Is the bible a true and reliable document

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IS THE BIBLE A TRUE AND RELIABLE DOCUMENT?

Taken from “How We Got the Bible and Why You Can Trust It” by Mike Taliaferro

Introduction

The Bible has been under heavy attack for the last two centuries. Scholars and professors have assailed

the manuscripts as unreliable, the authors as inaccurate, and the characters of the Bible as myths. Some

say Jesus never lived, that King David was a fireside legend and that Moses was an illiterate wandered.

Others say that the story of Jesus was written hundreds of years after the events actually took place.

Today some still teach that the Bible is a hopeless hash of traditions handed down through the

centuries, a weak historical document whose value is somewhere between Aesop’s fables and Greek

mythology. Professors from the late 1700’s and 1800’s pound away at the Bible’s apparent problems as

an historical document. They assailed the Scriptures for being written far too late to be accurate. The

critics had the hammer raised over the last few nails in the Bible’s coffin.

Chief among the critics was the German writer F. C. Baur, who along with several other theologians,

painted a bleak picture for the reliability of the Scriptures. Believing the New Testament to have been

written down close to the year 200, these theologians taught that it was impossible for the New

Testament to be anything other than myth.

Although their theories are still making the rounds today, they have been shown conclusively to be

wrong. Dead wrong. History, archaeology, and the advances in manuscripts have beaten back these

attacks. It is now clear that the Bible is accurate historically. It is accurate culturally. The manuscripts

give us the exact words of the authors. There has been virtually no corruption of the text. The smoke has

cleared and the Bible is still standing tall. Whether you believe the book yourself is your decision. But

the Bible is the accurate account of the apostle’s testimony. Few would deny that today.

Quietly, and without fanfare, the Bible has proven itself to be far stronger than any of the critics

believed.

Without a doubt, it is the greatest book ever written. Consider these facts.......................

The Bible was written over a 1500 year span (1400 BC to 80 AD), across 40 generations.

It was written on 3 different continents, in 3 languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek)

50 authors from every walk of life, including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen,

statesmen and scholars, etc. contributed to the scriptures

It has hundreds of prophecies fulfilled through the centuries

It is completely accurate both historically and culturally

All these writers, across all those centuries, stand completely in agreement, with one message.

In regards to topics such as truth, purpose, mission, God, man, reality, sin, righteousness, origin

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and destiny, the Bible is totally unified. Just try getting 50 religious leaders in your city to agree

on any of the above topics!

Matters of science are dealt with simply and in correct terms, devoid of absurdities. (Compare

to the Babylonian story of creation, which contends that the earth was formed from body parts

of one of the gods after a fight broke out in heaven.)

At one time the ancients thought there were about 1100 stars in total. Jeremiah 33:22 described

the stars as ‘uncountable’ when he wrote in 600 BC

The dimensions of Noah’s ark are also interesting. Measuring 300 x 50 x 30 cubits, the ark has

the exact same dimensions as engineers use for many sea going vessels today.

Unlike the belief of other nations that the world was held up by something, the Jews believed it

was “hung upon nothing.” Job 26:7

See the index of “Internal Evidences” – facts from the fields of Science, Medicine, History,

Psychology, Geography, Prophecy, Social Laws that verify the reliability of the Bible

The Bible is the #1 best seller of all time. Just the United Bible Society alone sells and distributes

over 110,000 copies of the Scriptures per day.

The Bible has better manuscript evidence than any other 10 ancient works combined. It is better

attested than even the works of Shakespeare.

Voltaire, the French atheist who died in 1778, said Christianity would pass away within 100

years. However, Christianity flourished. Within 50 years of his death, the Geneva Bible Society

was using his house and his press to produce stacks of Bibles.

IS JESUS A MYTH?

An old argument that Jesus is not even a real historical figure is still making the rounds. Sort of like a

Robin Hood or Santa Claus, some cling to the old story that Jesus was an invention of later writers and

that he never lived at all. Although this theory is clearly false, we can quickly address it.

It is hard to find a scholar today who seriously proposes that Jesus was not a true historical figure.

Virtually everyone recognizes that a man named Jesus lived 2000 years ago in Palestine. H. G. Wells, an

atheist, wrote of Jesus in his book, “Outline of History.” He wrote, “....one is obliged to say, ‘here was a

man. This part of the tale could not have been invented.’”

Will Durant is a former professor of philosophy and history at Columbia University. He spent two

chapters in “The Story of Our Civilization” depicting Jesus as a historical figure right along with the

Caesars and Alexander the Great.

The Encyclopedia of Britannica uses over 20,000 words to describe Jesus. That is more than Aristotle

Cicero, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed or Napoleon.

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There is more than sufficient evidence to have convinced these and other scholars like them that Jesus

actually lived. Following is some of the many non-Christian writings of the period:

The Samaritan historian Thallus wrote as early as 52 AD about Christ. Writing to give a natural

explanation for the darkness that occurred on the day of the crucifixion, Thallus discussed Jesus and his

death. The passage on Jesus was contained in Thallus’ work on the Eastern Mediterranean world from

the Trojan War to 52 AD. Thallus tried to explain away the darkness at the crucifixion as being an eclipse.

It is important to note that Thalls did not debate the universal darkness experienced that day. That point

he accepted. He only tried to explain the darkness away. He confirms Jesus as a real historical figure.

Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian who wrote in the year 112AD. He discusses Jesus in his book

“Annals”. Nothing Nero and his persecutions of the believers, Tacitus mentions both Christians, who

were burned alive at the stake, as well as Christ himself. Tacitus tells us the “Christus” (Latin for Christ)

was the origin of the name Christian, and that he had been executed by Pontius Pilatus (Pilate).

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas, chief secretary of Emperoro Hadrian, also wrote about Jesus. In 120 AD he

noted, “Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he

expelled them from the city.” Chrestus is a variant spelling of Christ. Apparently Suetonius is referring to

riots that broke out in the Jewish community in Rome during the year 49 AD. As a result, the Jews were

banished from the city.

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus became the court historian for Emperor Vespasian approximately 72

AD. He mentions Jesus, Pilate, the crucifixion, and Jesus’ claims of being the messiah. Josephus died in

97 AD.

There are other references. A personal letter by a man named Mara-Serapion to his son in 73 AD

mentions Jesus. Pliny the younger, the Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor in 112 AD, wrote to the

emperor Trajan about Christians and their devotion to Christ. The Talmud mentions Jesus several times.

Lucian, the Greek satirist, poked fun of Jesus and Christians about 10 AD. All of these are non-Christian

sources. This list doesn’t include the thousands of references to Jesus by Christian writers.

There is no doubt about the historical Jesus. He lived in Palestine. He created quite a stir. Thousands of

people were affected by his life. Anyone is free to say they don’t believe in him as Lord. No serious

historian, however, would propose that he is a myth or legend. He is every bit a figure of history as

Abraham Lincoln or Mahatma Gandhi.

NEW TESTAMENT BACKGROUND

Having established the truth of Jesus as an historical figure, we should now examine the reliability of the

New Testament as a witness to his life. How accurate are the scriptures? Can we trust what they say?

If the New Testament can be discredited, then believers are standing on thin ice. Indeed, this was the

point of attack for many of the Bible’s critics about a century ago. Claiming that the New Testament was

written about 150-200 years after the death of Jesus, some writers therefore claimed that it was

impossible to trust the Scriptures. It was not an eyewitness account, they claimed, because it was

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written so late. That would make the New Testament a forgery. They believe that oral traditions became

confused and mixed in with half-truths. How could anyone hope to untangle the mess? Some people

even wondered if bored monks in the middle Ages could have added in a few choice miracles.

A second question has been brought up. Even if we can show that the Scriptures were written in the

middle of the first century as they claim, how reliable are the manuscripts that we have? What is it were

shown that the manuscript evidence is very scarce, and perhaps a thousand years removed from the

original documents? It is true that if our earliest manuscripts dated from say 1000 AD, a lot of corruption

can take place over 1000 year period.

This is exactly what many scholars were teaching at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some still

raise these points today. They try to paint the New Testament as a later document. They also attack the

manuscripts as weak and unreliable. Strange as it may seem, a lot of this teaching was actually done in

the divinity schools of some the large US and European universities.

Fortunately, there is a mountain of evidence that supports the Bible as a reliable, historical document

including archaeological and new textual evidence from the last 150 years.

While sceptics of the Bible had said there was no alphabetic writing at the time of Moses (1400 BC), the

truth turned out to be quite different. Archaeologists have discovered alphabetic writing in Egypt dating

back 400 years before Moses was born. Archaeology has also shown us that the Sumerians were writing

more than 2000 years before Moses lived. The Egyptians were developing hieroglyphics as early as 3000

BC. We also have letters written by governors of cities in Palestine from the time Moses existed. These

letters were correspondence with the Egyptians. As Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s court he was

undoubtedly quite literate.

The ancients wrote on a variety of materials. There are stone inscriptions surviving from many different

cultures. The Behistun inscription in Iran, for instance, is a huge carved inscription in three cuneiform

languages. It mentions such biblical names as Darius and Xerxes. Xerxes was the husband of Esther we

know so well from the Old Testament. It is an exciting example of how archaeology has confirmed the

historical accuracy of the scriptures.

Besides stone, the ancients also used clay. Many large ancient libraries have been unearthed where clay

tablets served as their ‘paper’. The library of the Ebla Kingdom was found in 1970. Digging up the palace

library in what is today called Syria, over 20,000 clay tablets were uncovered. The Ebla library mentions

many Old Testament cities. Not only Ur, Joppa and Geza, but it apparently confirms the existence of

thriving trade between Ebla and some “cities of the plain” including Sodom and Gomorrah.

Other great clay libraries have been found. They shed light on ancient culture and confirm the validity of

the social customs that we read of in the Old Testament.

Wood and pottery were also used. Pottery scraps were often used for notes and receipts. Paper, of

course, was not introduced until much later. Invented in China centuries before, the techniques of paper

production didn’t reach the Middle East until 1000 AD.

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The Old Testament texts were written and handed down on leather. The Jews had specific regulations

and traditions for the copying of the scriptures on prepared fine skins. Prepared sheep or goatskins were

called ‘parchments.’ ‘Velum’ was made from calfskin. These fine skins have preserved the text for

thousands of years.

