Evidence For The Validity of the Bible
The following evidence for the validity of the Bible has been taken from the books More Than A Carpenter, New Evidence That Demands A Verdict and from the DVD Study Series Christ Up Close And Personal all written by Dr. Josh McDowell. Please become so familiar with this evidence that you can convince any skeptic that the Bible is the most true and reliable book in all of history.
When a person desires to test the truth, accuracy and reliability of a historical document, he or she will use the same criteria that all historical documents are tested by. There are three basic principles of historiography: the bibliographical test, the internal evidence test and the external evidence test.
The Bibliographical Test
The bibliographical test is a test of the manuscripts (hand written documents) and an examination of the textual transmission by which documents reach us. We use a timeline test which researches how much time occurred between the writing of the original document to the writing of the discovered copy of the original document (the closer to the original the greater the accuracy).
The earliest Biblical manuscripts discovered:
Chester Beaty Papyrus: early third century A.D.
Codex Vaticanus Papyrus: fourth century A.D. (from about 325 A.D.)
Codex Sinaiticus Papyrus: fourth century A.D. (from about 375 A.D.)
Note: The Codex Sinaiticus Papyrus is the very first papyrus that contains every book of the entire Bible. All papyrus before this time contained only one individual book of the New Testament.
Codex Alexandrinus: fifth century A.D. (contains almost all of the entire Bible).
Bodmer XVII Papyrus: seventh century A.D.
It is a historical miracle that most of the New Teastament and all of the books of the gospel survive from about 250 A.D. (Christians believe that the Lord Jesus Christ miraculously preserved His Word, the New Testament, on paprus, so we would have this incredible, undeniable evidence for the world to believe). All of the New Testament documents were written before 100 A.D. The first century church leaders' writings quoted 25 of the 27 New Testament books: Clements (95 A.D.); Ignatius (107 A.D.); Polycarp (110 A.D.). These early church leaders quoted the New Testament 36,289 times (some quoting an entire New Testament chapter). It is important to understand that no other historical document in history comes close to the validity of the Bible by the evaluation of the timeline test and the bibliographical test.
Dr. William Foxwell Albright, author of over 800 books and articles, respected as the number one archeologist in the world in his day, the standard in making declarative statements in archeology, stated, "We can already say, emphatically, that there is no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80."
The more manuscripts you possess the easier it is to evaluate their accuracy in order to recreate the original. The Iliad written by Homer comes second after the Bible with 643 manuscripts and written over 500 years after the original was written. The writings of Caesar has only 10 manuscripts written over 1000 years after Caesar lived and people trust the writings of Caesar. The New Testament has 24,633 manuscripts and the copies of the originals were written only about 50 years after the original was written. All of the 24,633 manuscripts have a 99.5 % pure text, meaning only spelling errors existed.
Dr. Millar Burrows of Yale University stated, "Another result of comparing New Testament Greek with the language of the papyri is an increase of confidence in the accurate transmission of the text, of the New Testament itself...the texts have been transmitted with remarkable fidelity so there need be no doubt whatever regarding the teaching conveyed by them."
Sir Frederick Kenyon, the former chief curator of the British Museum, London, England, in his time he was second to no one in the world in making authoritative statements about manuscripts, stated, "The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extent 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."
We can firmly conclude that the New Testament we possess today is what was originally written down. It has not been corrupted nor changed from the original writings. The majority of New Testament translations found in major book stores around the world are true to the interpretation of the original Greek language in which the earliest manuscripts were written. In the different translations, the words and word orders vary but the meaning remains the same, true to the translation of the earliest manuscripts.
On the other hand, some religious groups have written their own interpretation of the New Testament to coincide with their own specific beliefs that differ from the beliefs of most protestant Christian churches. For instance, most protestant Christian churches believe that Jesus is Jehovah God and that He should be worshipped as Jehovah God. In contrast, the Jehovah Witness group does not believe that Jesus is Jehovah God nor do they believe that Jesus should be worshipped as Jehovah God. Therefore, the Jehovah Witness group commissioned persons to write their own version of the Bible, The New World Translation, in which every reference to Jesus as Jehovah God has been changed except for John 20:28.
