Last week we looked specifically at Old Testament Apologetics every Christian should know. This week we are examining apologetics for the Bible as a whole. Often skeptics will say things like, “some people just got together and made the whole story up” or “the Bible is so old we can’t possibly know if it has been accurately transmitted.”
These claims are not valid, and upon close examination we find that the Bible as a whole is remarkably reliable from a scholarly standpoint!
Historical and Literary Facts About the Bible
If you put 10 people in a room and gave them a subject to write about what would you expect the outcome to be? Would they have the same theme, storyline, and conclusions? Would they have the same personal beliefs and views on the topic and write with the same convictions? The odds fall strongly in favor of no, and we would expect to see a real mess of information in a book of this magnitude, but that is not what we get at all. We get a seamless story!
Amazingly the books of the Bible are so united in their historical and narrative themes, and so remarkably linked to one main storyline from Genesis to Revelation, that the Bible is considered by most scholars to be “A Literary Masterpiece!”
- The Bible is made up of 66 individual books (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament), written by 40 different authors, over a period of about 1,500 years, and from 10 different countries
- The Bible has a cast of 2,930 characters depicted in 1,551 places
- The Bible’s human authors (inspired by God) came from various stations of life: Kings, peasants, poets, herdsmen, fishermen, scientists, farmers, priests, pastors, tentmakers, tax collectors, doctors and governors
- The Bible was written in extreme places like the wilderness, dungeons, palaces, prisons, on lonely islands, and in military battles
- The authors wrote on various subjects, including the unknown future
The Bible is the best selling book of all time with over six billion copies sold since the invention of the printing press, and the Bible meets and exceeds all historical and literary requirements for excellence based on scholarly academic standards:
- There are more early manuscripts of the Bible available for verification than any other ancient document
- The Bible is a primary source document and contains multiple eyewitness accounts of events, including hostile witnesses
- The New Testament accounts of the first century (AD/CE) life of Jesus and the early Church were written within the lifetime of the people involved in the events (completed by the mid to late first century AD/CE)
- Archeology and outside Biblical sources have confirmed over 25,000 people, places and events recorded in the Bible, none have ever been negated
- The original languages used in the Bible are still with us today so translations can be made directly from these unique sources with thousands of early manuscripts for comparison and accuracy
- The Bible is mainly written as an historical narrative with verifiable facts from both Biblical and non-Biblical sources
He has made His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate. Psalm 111:4 (NASB)
Watch this short video clip by Impact Video Ministries called “Why Should I Trust the Bible?”
An Apologetic Tool for the reliability of the Bible: MAPS-S
This is a good memory tool for sharing the reliability of the Bible. It includes four academic areas of facts that have been verified by Bible Scholars:
M=Manuscripts:
Over 10,000 Old Testament manuscripts and over 25,000 early New Testament manuscripts including over 5800 in the original Greek language and the scholarly field of textual criticism finding 99.5% agreement within them indicating a match to the autograph; and with early lectionaries and quotations from the first – third century A.D. leaders we can assert 100% accuracy. *Remember: Bibles today, like NASB, NIV or KJV, have only been translated once from the original language.
Note: These numbers continue to grow because of ongoing archeological discoveries that include scrolls of ancient scriptures embedded in artifacts like mummy wrappings, caves and tombs, pottery and other items.
A=Archeology:
There are over 25,000 (and growing) archeological discoveries that have confirmed Biblical places, people, and events. None have been found that disprove any historical account in the Bible.
P=Prophecy:
300 (plus) specific and incidental prophesies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the life and times of Jesus Christ. If even 8 of these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus it would be equivalent to just 1 chance in 10 to the 17th power or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 that Jesus would be the person to fulfill them!
None of the Old Testament prophecies have been disproven and fulfillment of many end time prophecies are still to come.
S=Science:
The Bible makes no claims that are considered scientific absurdities and it has amazing scientific authenticity in the areas of cosmology, biochemistry, medicine, health, nutrition, geology, and the Laws of Nature vs. other so-called Holy Books. The evidence found in the “Cosmological and Teleological Arguments” also supports the Creation account.
S=Saved Lives:
Millions of saved lives are seen through the centuries evidenced by changed lives confessed by the saving work of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
—Individual stories like your own cannot be disputed!
If you don’t want to use your own testimony, share the amazing testimonies of people like Lee Strobel, J. Warner Wallace, and Nabeel Qureshi, just to name a few. Watch their testimonies here:
Going Deeper
“Atheist Journalist Turns to Christ After Investigating Evidence” Lee Strobel
Also check out his series of “Case for…” DVDs and Books
“Atheist Police Detective Becomes A Christian,” J. Warner Wallace
Also check out his series of investigative books on the evidence for God and Christianity at coldcasechristianity.com
“My Journey to Christ,” by Nabeel Qureshi, (former Muslim)
Also check out his books: “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,” and “No God but One”
Join us next week as we look at answers to accusations of genocide in the Old 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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