CAN WE TRUST THE BIBLE?
BIBLICAL RELIABILITY IN THE FACE OF GROWING SKEPTICISM
Key Facts
There are 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the Bible, hundreds of papyri, and almost 350 Syriac copies (most dating to the 400s). In addition to the manuscripts, virtually the entire New Testament could be reproduced from quotations in the early church fathers; 32,000 such quotations exist before the Council of Nicaea in AD325, for example. [1]
Barna first asked American adults in 1991 if they agreed or disagreed that “the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.” Twenty-five years ago, 46 percent strongly agreed—close to half—but today, only one-third of Americans agree. [2]
Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and other non-Christian historians have attested to the existence of Jesus Christ as well as important aspects of his life including that He was worshipped as God, His crucifixion, and even that he was believed to have performed miraculous works. [3]
Key Scriptures
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”
2 Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Luke 11:28 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Application
The accuracy of the Bible and reliability of its manuscripts have been called into question by skeptical scholars for years. This claim is one that many may use to refute Christianity, but does it have any biblical or historical grounding? Before we can holistically address the objection to Christianity, it is important that we first ask the question, “What does the Bible claim to be?” The Scripture attests to its own reliability as the Word of God. Therefore, it is crucial for Christians to understand that the Scripture is reliable as it is the foundation for our faith.
What Does the Bible Say About Itself?
2 Timothy 3:16 is one of the most well-known Scriptures which attests to the reliability of the Bible. The most crucial statement that this verse makes is that all Scripture is ‘God-breathed.’ God-breathed suggests that the origin of the Scriptures is from God Himself. God's nature is wholly perfect, which means that anything which he produces cannot be false or incorrect. The claim to God’s inspiration is an internal claim which asserts that the words written within the Bible are completely true and without error.
John 19:35 testifies to the historical reliability and truthfulness of the crucifixion account. The author argues that these events fulfill the earlier prophecies concerning the crucifixion of Jesus. Therefore, the Bible not only testifies to its own truthfulness, but the previous prophecies which are fulfilled by the events recorded in the gospels. Luke 1:1-4 reiterates this point as the author states that he has carefully investigated and written an account so that the reader may be certain of the events surrounding the life of Jesus.
Some have questioned the reliability of Paul’s letters as he was not one of the twelve disciples. However 2 Peter 3:16 reassures Christians that the letters written by Paul are inspired by God and are Scriptures just as the rest. This is important as many of the letters written by Paul contain weighty theological teachings.
The Bible testifies to its own reliability. However, as we begin to understand what that means, it is important to understand the intention of the author of each book. While some authors (i.e. Gospel authors) were writing historical events, other books include genres that do not attempt to be historical such as poetry. Christians argue that the Bible is truthful and true to the authorial intention. If the author wrote in a narrative form, then they were accurate in their endeavors. If the author wrote in poetry then, they may not record actual events, but the teachings contained in the poetry are still true and reliable as the word of God.
Evidence for the Reliability of Scripture
Many academic disciplines have helped to show the reliability of Scripture.
First, is the literary evidence. A study of the Bible as literature reveals the exemplary consistency between approximately 40 authors. While these authors wrote in different time periods, styles, genres, and even languages, the message and purpose of the Bible remains unified. This unity alone, considering the vast differences between books of the Bible, begins to show the uniqueness of the Bible and its reliability.
Second, the events in the gospels, as well as other narrative books of the Bible, are some of the best attested to events of antiquity. [4] Non-Christian historians also have written evidence which record events that the Bible claims. There are many examples of this, but one significant person is the Jewish historian Josephus. The works of Josephus record events about the life of Jesus including that Jesus was considered a wise teacher, was crucified under Pilate, Jesus’s followers reported that He rose from the dead, followers believed that He was the one the prophets spoke of. [5]
Third, is archaeology. Archaeology corroborates the events that the Bible records with physical evidence. An Old Testament example of biblical archaeology is the discovery of Nehemiah’s wall. The building of this wall is recorded in Nehemiah 6 and dates to around 445 BC (BCE). The existence of this wall and the historical account provided by the Bible was once questioned by skeptical historians, but archaeology has shown the reliability of the biblical record. [6]
Fourth, is the study of textual criticism. Textual criticism is the method that scholars use to determine what the original manuscripts (copies) of the Bible said. [7] This is an important discipline because we do not have any original copies of the biblical literature. There may be variants or missing sections that arise and scholars study the manuscripts to determine what the Bible originally stated. This may sound concerning, but actually this practice is quite common for those working with texts from antiquity. In addition, most of the variants are simple misspellings or minor changes which do not affect meaning. Many scholars agree that the modern texts of the Bible are about 99.9% free from any concerning errors in transmission. [8] Christians were able to effectively check their work in textual criticism of the Old Testament when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1940s. Various scrolls were written between 150 BC and 70 AD and preserved in clay pots. They showed remarkable likeness to the texts Christians had been transmitting and translating for hundreds of years. Textual criticism is an important area of study that can be intimidating, but actually shows the reliability of the Scriptures.
Prophecy as Reassurance
One especially convincing form of evidence is prophecy. Prophecy is one form of reassurance to both confirm the truth of the Bible when it was written as well as testify to how well it has been preserved.
One example of prophecy is the prediction of Jesus’s birthplace in Micah 5:2. While this verse does not state the name of Jesus, students of the Scripture recognize the claims of this passage to be referencing Jesus. “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity. ” Micah is saying that the ruler was pre-existent. Preexistence is a quality ascribed to God throughout the Bible showing that this passage is exclusively referring to the coming Messiah (Jesus). This prophetic writing about Jesus was fulfilled by His birth recorded in Matthew 2:1 hundreds of years after the prophecy was revealed to Micah.
Another example of a prophecy is that Jesus was predicted to be killed with the wicked but buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). This can be verified by the Scriptures which say that Jesus was on a cross between two thieves but was buried in the tomb of a rich man (Matt. 27:38; Matt. 27:57-61). Given that the earliest copy of the book of Isaiah that we have is dated to around 125 BC (BCE), this means that the earliest manuscript recording of this prophecy dates to about 150 years prior to the events it prophesies about. [9]
Conclusion
If the Bible was inspired by God and has been passed down faithfully, then the teachings contained in it are true. There are many ways to assess the reliability of Scripture, but some of the clearest are archaeology and prophecy. Christians can study these disciplines to better understand the reliability of Scripture for their own faith as well as a way to answer questions from those around them.
[1] https://www.zachariastrust.org/why-trust-the-bible
[2] https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2016/08/shocking-stats-regarding-the-bible-in-america/
[3] https://www.history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence
[4] http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_recentperspectives/crj_recentperspectives.htm#_edn3
[5] https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/josephus-and-jesus/
[6] John R. Bartlett, "Nehemiah's Wall." Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 140(2), pp. 77–78.
[7] https://www.gotquestions.org/textual-criticism.html
[8] https://normangeisler.com/a-note-on-the-percent-of-accuracy-of-the-new-testament-text/