Can We Trust the Bible?
Some think that the Bible is like any other Holy
book; But the truth is that no other collection of
books or writings is as nearly significant,
profoundly influential, and has endured thousands
of years in transcription and translation…against
much hostility.
The Bible is Unique.
• Some think the Bible is just
another collection of myths, stories,
and make believe. Many say it is
a book of propaganda, false
teachings, and lies. The scientific
community claims it is nothing
more than the memories,
folklore, and fables, of old men
from nomadic tribes of long ago.
There are many detractors,
many skeptics, and many
persecutors; many who deny its
truthfulness, its touch with reality,
and its application for today.
• That is an unwise choice to believe
these things…in light of one’s
salvation and destiny.
The Truth…
• The truth is, however no other Book, or collection of writings,
is as nearly significant, profoundly influential, and endured
over the centuries, with periods of all out persecution, and
remains 98% intact from the original manuscripts. (As
opposed to more than 10% corruption with other books!)
•The truth is, that only predetermined bias (choosing to be
against it), only ignorance, only misinformation, would ever
keep someone from realizing that no man, or series of
human beings could have put this together.
•There is simply nothing to compare it with, nothing that
comes close to the depth, the width, the height, and the
breath of this Book (Collection of books).
Two Verses that testify to the Bible’s
authority…
• “God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets;
has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom
He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1,2
• “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness; that the man of God
may complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work.” II Tim. 3:16,17
LET ‘S LOOK AT SOME (20) FACTS:
1) It was written over a 2,200 year span starting over 4000 years
ago with Moses about 2000 BC.
2) It was written over 40 generations. (Sometimes a second generation
may have collaborated on a work.)
3) It was written by 40 authors from every walk of life: Kings,
peasants, philosophers, fisherman, poets, statesman, scholars, political
leaders, a doctor, a rabbi, a military general, a prime minister...
4) It was written in different places: the wilderness, dungeon, prison,
palace, shepherds field, in a cave, on an island, on a mountain, on a
military campaign, while on tour...
5) It was written at different times: war, peace, triumph, defeat, in exile,
in glory, at home, during persecution, in distress, in victory, with visions,
dreams...
6) It was written on different materials: scrolls, parchments, stone,
paper, papyrus, vellum, pottery, wax & clay tablets, leather, by hand and
the finger of God...
7) It was written on three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa.
8) It was written in three major languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic.
9) It was translated into over 1200 languages of the earth in whole or in
part.
10) Subject matter includes hundreds of controversial
issues with a unique harmony and consistency unmatched by any
other writer or writers: Dealing with History, science, common
sense, wisdom, poetry, prophecy, law, moral absolutes, transgression,
religious worship, service, justice, morality, death, life, peace, war,
marriage, divorce, oppression, evil, freedom, money, friendship,
relationships, purpose, vanity, eternal life, redemption, blessings curses,
people, nations, races, gentile, Jews, Greeks, heresy, lies, truth, passion,
sex, murder, good news, the Messiah, the church, etc...
11) In publication: in 1966 over 80,000,000 copies in one year alone. Over
the centuries no other book has known anything like the constant
circulation and publication of the Bible. The numbers of printed Bibles
must be staggering!
12) This publication and circulation has been accomplished
under intense times of persecution from the Roman
Emperors to present day Communism. Man has tried to burn it,
cut it, ban it, outlaw it, censor it, otherwise tried to destroy it...
13) Despite this ferocious onslaught of destructive forces,
over the years no other Book has ignited so many
things: sermons, books, journals, discussions orations, magazines, news
accounts, works of art, artifacts, sculptures, volumes of encyclopedias,
dictionaries, commentaries handbooks, hymnals, etc...No
other book has
evoked so huge amount of literature in the history of manor
ever will...Jesus, who never wrote a book in his life
inspired more writings than probably all the other books
in the world combined!
14) IN ITS RELIABILITY OF TRANSMISSION: We have 5,300 known
Greek Mss.; 10,000 Latin; 9,300 other early versions with parts or
portions of copies numbering nearly 24,000. [In comparison, the closest
Scholars are
nearly embarrassed by the amount of material from
which to work.
secular document is Iliad by Homer with only 643 mss today].
NOTE: The earliest dates of these copies range from 25 years to 300 years
after the original. Compared to the closest secular documents is over 1,000
years after the original piece.
15) TEXTUAL ACCURACY: It has been calculated, and
most scholars agree, that 98.33% of today's
Bible is exactly like the original. The 2%
making up some spelling variations, or style,
or scribal lines none of which affect, subject
matter, doctrine, teaching, or
proof...Compared to as much as 10%
major deviations of secular work.
16) Textual accuracy is substantiated by various
translations. These translations, (Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, Aramaic, and the over 1200 over
languages) can be reconstructed to become
witnesses to the same origin.
17) Writings of the early Church Fathers: They so widely
quoted the scriptures of both the Old and
New Testaments that it has been said that if
the Bibles of all the world were to be lost, up
to 90% of the entire New Testament could be
reproduced from them.
18) The Dead Sea Scrolls which have been out of circulation since
100 years or so before Christ: Attest to the accuracy of most of the
Old Testament. Not all of the Old Testament books were found.
19) The Messoretic textual transcription: Scribes counted the letters,
counted the center letter of line, and of the whole book. Once they were
done with a copy it was considered to be equal to original, due to
detailed method of transcribing. They considered it Holy work, on
Holy Scriptures...
Sir Frederic Kenyon put it, that “The Christian can take the
whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or
hesitation that he holds in it the true Word of God,
handed down without essential loss from generation to
generation throughout the centuries.”