Papyrus was a paper-like substance popular in the centuries both before and after Christ. Papyrus isn’t

paper, but it’s close. It was made from a reed plant that grew in marshes along the Nile River. It was big

business in Egypt. The plants still grow in Egypt, and are 12 to 15 feet high. Their stalks grow to be as

thick as a man’s wrist. Papyrus grew in its popularity and became the universal medium for the making

of books in Greece and Rome. Short documents appeared in page form. Longer documents would be

glued end to end and rolled up in a scroll. A papyrus roll was limited to about 30 feet in length. Beyond

that it became unwieldy. The New Testament books of Luke and Acts were probably split for that

reason. If kept together, they would have been too long for the scroll format.

About the time of Christ the roll gave way to the “codex” or book form. Just as you might imagine, the

codex was simply a stack of papyri, with a binding on the edge. It was the earliest book. Obviously, the

codex form was easier to use and could contain more writing. Christians seemed to prefer the codex

form, while Jews preferred to use scrolls in the centuries after Christ.

Papyrus documents are fragile and only survive well when stored in an environment such as a sealed

tomb or jar in a dry climate. Egypt and the Middle East fit the bill, of course. The majority of papyri that

survive today were recovered in Egypt.

The New Testament books were probably written down originally on papyrus. As careful as the early

Christians were with the documents, eventually they perished with use. No originals survive. Later

(300’s) a vellum codex became the popular form for the New Testament texts. It is far more durable.

Eventually the early churches archived their copies of the apostles’ writings using vellum. Our two most

valuable NT manuscripts in existence today are written on high quality vellum from about 325 AD.

Papyrus, leather and later paper manuscripts survive today. They offer powerful testimony to the

accuracy of the text.

The Bible was written in three languages........Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

Almost the entire Old Testament was written in Hebrew. Written from right to left, it is still spoken in

Israel today.

A similar language to Hebrew, Aramaic, became the language of the common man of Palestine after the

time of the exile (500 BC). Six chapters in Daniel, along with 4 chapters in Ezra are in Aramaic. Also,

phrases in the New Testament like ‘Abba’, ‘maranatha’, and ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani’ are in Aramaic. It

is still spoken today in and around Damascus, Syria.

Virtually the entire New Testament was written in Greek. Thanks to Alexander the Great, it was the

universal language of their day. The common man’s Greek of the first century was called ‘Koine’ Greek.

It had its own style and peculiarities that went along with the first century. Greek, of course, is still

spoken by millions of people today. The letters are still the same. The vocabulary of the Greek language

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is different today. Many words, however, are the same. Greek has changed less in the last 2000 years

than English has changed in the last 500 years.

HOW ACCURATE IS THE NEW TESTAMENT?

When judging the accuracy of any ancient text, two questions become very important. Firstly, how long

of a time span is there between the events themselves and when they were finally written down? If the

time span is long, say, over 100 years, then there is a great chance the text has been corrupted.

Buddhism, for example, was written down about 500 years after Buddha lived. The Hindu Vedas were

written down a full 700 years later. Most would ask, “How could an ancient author accurately report the

events of several centuries before him?”

The New Testament, however, claims to be written by eyewitnesses. It places itself squarely in the

events of the first century. Secondly, how long is the time span between the actual writings and our

earliest copies? If the text was written early, but our earliest copy is 1000 years later, then obviously

there could be some corruption. Fortunately, the New Testament passes these tests with flying colors,

like no other book from antiquity.

Written during or immediately after the events.............

Most of the events of the New Testament occur between the years 27 and 62 AD. The ministry of Jesus

begins in 27 AD and the book of Acts ends with Paul in prison about the year 62 AD. The first book of the

New Testament to be written was Galatians was Galatians, penned by the apostle Paul in 45 AD. It was

only 15 years after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the church is beginning to record its

history and doctrine. When Paul wrote Galatians, the events of the book of Acts were still very much in

progress. Paul wasn’t recording some oral tradition from centuries gone by. Instead, he was reporting as

an eyewitness. Much of the New Testament was written as the events were taking place.

The other books followed Galatians quite quickly. While the events of the New Testament closed for the

most part by 62 AD, scholars now believe that the documents were completed by the year 69 AD.1 That

means only a 7-year gap exists between the events that the New Testament describes, and the

completion of the scriptures. That a tiny gap, historically speaking and is viewed by historians as

negligible and insignificant. The writers were obviously in a great position to report accurately the

events they had seen and heard. They weren’t writing down oral tradition handed down from their great

great grandparents, as some have proposed. They were eyewitnesses about what they had seen and

heard.

Dr. John A.T. Robinson, in his 1976 book, “Redating the New Testament,” concluded that ALL the books

of the New Testament were written prior to 70 AD.2 William F. Albright, one of the great biblical

1 The book of Revelation is the one exception. It was written around the year 80 AD by the apostle John, near the

end of his life.

2 Early papyri copies of the New Testament begin to emerge in Egypt in the 90’s AD. Some scholars date them even

earlier. This conclusively points toward early authorship of the New Testament. Scholars also point to the fact that

the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD is not mentioned in the New Testament. Surely this event

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archaeologists from the first half of the 20th century, wrote, “We can already say emphatically that there

is no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about 80 AD two full

generations before the date between 130 and 150 given by the more radical New Testament critics of

today.3 He later was quoted in the magazine Christianity Today as saying, “In my opinion, every book of

the New Testament was written by a baptized Jew between the forties and the eighties of the first

century AD (very probably sometime between about AD 50 and 75).4

In terms of time spans, there is no doubt about it. The period of time between the events and the

writing is extremely short. The first New Testament book was written only 15 years after the death of

Jesus, and during the events of the book of Acts. The book of Acts was completed only 7 years after the

final events recorded in Acts (Paul awaiting trial). Indeed, it appears that almost the entire New

Testament was complete before Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD.

