New Testament Apologetics:
Skeptics frequently make negative claims against Jesus and the reliability of the Bible, especially the New Testament, often shaming those who profess confidence in both. However, with New Testament Apologetics we can put the reliability and truth of the Bible, and the person of Jesus, up against a courtroom test like lawyers do. By doing this many atheists and skeptics have become Christians.
There are three main categories of evidence for historicity and reliability of the Bible. Each of these categories can be studied in-depth. Click on the links to check out previous posts for more information:
Category I: External evidence
- Manuscripts: Historical and literary facts, transmission, translation, canonization, textual criticism, high confidence in error elimination, eyewitness accounts, and non-Biblical sources
- Archeology: Physical evidence, geographical evidence, and historical records of people, places and events
Category II: Internal evidence
- Prophecy: Historical, Messianic, and apocalyptic
- Scientific authenticity: Medicine, nutrition, cosmology, and biochemistry
Category III: Personal testimony as evidence
SUMMARY OF MAPS-S
How do we know that the New Testament is historically reliable and hasn’t been changed over time? Here are some quick facts that you can put in your pocket:
M=MANUSCRIPTS: 25,000+ early documents/99.5% agreement/Translated once (from the original languages)
A=ARCHEOLOGY: 25,000+ finds support Biblical accounts/None have ever disproven the Bible
P=PROPHECY: 300+ from the Old Testament/100% fulfilled in Jesus (many more to come)
S=SCIENCE: Scientifically authentic/applied truths
S=SAVED LIVES: Millions of saved lives through the centuries/Personal stories like your own
The Bible meets and exceeds all historical and literary requirements for excellence based on scholarly academic standards and is considered to be a “Literary Masterpiece!”
An example of the Bible’s undeniable consistency:
The Bible has 66 books by 40 authors from all walks of life living in 10 different countries written over a period of 1500 years from various places with a cast of 2,930 characters—YET, it has a seamless story that flows through both its Old and New Testament.
No other book of antiquity come close to the credentials the Bible has when it comes to scholarship—it has been scrutinized more than any other historical document:
- Scribal copying rules has proven accuracy of transmission
- Massive numbers of early manuscripts and documents in which to compare—25,000 plus New Testament documents in various languages, over 6,000 in the original Greek
- Textual criticism gives the New Testament over 99.5% confidence of transmission from the original text
- The New Testament is considered a primary source because all of the books were written in the first century and eyewitnesses of the events either authored it or were interviewed by the author
An example of the Bible’s historical reliability:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip, tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet. Luke 3:1-4
There are over 15 confirmed historical facts in just these few verses. All of the people, places, times and events have been corroborated in secular history. This is why even secular scholar will consider Luke one of the top historians of antiquity.
What about those other so called “lost gospels?”
Watch this short presentation by N.T. Wright on Gnosticism:
The Gnostic Gospels
Gnosis = knowledge
Gnosticism = The thought and practice of various cults coming off of early Christianity. They were distinguished by their conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through gnosis. These were false teachings that mirrored pagan practices and beliefs of Greek philosophies.
- Gnostics held a belief that one could gain ‘secret knowledge’ of God
- Gnostics also held conflicting beliefs like…Jesus wasn’t human but only spirit and some believed that He was only human and not spirit
- Justin Martyr and other early Christians of the second and third centuries AD fought and wrote against these heretical teachings
Reasons for rejecting Gnostic gospels:
(Also see previous reasons for rejection of Apocryphal writings in last week’s post)
- Gnostic writings contain absurdities and inconsistencies with early writings of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus
- Gnostic writings have no basis in primary evidence, cross-references to other Scripture, or confirmation from the first and second century AD Church—they were written well into the second through the fourth centuries AD as an alternative to the “Jewish” Christian writings
- They falsely claim to be written by the apostles or their associates who were long dead
- They contain false doctrine concerning Christianity and Jesus (Gnosticism, Ascetisicm, Docetism, Modalism, Adoptionism, etc.)
- They contain false miracle claims about Jesus’ infancy (cf. Jn. 2:11)
- They contain false or exaggerated claims about Biblical events
- The Church Fathers unanimously rejected them
- The New Testament authors and Jesus himself explicitly warn of false teachers and teachings
Note: The books of our Christian Bible today are the same ones used by the early disciples and followers of Christ, therefore any other book would not be part of Christianity anyway.
Watch this presentation by Dr. Craig Evans that debunks the idea that Gnostic gospels are “missing books” of the Bible. “Fabricating Jesus. From the Gnostic Gospels to the Dead Sea Scrolls,”
He has also written a book on the topic: “Fabricating Jesus, How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospel.”
Bible Study
Read John chapters 8-9, then answer the following questions:
- Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world” (8:12). What message was he trying to convey and why were the Pharisees so upset with him? How did Jesus admonish them? (See 8:13-30)
- What is the thing we all need to be freed from and how? (8:31-38) How did the Jewish leaders respond and why could they not understand? (8:39-47)
- What evidence did Jesus give about His identity and why did the Jewish leaders pick up stones to stone him (8:48-59)? *One of the most important statements Jesus made about his identity is in 8:58, write it out.
- In chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man and again the Religious Leaders are upset about it. What does Jesus teach about spiritual blindness and the significance of this miracle? What does this miracle say about Jesus’ identity?
Join us next week as we continue our Case for Christ and the New Testament!
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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.
Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.
Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15
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