness of the Bible, millions and millions of people who have no claim to fame could do so as well. The Bible is the best-selling book in history. There is no other book that has influenced more people or been responsible for changing more lives. The Bible is the foundational text of Judeo-Christian society. Without the Bible, the morals and values of Western society and democracy would not exist. The sheer number of lives the Bible has impacted prove it is a divine book.
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About the Author: Dr. Daniel King is a missionary evangelist who has traveled to over seventy nations in his quest for souls. His goal is to lead 1,000,000 people to Jesus every year through massive Gospel Festivals, distribution of literature, and leadership training. Because of his experience and research on evangelism, he is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in mass evangelism. As an evangelist, he has a deep interest in using apologetics to convince skeptics that God is real.
