My dad is an unbeliever. How do I show him that the Bible is real?

You describe what at first may seem like an impossible problem to solve.
How can you convince your father that the Bible is true without using the
Bible itself? It is not uncommon for skeptics to ask a believer to prove
Christianity without using the Bible. Because the Bible itself provides
the greatest evidence for Christianity, you will be handicapped in your
efforts for sure.

Nevertheless, you do have a few weapons you can use. First, it is possible
that your father may doubt the existence of God. If so, you could show him
a number of evidences for God, principally from science. I suggest you get
my book Is There a God? (click on the title and you will be sent to a
website where you can purchase the book) or go to the articles section at
this web site. You will find a great number of articles on Science and God
there, especially under the “God” category. There you will find articles
on design, and other subjects which use science to show that the universe
and life must have been created by an intelligent creator. If your father
can have his skeptical approach drawn into question by the obvious
evidence from science that God exists, he may be made open to considering
the God of the Bible.

I suggest you ask your father to be willing to do some reading. Perhaps if
you are really excited about a particular book, you may influence him to
read the same book. I would suggest my book Reasons for Belief: A Handbook
of Christian Evidence. . This book addresses some of the most common
objections and questions about the Bible, as well as providing some great
positive evidence for the Bible. Perhaps if your dad will not listen to
you preaching or teaching from the Bible, he may be willing to read a book
other than the Bible you are excited about.

Next, I would suggest you let your personal light shine. If you are, as it
is commanded in Matthew 5: “the light of the world,” you may just draw
your father into the light simply by your great example of love, courage,
character, honesty and so forth. It is my personal experience that by far
the greatest number of people come to Christ either through reading the
Bible, or even more commonly through the influence of seeing someone
living out the Christian life.

My God bless!

John Oakes, PhD