THE BIBLE ON TRIAL
**Most information taken from “Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. The earliest translation of the O.T. was the Septuagint in 250 B.C.
2. There are no originals because they were written on papyrus – perishable
3. Determining the Canon of Scripture – which books are in and which are out. “One thing to keep in mind is that the church did not create the canon or books included in what we call Scripture. Instead, the church recognized the books that were inspired from their inception. They were inspired by God when written.”
a. Authoritative – comes from God (“Thus saith the Lord”)
b. Prophetic – written by a man of God
c. Authentic – theme: “if in doubt, through it out”
d. Dynamic – life transforming power of God
e. Received – accepted by early church and referenced (2 Peter 3:15-16)
4. N.T. Scriptures referencing the O.T. as “Scripture”
a. Matthew 21:42 “Did you never read in the Scriptures”
b. Matthew 22:29 “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures”
c. Matthew 26:54-56 “fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets”
d. Luke 11:51 “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God” (Jesus mentions first and last martyrs in O.T.)
e. Luke 24:25-27 “all that the prophets have spoken”
f. Luke 24:44-47 “written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms”
g. John 5:39 “it is these [Scriptures] that talk about Me”
h. John 10:31-36 “the Scripture cannot be broken”
i. Acts 17:2 Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures”
j. Acts 17:11 The Bereans “examined the Scriptures”
k. Acts 18:28 “demonstrating from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ”
l. Romans 1:2 “promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures”
m. Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say?” (he then quotes Gen. 15:6)
n. Romans 9:17 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh” (he then quotes Exodus)
o. Romans 10:11 “For the Scripture says” (quotes Isaiah 28:16)
p. Romans 11:2 “do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah”
q. Romans 15:4 “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction…through…encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”
r. Romans 16:26 “the Scriptures of the prophets”
s. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “according to the Scriptures”
t. Galatians 3:8 “the Scripture foreseeing” (references Gen.)
u. Galatians 3:22 “the Scripture” (Law)
v. Galatians 4:30 “But what does the Scripture say?” (quotes Gen. 21:10-12)
w. 1 Timothy 5:18 “For the Scripture says” (quotes Deut. 25:4)
x. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable”
y. 2 Peter 1:20-21 “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation” (not a private revelation that man has to interpret what it means)
z. 2 Peter 3:16 “untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (considers Paul’s letters as Scriptures along with the rest)
5. Why not the Apocrypha or other “religious books” weren’t kept
a. Historical and geographical inaccuracies
b. False doctrines
c. Different style or use of subject matter
d. No prophetic power, poetry or religious material
e. N.T. writers never quote it
f. Apocrypha not accepted until Roman Catholics in A.D. 1546
6. The New Testament Canon
a. “Apostolicity” – was it written by an apostle or close companion
b. Is it of inspiration of God
c. Determining the N.T. canon was necessary because
i. Marcion (A.D. 140) was adding other books and making his own “scripture”
ii. Churches were using other books
iii. The Edict of Diocletion (A.D. 303) called to destroy Scriptures
d. Earliest identical list to what we have today was by Athanasius of Alexandria (A.D. 367)
e. Polycarp often referred to our N.T. books by saying “as it is said in these Scriptures”
HISTORICAL ACCURACY
1. Three tests for historical documents in antiquity
a. Bibliographical test – how reliable are the copies (manuscripts)
b. Internal evidence – are there contradictions, inaccuracies with dating
c. External evidence – do other historical documents and sources substantiate it
2. Bibliographical test. When checking to see if the copies are reliable we are to look at the number of manuscripts and the amount of time between them.
a. F.E. Peters said, “on the basis of manuscript tradition alone, the works that made up the Christians’ New Testament were the most frequently copied and widely circulated books of antiquity.”
i. 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of N.T.; 10,000 of Latin Vulgate; 9,300 manuscripts of other early versions for a total of about 24,000 manuscripts placing it number 1 all time of an ancient document
ii. The “Iliad” by Homer is second place with 643 manuscripts
b. Most of the New Testament writings date to the late 1st century and the earliest copy is about A.D. 120 by comparison, the Iliad was written about 900 B.C. and the earliest copy is 400 B.C.
c. Geisler and Nix said, “The New Testament has about 20,000 lines. The Iliad has about 15,600. Only 40 lines (or 400 words) of the N.T. are in doubt whereas 764 lines of the Iliad are questioned. This five percent textual corruption compares with one-half of one percent of similar emendations in the N.T.”
i. When the manuscripts are compared it reveals that no major doctrine in the Bible has been affected.
3. Internal Evidence.
a. Benefit of the Doubt.
b. The writers of the N.T. wrote as eye-witnesses or primary sources.
i. Luke 1:1-3 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus.”
ii. Luke 3:1-2 “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.”
iii. John 19:35 “And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.”
iv. Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know”
v. Acts 26:24-26 “While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.”
vi. 2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
vii. 1 John 1:3 “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
c. Dating. Most scholars place the N.T. writings between A.D. 50-75
4. External Evidence. Nearly all early Christian and non-Christian writers and historians considered the N.T. to be an accurate account of the things surrounding Christ
How to Interpret the Bible Chuck McCoy 1. the reader must be careful, insightful, and ready to be taught rather than biased and eager to prove/protect his own preconceived beliefs and inherited traditions 2. the reader must understand the various genres/types of literature employed by the Bible Writers, the historical & cultural backgrounds, and the meaning of key words and phrases 3. the reader must understand sound hermeneutical principles and methods of study 4. the reader can employ numerous resources for improving their understanding a. Primary Resources (tools for studying the Bible directly) i. original language texts (Hebrew, LXX & Greek NT) ii. concordances (Hebrew, Greek, KJV/RSV/NAS/NIV, etc.) iii. Topical Bibles iv. Grammars & Parsing Aids for the original language texts b. Secondary Resources (materials written about the Bible, what someone else has concluded) i. Bible Dictionaries & Encyclopedias ii. Various Background and Topical studies iii. Commentaries |
SOME STATS
1. Written over a 1,500 year span
2. 40 generations
3. 40 penmen
a. Moses, a political leader
b. Peter, a fisherman
c. Amos, a herdsman
d. Joshua, a military general
e. Nehemiah, a cupbearer
f. Daniel, a prime minister
g. Luke, a doctor
h. Solomon, a king
i. Matthew, a tax collector
j. Paul, a Pharisee
4. Different places
a. Moses in the wilderness
b. Daniel on a hillside and in a palace
c. Paul inside prison walls
d. Luke while traveling
e. John on the isle of Patmos
f. David on military campaign
5. Written during times of peace and times of war
6. Written during different moods of writers (joy and victory or times of “lamentation”)
7. Three continents (Africa, Asia, Europe)
8. Three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek)
9. Covers hundreds of controversial subjects (yet without contradiction)
10. One central theme of redemption in Christ (Gen. 3:15; 12:3)