What is the importance of these facts? First of all, the old argument that the bible is a collection of

stories written down centuries after the death of Christ is now a dead argument. The New Testament is

a first century document.

Secondly, the accuracy of the text is now far more evident. Scholars have realized that this small time

span between the events and writing is far too short a time for myth and legend to have crept in the

text. There is no way that the apostles could have gotten away with wild lies. The participants and

witnesses were still alive. Critical non-believers were still alive. The New Testament was circulated in the

cities where all these people had lived. The various churches endorsed the books of the New Testament

as valid. There was simply no way that wild stories could be introduced into the text while so many

hundreds of eye witnesses were still alive.

Much the same today, if I told you Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, you would agree.

If I said he rose from the dead, you’d laugh. We are all too close to the events. Hundreds of

eyewitnesses are familiar with the story. The same with the apostles........Knowing that the scriptures

are from the first century helps to ensure the accuracy of the story they tell.

WHAT ABOUT THE “ORIGINALS?”

One might ask, “Why don’t we have an original or ‘autograph?’” As alluded to above, the original papyri

texts would have eventually worn out, much like our paper bibles wear out today from continued use.

Still, it appears that the originals lasted a long time. The churches treasured the autographs and

would be mentioned if the New Testament dated after 70 AD. This silence leads many scholars to conclude that

the New Testament was completed by 69 AD at the latest.

3 William F. Albrigh, Recent Discoveries in Bible Lands. (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1955) p. 136

4 As quoted in Josh McDowell, More than a Carpenter (Wheaton: Living Books, 1977) p. 43

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apparently had many years to copy and distribute them. Some scholars feel that the autographs were in

existence for at least 100 years in the libraries of the first century churches.

There is a fascinating quote by Tertullian in 196 AD, written, scholars believe, while the original letters of

the Apostles were still in existence:

“If you are willing to exercise your curiosity profitably in the business of your salvation, visit the

Apostolic churches in which the very chairs of the Apostles still preside in their places; in which their

very authentic Epistles are read, sounding forth the voice and representing the countenance of each of

them. Is Achaia near you? You have Corinth. If you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi and

Thessalonica. If you can go to Asia, you have Ephesus. If you are near Italy, you have Rome.”

It appears that the church had plenty of time to make numerous copies of the original texts. Thousands

of these copies survive.

Although we don’t have an original of the New Testament (or of Plato or Homer or any other ancient

work), we can be very confident that we have the authentic text accurately transmitted. The letters

were written, received, copied, circulated (Colossians 4:16), publicly read (I Thessalonians 5:27), and

archived by the early church. Our earliest copy dates all the way back to about 110 AD (Papyrus #52

currently in the John Ryland library in Manchester, England). Some scholars date it as older, but 110 AD

is realistic estimate. It is astonishing that we can read a first generation copy. How does the papyrus #52

read compared to our Bible today? Exactly the same. The discoveries of the papyri texts during the last

century have soundly endorsed the accuracy of the New Testament text.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

Beginning a few hundred years ago, scholars began to travel the world, visiting monasteries, libraries

and churches. A huge effort was made to find, catalogue, photograph and preserve the ancient New

Testament manuscripts that had come down to us. Rather than prove that the Scriptures were a

confused hash of intermingled legends, this effort has encouraged believers around the world by

confirming the text, as well as dispelling any doubt in the integrity of the Scriptures. We now have over

40,000 ancient copies of the New Testament in libraries, museums, churches and monasteries around

the world. The amount of testimony to the text of the New Testament is almost overwhelming.

Today we have thousands of later manuscripts from the year 900 onward. We have hundreds of vellum

and parchment manuscripts from 300 AD onward. We also have a mountain of papyrus books and

fragments that survive today as well. They have conclusively filled the gap between the originals and the

leather manuscripts from the early 300’s.

Of course, most of the papyri that survive today were found in Egypt. Only in the dry desert climate

could the paper-like substance endure. It was Flinders Petrie, excavating in Central Egypt, who first

noticed old sheets of papyrus appearing in ancient rubbish heaps that had been buried beneath the

sand. Beginning in 1895, he sparked a systematic search of the region around Oxyrhynchus. They found

tens of thousands of manuscripts and fragments. They pulled them from sand covered rubbish heaps,

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stuffing in mummy cases, and even embalmed crocodile bodies. They found letters, bills, receipts,

diaries, certificates, almanacs, etc. Some went back to 2000 BC. Most were of the centuries just before

and after Christ. Not only did the papyri confirm that text of our later parchment manuscripts, but they

also shed some light on the Greek language of the time. There are about 500 words in the New

Testament that do not appear in classical Greek. The Bible seemed to have a peculiar vocabulary all its

own. It was a vocabulary that could not have been invented two or three centuries later. Yet when these

papyri were pulled from the ancient sands, they matched the style and vocabulary of the Scriptures, just

as one would have expected.