Sir Frederic George Kenyon was a British
paleographer, biblical and classical scholar.
Educated at Oxford , He was the director of the
British Museum. He was also the president of the
British Academy from 1917 to 1921.
In 1920, he was appointed president of the
British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were
found in Israel in caves hidden
and out of public use for over
2,000 years.
20) Furthermore, the Bible has another witness
to its uniqueness and accuracy that is the
Confirmation of Archeology. Over 2500 sites,
events, cities, and places have been found. Tens
of thousands of people, peoples, nations,
kingdoms and tribes have been verified.
(Halley's Bible Handbook, New
Revised Edition is an excellent
source to validate these
discoveries in archeology.)
Nelson Gluck, a renown
Jewish archaeologist, has said
there has never been a single
archaeological find that has
ever controverted a Biblical
claim.
Archeologists use the Bible to locate sites!
Sir William Ramsey
• Sir William Ramsay was one of the most skilled
archaeologists of his day He had rejected much of the
written New Testament account and was determined to
prove it false based on other writings of the day that
contradicted the Bible.
Sir William Ramsay
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1904
• He set out to prove the historian Luke wrong, hoping
to confirm what many archaeologists had once thought—
that the Bible was full of errors.
• Ramsay believed that the books of Luke and Acts had
actually been written in about AD.150 and therefore did not
bear the authenticity that a first-century document would have.
His archaeological journeys took him to 32 countries,
cities, and 9 islands.
• After some 15 years of intensive study he concluded,
“Luke is a historian of the first rank—this author should be placed
along with the very greatest of historians.
• Ramsay himself is regarded as one of the greatest
archaeologists of all time.
Archaeologists in the nineteenth century thought the Bible was full of errors. Some
popular misconceptions that Ramsay helped correct are as follows:
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•
•
•
•
Critics thought that there was no Roman census as indicated in Luke 2:1
Ramsey discovered there was a Roman census every 14 years
beginning with Emperor Augustus.
Critics thought that Quirinius was not governor of Syria at the time of Jesus’
birth as indicated in Luke 2:2.
Ramsey discovered that Quirinius was governor of Syria in about 7 b.c.
Critics thought that people did not have to return to their ancestral home as
indicated in Luke 2:3.
Ramsey discovered that people did have to return to their home city—
verified by an ancient Egyptian papyrus giving directions for conducting a
census.
Critics questioned the existence of the treasurer of the city of Corinth, Erastus
(Romans 16:23).
Ramsey discovered a city pavement in Corinth bearing the inscription
“Erastus, curator of public buildings, laid this pavement at his own
expense.”
Critics thought that Luke’s reference to Gallio as proconsul of Achaia was
wrong (Acts 18:12).
Ramsey discovered the Delphi inscription, which reads, “As Lucius
Junius Gallio, my friend and proconsul of Achaia...”
• Time and time again Ramsay’s search to find
evidence that Luke’s writing was in error turned up
evidence that it was, in fact, accurate.
• As a result, Ramsay eventually converted to Christianity His
archaeological research added strong support for
the authenticity of the Bible.
• His story is repeated over and over again. Modern
day examples would be skeptic Josh McDowell the
author of Evidence that Demands a Verdict; Ralph
O Muncaster, A Skeptic’s Search For God; Lee
Strobel, The Case for Christ…
21) Intermingled with Archeology and History, the Prophetic Word
again testifies to the uniqueness of scripture. No other
book has ever predicted the coming of its central figure,
like the Bible did with Jesus Christ. No other book
predicted the history of the world, and the many events in
between. A quick study of prophecy and history will affirm
anyone’s faith, shake anyone’s skepticism, and show forth
the uniqueness of the Bible.
In all there are as many as 456
specific prophecies concerning the
Christ in His first coming! Some
prophecies are repeated by different
prophets...
*Blaise Pascal in regards to the Messiah:
“If one man alone had made a
book of predictions about
Jesus Christ, as to the
time and the manner, and
Jesus Christ had come in
conformity to these
prophesies, this fact would
have infinite weight. But
there is much more here.
Here is a succession of
men during four thousand
years, who, consequently
and without variation,
come, one after another,
to foretell this same
event.”
Legacy:
-Pascal's law (an important
principle of hydrostatics), and as
mentioned above, Pascal's
triangle and Pascal's wager still
bear his name.
-Pascal's development of
probability theory was his most
influential contribution to
mathematics. Originally applied to
gambling, today it is extremely
important in economics,
especially in actuarial science.
THESE UNIQUE FACTS AND TESTIMONY ARE TRUE
BECAUSE GOD IS THE BIBLE’S AUTHOR, INSPIRER,
WATCHDOG, TRANSMITTER TRANSLATOR, AND
KEEPER...
• Now, it has been said, “That one can
be a Christian who believes in God,
but doesn’t necessarily believe the
Bible is inspired, or that the Bible is
God's Word, or merely that it contains
God’s Word in part...ONE IS NOT TRUSTING
GOD IF ONE DOESN’T TRUST GOD’S WORD IN THE
BIBLE...
This information was gleaned from Josh McDowell's
Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Vol. I,
[Chapter on Is the Bible Reliable?”]
The Principle of INERRANCY!
• This is the conviction that the Bible IS the Word
of God and is inerrant from the very first
verse to the last (In the original languages of Hebrew,
Greek & Aramaic).
• Is there evidence for such an outstanding
claim?
Two Proofs!
• There are two significant and irrefutable
proofs that God has given to us to know
that He inspired the writings of the Bible
and the Prophecy of the Prophets…
• Go to the icon for Two Proofs on this DVD to
find out more…