This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

2 Corinthians 13:1 (Spoke 3, Cycle 3)

The Divine Unity of the Holy Bible

One of the most popular and most powerful apologetic arguments is based on the thematic and doctrinal unity of the Holy Bible. The beauty of this argument is that it preaches the Gospel even as it proves its Divine Origin, since the thematic unity of the Bible is in found in the message of the Gospel. This argument has been used for some centuries. I do not know when it originated, but one of the ealier articulations I have found is from Chapter 7  of Arthur Pink's book "The Divine Inspiration of the Bible," published in 1917. Here is the first paragraph:

The manner in which the Bible has been produced argues against its unity. The Bible was penned on two continents, written in three languages, and its composition and compilation extended through the slow progress of sixteen centuries. The various parts of the Bible were written at different times and under the most varying circumstances. Parts of it were written in tents, deserts, cities, palaces and dungeons; in times of imminent danger and in seasons of ecstatic joy. Among its writers were judges, kings, priests, prophets, patriarchs, prime ministers, herdsmen, scribes, soldiers, physicians and fishermen. Yet despite these varying circumstances, conditions and workmen, the Bible is one Book, behind its many parts there is an unmistakable organic unity. It contains one system of doctrine, one code of ethics, one plan of salvation and one rule of faith.

This argument has been adapted and augmented by many Christian Apologetists. Here is the

Christians are often asked, How do you know that the Bible is the Word of God? One succinct answer we can give is that the Bible bears God's fingerprint: order. Order involves a multiplicity of objects or parts that are unified according to a definite plan. The existence of order, or design, implies that an intelligent designer has been at work. Order is observable in the realms of science and ethics and points to the fact that an intelligent, personal, creative, powerful God exists. Order is also evident in the Bible. It is a multiplicity of books, written by many authors, over many years, in many literary styles, that contain many stories about many people, places, things, and events. It also displays an intricate, multilayered unity. It is one story, about one God, who is administering one plan of salvation, that is centered around one person (Christ), who is attested to by one body of signs, and who is worshiped by one people, according to one worldview. Like a spiral galaxy or a hummingbird’s wing or a strand of DNA, the order found in the Bible could not have been created by a mere mortal, but only by God.

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