The popular idea of the critics, that the Bible was written 100 to 200 years after the events of the New

Testament, is not true. This is indisputable evidence that the New Testament books are indeed products

of the middle first century.

The copies that we now have are so early that the small time span between autograph and earliest copy

is negligible.

There is no doubt that the New Testament manuscripts are accurate. There is no doubt that one can

read in the Bible the actual words of the authors who wrote the New Testament. As always, you still

must decide if you believe it. But the Bible is now generally considered to be the true and accurate

transmission of the original text.

OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE

How does the Bible compare to other well-known works of ancient antiquity? How does the Bible

compare to Plato and Aristotle?

Plato wrote in 400 BC. Our earliest copy dates from 900 AD. That is a gap of 1300 years and there are

only 7 manuscripts of Plato surviving. Aristotle rests on similarly thin evidence. The gap between the

original and our earliest copy is almost 1500 years. And there are only 5 copies surviving. Our earliest

copy of the Odyssey by Homer dates 2,200 years after the original was written. No one doubts or

questions the authenticity of these documents. Scholars universally accept them as accurate

transmissions of the ancient text. The Bible is so much better attested that it is almost embarrassing.

Most of these other documents are seeing gaps of over 1000 years between original and earliest copy.

Not so the Bible. It was written down quickly after the events occurred. Its copies also appear quickly

among the early churches.

WORK WRITTEN EARLIEST COPY TIME SPAN # OF

COPIES

History of Thucydides 450 BC 900 AD 1350 years 8

Poetics of Aristotle 343 BC 1100 AD 1450 years 5

Caesar.... Gallic Wars 50 BC 1000 AD 1050 years 9

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Plato 400 BC 900 AD 1300 years 7

Homer... The Iliad 900 BC 400 BC 500 years 643

New Testament 45-80 AD 110 AD 30 years 24,600

One cannot help but notice the sheer numbers of ancient manuscripts available. The New Testament

outshines the rest. But there is more. Translation of a document was a rare event in the ancient world.

We have almost 20,000 copies of the New Testament translated into Latin, Coptic, Syriac and other

languages. This pushes the total number of manuscripts to over 40,000. Compared to the handful of

manuscripts that most ancient documents can boast, the Bible has an astonishing amount of manuscript

support. A simple fact: The Bible is better attested than the next 10 ancient documents combined!

The text of the New Testament does not rest alone on the ancient Greek manuscripts. Even if every

single Bible and ancient manuscript were burned and destroyed, we would still have virtually the entire

New Testament because of the more than 80,000 times it was quoted in the commentaries, sermons

and letters from that period. Only 11 verses would be missing.

Many ancient writers quote extensively from the New Testament. These writers include Clement 96 AD,

The Didache 100, the Epistle of Barnabas 100, Ignatius 115, Polycarp 120, etc. Even Gnostics, considered

heretics by Christians, like Valentinus quoted the Scriptures at length.

KEY POINTS

24,600 ancient manuscripts – the New Testament is the most attested and supported document in all of

ancient history. It’s better attested even than the next 10 ancient documents combined. We have

hundreds of manuscripts going back to 100-300AD. We have hundreds of manuscripts going back to

100-300 AD and this number does not include ancient translations in other languages. Translations in

other languages push the number of ancient manuscripts over 40,000.

Written shortly after the events – The New Testament is a collection of eyewitness accounts. It is clear

that virtually the entire New Testament was written before 70 AD when the Romans destroyed

Jerusalem. The earliest books were written in the 40’s only 15 years after the resurrection of Jesus. The

Bible is clearly a product of the middle of the first century.

Thousands of eyewitnesses were still alive – These fervent spell checkers would not have allowed

inaccuracy.

Libraries of different regions were in agreement – Alexandria, Syria, Rome, Carthage, Constantine,

etc...The manuscripts read virtually the same. In an age without phones or fax machines, this agreement

of texts between libraries hundreds of miles apart is a huge testimony to the accuracy of the Scriptures.

This cross-referencing confirms the integrity of the text.

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Ancient Lectionaries survive – The early church would read from the Scriptures during the Sunday

worship service. Instead of the entire New Testament, sometimes they used what were called

“lectionaries.” These lectionaries (from 600 AD onward) contain selected ‘favorite’ passages of scripture

that were read in the public worship. They were for scripture reading what the hymn book is to singing.

2,200 have been identified from throughout the ancient world. They confirm the wording of the text.

Quotes from the letters and journals of the time – Even if every single Bible and ancient manuscript

were burned today, we would still have the entire New Testament (except 11 verses) because of the

more than 80,000 times it was quoted in the commentaries and letters from that period. Even without

any ancient manuscripts or modern bibles, the text could be easily and accurately restored from the

literature of the time.

Early translation – 150-250 AD into Coptic, Latin, and Syriac also confirm the ancient wording of the

text. These translations push the number on the ancient manuscripts to over 40,000

The peculiar nature of Koine Greek – For a long time the New Testament was our only example of Koine

Greek. Recent papyrus discoveries have backed up its style and vocabulary as authentic. The Koine

Greek of the New Testament could not have been faked five or six centuries later. The New Testament is

a period piece from the first century.

