How We Got the Bible 3 - Version 2.0

8/14/2019 How We Got the Bible 3 - Version 2.0

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How We GotHow We Got

The BibleThe BiblePart 3

Reliability


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The ReliabilityThe Reliability

Of the BibleOf the Bible


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Intense ScrutinyIntense Scrutiny

Around the Middle of the 19th

century Scholars commonly

claimed that the Most importantbooks of the NT including the

Gospels and Acts, did not exist

before the middle of the 2nd

century.


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Intense ScrutinyIntense Scrutiny

F.C. Baur - Tubingen School, Germany.

Walter Cassel Supernatural Religion, 1874.


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The Weight of EvidenceThe Weight of Evidence


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Caesars Gallic War

58-50 B.C.

10 Good Copies

Earliest is 900 years

after Caesars day.


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142 Books of theRoman History of Livy

59 B.C. A.D. 17

Of the 142 books, only 35survive today

We only have 22 copies of

those books

Earliest copy is from the 4th

century


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The Histories of

Tacitus A.D. 100

Out of 14 books

Only 4 survive

today


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The Annals of Tacitus

Of 16 books

Only 10 survive in full

and 2 in part.


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The History of

Thucydides 450-400

B.C.

8 full MSS, the earliest

dating A.D. 900

A few scraps of papyrus

from the 1st century.


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What to Look ForWhat to Look For

The Number of Copies

The Proximity to the Event


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The New Testament

5000 Greek MSS of the New Testament

Earliest, most important Date c. A.D. 350

Codex Vaticanus - Vatican

Codex Sinaiticus - British Musem


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Codex VaticanusCodex Vaticanus


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Codex SinaiticusCodex Sinaiticus


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The New Testament

Papyrus Fragments discovered in the 20

th

Century

Fragments of an Unknown Gospel 150 A.D.

Fragments of Papyrus Codex containing John

28:31-33 A.D. 130


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Fragments of an UnknownFragments of an Unknown

GoseplGosepl


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Fragments of JohnFragments of John


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Early Church Fathers (quotes and allusions)

The New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers,

Oxford Historical Society, 1905


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Archaeology

Existence of Hittites

The Isaiah Scroll (Dead Sea)

Erastus inscription


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Extent of the Hittite EmpireExtent of the Hittite Empire


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Isaiah ScrollIsaiah Scroll


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Erastus InscriptionErastus Inscription


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The Real ObjectionThe Real Objection

Not the Facts but the Implications

The Fantastic Claims and Demands


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Philosophical ArgumentsPhilosophical Arguments

For ReliabilityFor Reliability


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Consistency:

Is the Bible Full of Contradictions?


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Credibility of Witnesses:

How Do You Test Someones Testimony?


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Self Defeating Testimony?:

Is there anything in the story that seems to

work against it?


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Changed Lives:

Test of Divine Revelation


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What Can We ProveWhat Can We Prove

We Have the testimonies of those who

were closest to Jesus.

They Literally believed He was who He

said He Was.

Enemies could not easily counter his

claims.


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How We GotHow We Got

The BibleThe Bible

Part 3

Reliability

Documents

How We Got the Bible 3 - Version 2.0