Something For the Atheist To Consider

Question: If the God of the Bible does not exist, then how has the Bible gained and sustained the status of the #1 book ever sold in history?

Historically speaking, the Bible was written in a primarily Jewish context, including the majority of the New Testament. The Bible starts at around 1500BC with the writings of Moses and ends around 100AD with the book of Revelation. That's old. And yet, it has been, and continues to be, the number one selling book in the world.

It is an amazing feat that a book written by its original authors, to its original audience, in its original contexts could spread, be understood, believed and lived out in the huge variety of generations and cultures around the world since 100AD. This is literary-sociological miracle. No other book has come close to having accomplished what the Bible has accomplished in terms of reach.

So, back to our question: if there is no God, how did the Bible become, and continues to be, the #1 selling book in the world?

Some atheistic answers would be:

1.Somehow, it just happened to become the most inspiring collection of writings ever produced by man.

2.It addresses all kinds of issues that all humans deal with and desire answers for. Most significantly, its unique approach to salvation/eternal life. Therefore, it has gained an amazing following for centuries in cultures all over the globe.

3.It became a tool that powerful people both in church and the state discovered could be used to control people. [NOTE: This is the most popular response from atheists]

4.Because of all these reasons, and more, it became the most powerful delusion ever produced in mankind; and still is.

A Christian rebuttal would include:

1.What is the likelihood of the Bible becoming the #1 selling book in history simply by human effort? This is a logical question to consider, especially since no other book has come close to accomplishing this feat. Answer: nearly zero. Thus, I am not confident that mankind has the ability to put together such an amazingly successful, exclusively humanly-constructed delusion – if that’s all it is.

2.The atheist should consider this: what would it specifically, logistically take for one book to accomplish this feat of being the #1 book ever sold in history? Example: name any hugely popular book today that has global recognition such as Lord of the Rings. What would one have to do to get such a book to accomplish what the Bible has been able to do in terms of historical and global popularity and sustainability? Ask an expert book publisher what sort of combination of things would need to take place to reach this goal and sustain it to this very day. I assume the answer would be that this task is unattainable.

3.A real option to consider: A divine God, like the one described in the Bible, could be the cause of the Bible being the #1 selling book in history.