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What God’s Word says about
The Bible
Making More and Better Disciples of Jesus Christ
Is the Bible unique–or just another book? THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING NO! HERE IS A BOOK:
• Writtenovera1,500yearspan.• Writtenover40generations.• Madeupof66differentbooks.• Writtenbymorethan40authorsfrom
everywalkoflifeincludingkings,peasants,philosophers,fisherman,poets,statesman,scholars,etc.
• Writtenindifferentplacessuchasthewilderness,anisland,adungeon,ahillside,apalace,aprison,whiletraveling,othersinthemilitary.
• Writtenonthreedifferentcontinents,inthreelanguages(Hebrew,Aramaic,Greek).
• Readbymorepeopleandpublishedinmorelanguagesthananyotherbookinhistory.
• Morecopiesofitsentiretyhavebeenproducedthananyotherbook.
• AccordingtoTheCambridgeHistoryoftheBible,nootherbookhasknownanythingapproachingthisconstantcirculation.
• Itssubjectmatterincludeshundredsofcontroversialtopics,yetthebiblicalauthorsspokewithharmonyandcontinuityfromGenesistoRevelation.
• ThethemethroughouttheBibleisGod’sloveforman,man’srebellionagainstGod,andGod’sredemptionofmanbacktoHimselfthroughfaithinHisSonJesusChrist.
• Ithaswithstoodviciousattacksfromitsenemiesasnootherbookhas.Manyhavetriedtoburnit,banit,andoutlawit—alltonoavail!
THEBIBLEISUNIQUEinfacingitscritics.Thereisnootherbookinallofliteraturelikeit.Again,apersonlookingfortruthwouldcertainlyconsiderabookthathastheabovequalifications.
Can We Count On The Reliability Of The Bible?
“AllScriptureisGod-breathedandisusefulfor
teaching,rebuking,correctingandtraininginrighteousness.”—2Timothy3:16
“Theintervalthenbetweenthedatesoforiginalcomposition(oftheBible)andtheearliestevidencebecomessosmallastobeinfactnegligible.ThelastfoundationforanydoubtthattheScriptureshavecomedowntoussubstantiallyastheywerewrittenhasnowbeenremoved.BoththeauthenticityandthegeneralintegrityofthebooksoftheNewTestamentmayberegardedasfinallyestablished.”—SirFrederickG.Kenyon,PrincipalLibrarianoftheBritishMuseum
“Thereexistsnootherdocumentfromtheancientworldwitnessedbysoexcellentasetoftextualandhistoricaltestimoniesandofferingsosuperbanarrayofhistoricaldataofwhichanintelligentdecisionmaybemade.”—Dr.ClarkH.Pinnock
Is the Bible reliable?ThehistoricalreliabilityoftheScripturesshouldbetestedbythesamecriteriaasthatusedonallotherhistoricaldocuments.Thiscriteriaincludes3tests:
TEST #1: THE DOCUMENTS TEST
ThistesthelpstodeterminethattheBiblewenowhaveisessentiallywhatwasoriginallywritten.TheDeadSeaScrollsdiscoveredintheQumranValleyin1947revealedover40,000inscribedfragmentsoftheBible.AmongthesefragmentswasfoundtheentirebookofIsaiah.ThecurrentbookofIsaiahwasproventobe99.9percentaccuratewiththeQumranScrollsTherearemorethan24,000manuscriptcopiesor
portionsoftheNewTestamentinexistence.Nootherancientdocumentevenbeginstoapproachsuchnumbersandproofs.Incomparison,TheIliadbyHomerissecondwithonly643manuscriptsthatstillsurvive.Mostothermanuscriptsonlynumberbetween2and200.Therearebiblicalmanuscriptsthatdatefrom250-300yearsaftertheiroriginalwriting.Almostallcopiesofotherancientliteraturethatwepossessarebetween800-1500yearsolderthantheiroriginaldateofwriting.
TEST #2: THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST
Thistesthelpstodeterminewhetherthewrittenrecordiscredibleandtowhatextent.
TheBibleclaimstobewrittenbythosewhowereactuallyeyewitnessesthemselvesorwhorelatedtheaccountsofeyewitnessesoftheactualeventsorteachingsofJesus(Luke1:1-3;2Peter3:16;1John1:3).
Thedisciplescouldnotaffordtoriskinaccuraciesormanipulatethefacts.Theywouldhavebeenatonceexposedbythosewhowouldbeonlytoogladtodoso.Oneofthestrongpointsintheoriginalapostolicpreachingwastheconfidentappealstotheknowledgeofthehearers;theynotonlysaid,“Wearewitnessesofthesethings,”butalso,“Asyouyourselvesknow”(Acts2:22).
Hadtherebeenanytendencytodepartfromthefactsinrespecttotheirmessage,thepossiblepresenceofhostilewitnessesintheaudiencewouldhaveseverelydamagedthecredibilityof
theirmessage.Almosteveryapostlewasmartyredforhisdeepconvictionofthetruthofwhichhepreached.Wouldtheyhavegiventheirlivesforalieorscam?
Thatafewsimplemencouldinonegenerationhave“invented”sopowerfulandappealingapersonalityasJesus,soloftyanethic,andsoinspiringamissionofhumanbrotherhood,wouldbeamiraclefarmoreincrediblethananyrecordedintheBible.
TEST #3: THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE TEST
ThistestusesothersourcesofliteraturethatareindependentfromtheBibletosubstantiateitsaccuracy,reliability,andauthenticity.Thisisthemostdecisivetestofevidence.WehavewritingsfromEusebius,theancienthistorian;Papias,theBishopofHierapolis(A.D.130);Iraneus,BishopofLyons(A.D.180);andPolycarp,BishopofSmyrna(discipleofJohntheApostle).AllconfirmthemessageoftheBible.
ArcheologyprovidesextremelypowerfulexternalevidenceandtherehasneverbeenanarchaeologicaldiscoverythathasdisprovedordiscreditedtheBible.[Forexample:WhenthewallsofJerichowereexcavated,evidenceshowedthatthewallsfelloutward,notinward.ThisprovedthatGodintervenedinthewallscomingdown.IfanenemyarmyhadattackedJericho,thewallswouldhavebeenbattereddowncausingthemtofallinward.]ArchaeologistJosephFreewrites,“Archeologyhas
confirmedcountlesspassagesoftheBiblewhichinthepasthavebeenrejectedbycriticsasunhistoricalorcontradictorytoknownfact.”InnootherreligiousliteratureexcepttheBibledowefindtheaccuracyoffulfilledprophecy.
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