The Bible Versus Other “Holy” Books—A Concise Answer
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, July 21, 2026 (Donate)
Many people ask, "How do we know the Bible is the Word of God when there are so many other so-called holy books?" At first
glance, it may seem like all religions simply offer different sacred writings
from which people choose. But the issue is much simpler than that.
Many books called "holy" do not even claim to be
the revealed Word of a personal God. Hindu Vedas, secular writings like Richard
Dawkins, mythologies, Others are merely collections of philosophical ideas,
moral teachings, or human traditions. They may be important within their
respective religions, but they do not claim the same kind of divine authority
that the Bible claims.
Many religions that add additional writings actually
acknowledge the Bible's authority. For example, Islam affirms much of the Bible
while adding the Qur'an. Mormonism accepts the Bible (while changes
about 4,000 verses) but also adds the Book of Mormon and other writings. Roman
Catholicism accepts the Bible while adding the apocrypha and papal authorities.
Jehovah’s Witnesses generally agree the Bible is true but add in Charles Taze
Russell’s writings and the Watchtower publications.
In these cases, the real question is not whether the Bible
is true, but whether these later additions come from God. In a unique instance,
Judaism accepts the Old Testament, subtracts the New Testament and adds the
Talmud (man-made interpretations) as an authority over the OT Bible.
The Bible teaches that God is the highest authority. Since
there is no authority greater than God, His Word cannot be validated by
something higher than Himself. Instead, God reveals Himself by His own final authority.
The Bible begins with the simple declaration, "In the beginning
God..." (Genesis 1:1). Scripture consistently presents itself as God's
flawless and truthful revelation (Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5).
Because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), His Word
will never contradict itself. This gives us a biblical test for any later
religious writing. New revelation must agree with previous revelation. The New
Testament affirmed the Old Testament in its foreseen fulfillment. Throughout
Scripture, later prophets built upon earlier revelation rather than replacing
or contradicting it. The Bereans were praised for testing Paul's teaching
against the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 17:11).
Therefore, any book claiming divine authority that
contradicts the Bible, contradicts itself, or contradicts reality cannot be
from the God of the Bible. Christians should carefully test every teaching by
Scripture rather than accepting human traditions or alleged new revelations.
When looking at works by Muhammad, Apocryphal writers, Charles Taze Russell,
Joseph Smith, Talmudic writers, and so on, they fall short of consistency with
the 66 books of God’s Word and are repeatedly contradictory to Scriptures.
Therefore, they are not God’s Word.
Is it that simple? Yes. If alleged new revelations
contradict the 66 books of the Bible, they are not from God and not new
Scripture.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing
evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as
a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers
News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science
was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one
year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and
scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over
25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