Sir Frederic Kenyon, who was the director and principal librarian of the British Museum and second to

none in authority for issuing statements about manuscripts, concludes:

“The interval then between the dates of original composition and earliest extant evidence becomes so

small as to be in fact negligible, and 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.”

The weight of the evidence of thousands of ancient manuscripts has firmly come to the support the

integrity of the Bible. When you read the New Testament, you are reading the words that the authors

penned almost 2000 years ago.

WHAT ABOUT TEXTUAL VARIANTS?

As mentioned above, the original documents of the New Testament have been lost. What we have are

copies that have been handed down to us by the churches throughout the centuries. These copies

contain errors. Scribes make mistakes. No human hand is so skilled as to be perfect. As some critics are

quick to point out, the Greek manuscripts are not in exact agreement. Wording and punctuation differ.

How many errors are we discussing? One scholar guessed 200,000 variants several years ago5, a more

recent estimate was upwards of 300,000 “variants” in the text of the New Testament.

5 Neil R. Lightfoot, p. 67

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The copies were the work of caring, careful, but still human hands. Although the copyists worked with a

zeal for accuracy and precision, they did make occasional mistakes.

Those who catalogue “textual variants” count every variation in every Greek manuscript from every

century. Even if it is the same mistake repeated in several manuscripts. As there are now more than

24,000 ancient Greek manuscripts already catalogued, you can see how these variants are going to add

up. Also, as more ancient manuscripts are found and analyzed, the number of variants will continue to

grow.

Manuscripts grew up in families. The earlier manuscripts were copied in various cities where the larger

churches where the larger churches were located. Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, for

instance, were some of the more important libraries. When their manuscripts were copied, mistakes

crept in over the centuries. Sometimes a mistake would be carried on down the line. Each time the same

mistake was made, it was counted as another textual variant. Now that we have access to the older

manuscripts, textual critics are able to week out virtually all of the copyist’s mistakes. 6

In practice, these mistakes were usually inconsequential to the meaning of the text. Sometimes words

were misspelled. Other mistakes involved word order. A copyist may have read “Jesus Christ”, but

instead wrote down “Christ Jesus.” Sometimes it was added. Sometimes the scribe would alter the

spelling of the word because of the changes in the accepted Greek spelling in his day. (Think how much

English spelling has changed in the last several hundred years.) By examining the manuscripts, giving

weight to the older ones, mistakes like these are easily spotted and corrected. The vast majority of the

variants fall into this class.

Looking back, scholars have easily spotted mistakes and corrected them. When all is said on the matter,

no article of faith is in any way affected by any textual variant. No key scriptures on faith, baptism,

salvation, or eternity are remotely affected. No divine command is in question. A quick scanning of the

footnotes in your Bible will show you that the text is well established, and rest on solid foundations.

Cambridge scholars B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort were outstanding scholars of the Greek text of the

New Testament. They call the great part of textual criticism a work of “trivialities.” They also stated “the

amount of what can in any sense be called substantial variation is but a small fraction of the whole

residuary variation, and can hardly form more than a thousandth part of the entire text.”

Dr. Douglas Jacoby sums it up this way: “When a manuscript has a variant, it is compared to other older

manuscripts, and a decision is made about which reading is original. In over 99% of these cases,

agreement among scholars is total. (When it isn’t, these trivial variants are indicated in footnotes of the

Bible.) What we are saying is that the manuscript variations are completely insignificant.”7

6 For instance, if the scribe reads “Jesus arrived at Capurnaum,” but copies “Jesus arrived in Capurnaum” then we

would have a textual variant. If 150 other scribes copy his mistake in the years to come, then all 150 mistakes

would be catalogued as variants, even though it is the same mistakes.

7 Douglas Jacoby, True and Reasonable (Boston, DPI, 1999) p. 64

13

Whatever small variations exist in the text is insignificant. We have the testimony of the eyewitnesses

accurately and reliably given to us in the New Testament. It will always be the choice of each person

whether to believe the testimony or not but it is intellectually well established that the text is accurate

and the New Testament has been transmitted without corruption. It not only commands respect, but

also will touch the reader’s heart.

Of the four Gospels alone there are 19,368 citations by the church fathers from the late first

century on. This includes 268 by Justin Martyr (100-165), 1038 by Irenaeus (active in the late

second century), 1017 by Clement of Alexandria (ca. 155-ca. 220), 9231 by Origen (ca. 185-ca.

254), 3822 by Tertullian (ca. 160s-ca. 220), (ca. 160s-ca. 220), 734 by Hippolytus (d. ca. 236),

and 3258 by Eusebius (ca. 265-ca.339; Geisler, 431).

Earlier, Clement of Rome cited Matthew, John, and 1 Corinthians, and 95 to 97. Ignatius referred

to six Pauline epistles in about 110, and between 110 and 150 Polycarp quoted from all four

gospels, Acts, and most of Paul's epistles. Shepherd of Hermas (115-140) cited Matthew, Mark,

Acts, 1 Corinthians, and other books. Didache (120-150) referred to Matthew, Luke, 1

Corinthians, and other books. Papias, companion of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle

John, quoted John. This argues powerfully that the gospels were in existence before the end of

the first century, while some eyewitnesses (including John) were still alive.

INDEX OF INTERNAL EVIDENCES Evidence from the Bible that substantiates the veracity and reliability of the Bible

in areas of human knowledge that are verifiable thereby lending credibility

to spiritual statements and claims in scripture.

