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Can We Count On
The Reliability Of The Bible?
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
—2 Timothy 3:16
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The interval then between the dates of original
composition (of the Bible) and the earliest evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible.
The last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures
have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity
of the books of the New Testament may be regarded
as finally established.”
—Sir Frederick G. Kenyon,
Principal Librarian of the British Museum
“There exists no other document from the ancient world
witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and historical testimonies and offering so superb an array of historical data of which an intelligent decision may be made.”
—Dr. Clark H.
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IS THE BIBLE RELIABLE?
The historical reliability of the Scriptures should be tested by the same criteria as that used on all other historical documents. This criteria includes 3 tests:
TEST #1: THE DOCUMENTS TEST
This test helps to determine that the Bible we now have is essentially what was originally written.
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the Qumran Valley in 1947 revealed over 40,000 inscribed fragments of the Bible. Among these fragments was found the entire book of Isaiah. The current book of Isaiah was proven to be 99.9 percent accurate with the Qumran Scrolls.
There are more than 24,000 manuscript copies or portions of the New Testament in existence.
No other ancient document even begins to approach such numbers and proofs.
In comparison, The Iliad by Homer is second with only 643 manuscripts that still survive. Most other manuscripts only number between 2 and 200.
There are biblical manuscripts that date from 250-300 years after their original writing.
Almost all copies of other ancient literature that we possess are between 800-1500 years older than their original date of writing.
TEST #2: THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST
This test helps to determine whether the written record is credible and to what extent.
The Bible claims to be written by those who were actually eyewitnesses themselves or who related the accounts of eyewitnesses of the actual events or teachings of Jesus (Luke 1:1-3; 2 Peter 3:16; 1 John 1:3).
The disciples could not afford to risk inaccuracies or manipulate the facts. They would have been at once exposed by those who would be only too glad to do so.
One of the strong points in the original apostolic preaching was the confident appeals to the knowledge of the hearers; they not only said, “We are witnesses of these things,” but also, “As you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22).
Had there been any tendency to depart from the facts in respect to their message, the possible presence of hostile witnesses in the audience would have severely damaged the credibility of their message.
Almost every apostle was martyred for his deep conviction of the truth of which he preached. Would they have given their lives for a lie or scam?
That a few simple men could in one generation have “invented” so powerful and appealing a personality as Jesus, so lofty an ethic, and so inspiring a mission of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Bible.
TEST #3: THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST
This test uses other sources of literature that are independent from the Bible to substantiate its accuracy, reliability, and authenticity. This is the most decisive test of evidence.
We have writings from Eusebius, the ancient historian; Papias, the Bishop of Hierapolis (A.D. 130); Iraneus, Bishop of Lyons (A.D. 180); and Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (disciple of John the Apostle). All confirm the message of the Bible.
Archeology provides extremely powerful external evidence and there has never been an archaeological discovery that has disproved or discredited the Bible. [For example: When the walls of Jericho were excavated, evidence showed that the walls fell outward, not inward. This proved that God intervened in the walls coming down. If an enemy army had attacked Jericho, the walls would have been battered down causing them to fall inward.]
Archaeologist Joseph Free writes, “Archeology has confirmed countless passages of the Bible which in the past have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known fact.”
In no other religious literature except the Bible do we find the accuracy of fulfilled prophecy.
IS THE BIBLE UNIQUE? ISN'T THE BIBLE JUST ANOTHER BOOK?
The Answer Is A Resounding No!
Here Is A Book:
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Written over a 1,500 year span.
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Written over 40 generations.
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Made up of 66 different books.
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Written by more than 40 authors from every walk of life including kings, peasants, philosophers, fisherman, poets, statesman, scholars, etc.
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Written in different places such as the wilderness, an island, a dungeon, a hillside, a palace, a prison, while traveling, others in the military.
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Written on three different continents.
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Written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek).
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Read by more people and published in more languages than any other book in history.
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More copies of its entirety have been produced than any other book.
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According to The Cambridge History of the Bible, no other book has known anything approaching this constant circulation.
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Its subject matter includes hundreds of controversial topics, yet the biblical authors spoke with harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation.
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The theme throughout the Bible is God’s love for man, man’s rebellion against God, and God’s redemption of man back to Himself through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
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It has withstood vicious attacks from its enemies as no other book has. Many have tried to burn it, ban it, and outlaw it — all to no avail!
The Bible is unique in facing its critics. There is no other book in all of literature like it. Again, a person looking for truth would certainly consider a book that has the above qualifications. |