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To Trust or Not to TrustAwake!—2007 | November
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To Trust or Not to Trust
“Trust not to rotten planks,” wrote English dramatist William Shakespeare. Indeed, before stepping onto the wooden planks of a boat, you would want to be sure that the wood was not rotten.
THE words of Shakespeare echo the sentiments of wise King Solomon of ancient Israel, who some 3,000 years ago wrote: “A fool will believe anything; smart people watch their step.” (Proverbs 14:15, Today’s English Version) Yes, only a fool would go through life blindly accepting everything he hears, basing his decisions and actions on frivolous advice or baseless teachings. Misplacing our trust—like stepping onto rotten planks—can lead to disaster. You may wonder, ‘Is there any source of guidance that is worthy of our trust?’
Millions of people the world over place their full trust in an ancient book called the Holy Bible. They look to this book to direct their steps. They base their decisions on its advice and pattern their actions after its teachings. Are such individuals stepping, as it were, onto rotten planks? The answer to that question depends greatly on the answer to another question, Are there sound reasons to trust the Bible? This special issue of Awake! examines the evidence.
The purpose of this issue of Awake! is not to impose religious beliefs or views on you. Rather, it is intended simply to present the compelling evidence that has convinced millions that the Bible is worthy of their trust. After reading the articles that follow, you can decide for yourself whether the Bible merits your trust.
This subject deserves more than your passing interest. After all, if the Bible is, indeed, a trustworthy source of guidance from our Creator, then you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to consider what the Bible has to say.
First, though, let us mention some outstanding facts about the Bible. At the very least, it is truly a unique book.
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A Unique BookAwake!—2007 | November
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A Unique Book
“The Bible is the most widely distributed book in history.”—The World Book Encyclopedia.
OVER 550 years ago, the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg began printing with movable type. The first major book to come off his press was a Bible.a Since then, billions upon billions of books on every subject imaginable have been printed. The Bible, however, is by far the most exceptional of them all.
It is estimated that more than 4.7 billion Bibles (in whole or in part) have been printed. That is more than five times the number of copies of the next most widely distributed publication, Quotations From Chairman Mao.
More than 50 million copies of the Bible or portions of it were distributed recently in one year alone. “The Bible is the best-selling book of the year, every year,” says a report in The New Yorker magazine.
In whole or in part, the Bible has been translated into more than 2,400 languages. At least some of the Bible is available in the languages spoken by over 90 percent of the human family.
About half the Bible writers finished their writings before the birth of both Confucius, the renowned Chinese sage, and Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.
The Bible has had a profound influence on the arts, including some of the world’s greatest paintings, music, and literature.
The Bible has endured bans by governments, burnings by religious opposers, and attacks by critics. No other book in history has faced greater opposition—and survived.
The above-mentioned facts are outstanding, are they not? Of course, impressive details and statistics alone do not prove that the Bible is trustworthy. Next, we will examine five reasons why millions of people are convinced that the Bible is worthy of trust.
a Gutenberg’s Bible, also called the 42-line Bible, was a Latin translation and was completed in about 1455.
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