Evidence from the field of

Science

1. Confirmed by modern DNA research, the Bible

accurately states that everyone living on earth

today is descended from one woman. In fact, the

name Eve, means a “mother of all living.”

Genesis

3:20

2. The Bible accurately states the order of the

appearance of life forms, which is supported by

modern day discoveries.

Genesis 1

14

3. Modern astronomers confirm the fact that there

is a place in the night sky where no stars or planets

can be viewed even by the most powerful

telescopes.

Job 26:7

4. Unlike the belief of other nations that the world

was held up by something, the Jews believed it

was “hung upon nothing.”

Job 26:7

5. The Bible talks about the “paths of the sea”

which prompted Matthew Fontanie Murray, the

father of oceanography to chart the ocean

currents.

Psalms 8:8

6. The Bible is supported by scientific findings that

prove the presence of tropical humid conditions

over the earth at first.

Genesis 2:6

7. The Bible suggests the cycle of precipitation

Eccles.

1:7

8. The Bible accurately states that unlike other

things, seeds to be used for planting are not

contaminated by contact with diseased animals.

Lev.

11:37

9. The Bible concurs with relatively recent

scientific findings that water was on the earth

early in the creation.

Genesis

1:2

15

10. The Bible is supported by scientific findings

that prove animal life was first found in the seas.

Genesis 1:20

11. The Bible points out the principle of erosion.

Job 14:19

12. The Bible accurately states what clouds are

made of.

Job 26:8

13. The Bible says “He sits enthroned above the

circle of the earth,….” The word in the original

Hebrew means sphere. So Jews were aware of the

proper shape of the earth thousands of years

before the rest of the world.

Isaiah 40:22

14. The Bible states that lightning is produced

naturally with rain.

Jer. 10:13; 51:16

16


Medicine

1. The practice of circumcision has been found to

inhibit the growth of germs and dramatically

reduces cervical cancer among women.

Genesis 17:12

2. The Bible gives specific details for diagnosing

leprosy confirmed by modern medicine.

Lev. 13

3. The Bible states principles of bacterial infection

from person to person and how to avoid this

contamination although they had no knowledge of

microorganisms.

Lev. 15:19-33

4. Unlike Israel’s contemporary cultures, the Jews

believed that blood was necessary for life to exist

and did not practice “bleeding” which was used as

late as the 1880’s.

Lev. 17: 11-14

5. The Bible names specific animals and types of

animals that can and cannot be eaten.

Lev. 11

6. The Bible gives specific instructions for the

disposal of human waste products.

Deut. 22:12-13

7. The Bible gives instructions for the preparation

of game before eating it.

Lev. 17:13

17

8. The Bible instructs people not to eat animals

that have died naturally.

Lev. 17:15

9. The Bible enumerates several principles of

quarantine for contagious diseases.

Lev. 13-15


History

1. The story of the flood is corroborated by

findings in the ancient city of Sumer, and Dr.

Richard Andree has recorded 88 other flood

traditions from nearly every part of the world.

Genesis 6:9-8:22

2. The Bible states that there was one original

language, which is supported by modern day

philologists. Alfred Trombetti, renowned

etymologist, affirms that he can prove the

common origin of all languages.

Gen 11:1

3. Empires named in the Bible are corroborated by

archaeological finds, e.g. the Hittites were

uncovered in 1871 in Syria.

Genesis 15:20

4. Archaeology confirms that the walls of Jericho

fell outwards so completely that the attackers

were able to clamber over their ruins into the city.

Joshua 6:20

18

5. The exile of the Jews is corroborated by

archaeologist’s find of Jewish names in the upper

stratum of Babylonian ruins.

II Kings 24 & 25

6. The Bible names specific rulers, which are

corroborated by archaeological findings, e.g. 500

contract tablets were found confirming the

existence of Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 2 & 3

7. Archaeology confirms the names of the gods

and religious practices of other nations as

recorded in the Bible, e.g. Baal, Ashtoreth.

Judges 10:6

8. The Bible names many of the earliest cities,

which have been uncovered by archaeologists, e.g.

Ur, Nineveh.

Genesis 11:31; Genesis 10:11-12

9. The Bible accurately names some of the first

musical instruments, e.g. harp, flute.

Genesis 4:21


Geography

1. The Bible accurately names and gives the

location of rivers, e.g. Tigres and Euphrates.

Genesis 2:14

2. The Bible accurately names the earliest

occupations, e.g. raising livestock and blacksmith.

Genesis 4:20-22

19

3. Accurate elevation of Jerusalem is indicated as

“up”.

Luke 2:42; Luke 10:30

4. Accurate elevation of Jericho indicated is

“down”.

Luke 19:28

5. The Bible accurately gives the names of the

earliest civilizations.

Genesis 10:4

6. The Bible mentions vegetation of particular

cities, e.g. cedars of Lebanon.

I Kings 4:33

7. The Bible mentions specific minerals found in

particular areas, e.g. gold and onyx.

Genesis 2:12


Prophecy

The Old Testament was written hundreds of years before these events occurred in the life of Christ.

1. The place of the birth of Christ.

Micah 5:2

20

2. The coming of John the Baptist.

Malachi 3:1

3. That Jesus’ ministry would be to the poor.

Isaiah 61:1

4. That Jesus would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14

5. That Jesus’ hands and feet would be pierced.

Psalms 22:16

6. That lots would be cast for his clothes.

Psalms 22:18

7. The words of the soldiers at the cross.

Psalms 22:7,8

8. That Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s

tomb.

Isaiah 53:9


Psychology The example of Bible characters such as David and the prophets, Job, Jesus and the apostles, provide

ways to manage common human emotions as well as coping with interpersonal conflict and

parenting.

1. Feelings of guilt are to be shared with others.

James 5:16

21

2. An example of unhealthy functioning, Judas was

filled with remorse, kept his feelings inside, and

then committed suicide, being unwilling to forgive

himself. He released some anger upon others then

turned it all upon himself.

Matthew 27:1-5

3. Peter wept bitterly following his betrayal of

Christ and is one example of healthy remorse.

Luke 22:60-62

4. David expressed his guilt feelings and found

relief.

Psalms 51

5. Paul expressed anger about injustice done to

him.

Acts 23:2,3

6. Paul expressed anger about injustice done to

others.

Gal. 2:11-13

7. Anger is to be expressed and resolved in a

timely healthy way.

Ephesians 4:26

8. Anger must not involve physical retaliation.

Matthew 5:39

9. Anger should not involve name-calling.

Matthew 5:22

22

10. If someone offends you, tell him or her and if

they are sorry, you must forgive them.

Luke 17:3,4

11. Parents should not be harsh in their discipline

of children, but should provide nurturing and

sound values. Parent-child conflicts can lead to

emotional problems if not resolved.

Ephesians 6:4

Col. 3:21

12. Paul recognizes the basic conflict between the

id (basic impulses) and the super-ego (values and

beliefs).

Romans 7:24,25

13. David talked out and expressed his feelings of

depression, which were so severe that he felt

suicidal. He describes feelings of rejection,

abandonment and anger.

Psalm 88

14. The process of grieving and the need to

express feelings associated with various stages of

grief, are presented in the book of Job who lost all

his children and possessions.

Job

15. Each individual must take responsibility for his

own feelings and behaviour. The attitude of “he

made me do it or feel this way” is contrary to

biblical principles.

Genesis 3:9-13

Ezekiel 18;19;20

23

16. The Bible encourages people to develop a

strong adult ego rather than to be dominated by

the immature child ego.

Hebrews 5:11-14; I Cor. 13:11

17. Paul did not stay depressed over his

weaknesses but reinterpreted them as strength.

I Cor. 12:7-10

18. Human beings are basically good from birth.

Matthew 18:1-5,10

19. Sex in marriage is to be enjoyed as

healthy/wholesome.

I Cor. 7:3-5

20. Spouses are not to deny sexual needs of one

another except by mutual agreement.

I Cor. 7:3-5

21. A soft response reduces the other person’s

anger.

Proverbs 15:1

22. The remedy for anxiety is to focus on what’s

happening now rather than on what might happen

tomorrow. Fear is about the future.

Matthew 6:34

24


Social Laws

1. The Bible states that cities of refuge were to be

established for persons involved in the death of

another, to await fair trial.

Numbers 3:5

2. A system of trial and judgement was

established.

Ex. 18:22-26;

Deut. 1:16; 16;18;25:1

3. Legal judgement was based upon credible

witnesses.

Deut. 5:20; 17:6,7; 19:15-18

4. A year of Jubilee (shouting) occurred every fifty

years when all debts were cancelled, indentured

servants freed, and all property was redistributed

to the original owners.

Lev. 25:10-54; 27:17:24

5. The poor were guaranteed an income and

provisions and could not be charged interest on

loans.

Ex. 23:11; Deut. 15:4-11

6. Exploitation of labour is condemned.

James 5:1-6

25

7. In the New Testament, the accumulation of

wealth in the midst of human misery is

condemned.

Luke 6:20-24

8. In the kingdom of God, the poor are favored.

James 1:9,10;2:5

9. The rich are required to distribute their wealth

to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven.

Matthew 19:21

10. Christians were not to use threats or coercion

against their slaves. The element of coercion was

removed from every relationship, including the

institution of slavery.

Philemon & Ephesians 6:5-9

11. Heterosexual monogamy is the Biblical plan for

marriage.

Matthew 19:4-9

12. Divorce is permitted in cases of adultery.

Matthew 19:4-9

13. Runaway slaves were not to be returned to

their master but could live in peace.

Deut. 2:15,16

Dr. Jose O'Callaghan ultimately identified eight different scroll fragments from Cave Seven that

appear to be quotes from New Testament passages. The scholarly magazine Bible Review ran a

fascinating article on Dr. O'Callaghan, these scrolls, and their possible connection with the New

Testament in an article in December, 1995.

The fragments appeared to O'Callaghan to be portions of the following verses from the Gospels

and Paul's Epistles:

"For the earth brings forth fruit of herself. . ." (Mark 4:28).

"And he saw them toiling in rowing; . . ." (Mark 6:48).

"And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar. . ." (Mark 12:17)

26

"And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship. . ." (Acts 27:38).

"And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. . ." (Romans 5:11-12).

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. . ." (1 Timothy 3:16).

"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer. . ." (James 1:23-24).

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