According to many conservative protestant Christian churches and conservative Christian translators around the world, the King James Version, the New King James Version and the Interlinear Bible come closest to the exact word order and most literal translation of the original New Testament manuscripts. In these versions of the Bible, it is very clear that Jesus Christ said He was Jehovah God and that He should be worshipped as Jehovah God (John 1:1-3; John 5:18-23; John 8:24,58; John 10:30-33;John 14:1-9).
The Internal Evidence Test
How do we know the writers of the New Testament wrote words that were true? The internal evidence test proves that the written record is credible and to what extent.
Dr. Louis Gottschalk, former professor of history at the University of Chicago, outlines his historical method in a guide used by many for historical investigation. Dr. Gottschalk points out that the ability of the writer and/or witness to tell the truth is helpful to the historian to determine credibility. The "ability to tell the truth" is closely related to the witness' nearness to the historical event recorded, both geographically and chronologically. The New Testament accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus were recorded by men who had been either eyewitnesses themselves (first hand recorders of history) or by men who had received the accounts from those who had been eyewitnesses (second hand recorders of history).
Dr. F. F. Bruce, former professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, stated, "It was not only friendly eyewitnesses that the early preachers had to reckon with; there were others less well disposed who were also conversant with the main facts of the ministry and death of Jesus. The disciples could not afford to risk inaccuracies...which would at once be exposed by those who would be only too glad to do so. Had there been any tendency to depart from the facts in any material respect, the possible presence of hostile witnesses in the audience would have served as a further corrective."
Therefore, it can be accurately concluded that the best internal evidence for the validity of the New Testament is that the first century church leaders, many who were eyewitnesses of the life and ministry of Jesus, agreed that the words of the New Testament were true and reliable.
Other internal evidence includes the facts that surround the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus, many Christians had gone into hiding, fearing they would be killed for being a Christian, but after the resurrection all that changed. After the tomb was discovered empty, all of those Christians (including the first century church leaders who wrote the books of the New Testament) boldly proclaimed to everyone possible that Jesus was resurrected, they saw Him and warned everyone, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!" Acts 16:31. All of the first century church leaders were killed for their faith except the apostle John who died of old age in prison (the worst kind of ongoing suffering and death). If the resurrection of Jesus Christ were a lie, then at least one Christian would have confessed to authorities it was a lie so he would not be killed, but the fact is, every Christian died for this truth that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, He is God and He is the only way to heaven. Dr. McDowell addresses this internal evidence in his chapter Who Would Die For A Lie in his book More Than A Carpenter.
In addition, the oral testimonies were passed down from generation to generation of Christians and the oral traditions remained the same. Every generation of the true church of Jesus Christ believed the same teachings of the gospel of grace found in the New Testament which is further internal evidence.
The External Evidence Test
The external evidence is the confirmation of other historical writings that agrees with the internal writings. There are many other sources, apart from the literature under analysis, that substantiate its accuracy, reliability and authenticity.
The best external evidence are the writings of those outside the church, the secular unbelievers living in the first century, who were eye witnesses of the events of Jesus Christ and the first century church. Secular writers of the news of that day, much like the news reporters of our present day, wrote about the facts which support the New Testament writings. They wrote to confirm the many miracles of Jesus, that His body was missing from the grave that had been guarded by Roman soldiers; they wrote about Christians hiding just after the crucifixion and how the Christians spoke boldly, publicly about Jesus after the tomb was empty and how the early Christians all died for their faith. Many have laughed at the resurrection of Jesus and said there is no way anyone can prove that the resurrection is true; these skeptics are ignorant of the fact that many have tried to disprove the resurrection but no one has been able to because of the overwhelming external evidence for the truth of the resurrection (as stated above).
In addition, two Christian friends of the Apostle John also confirm the internal evidence from John's writings: Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis and Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons.
Archeology also provides powerful external evidence for the validity of the New Testament. Archeologist Joseph Free writes, "Archeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts." Archeological discoveries compelled Sir William Ramsey to conclude that the Book of Acts was accurate in its description of the geography, antiquities and society of Asia Minor.
Dr. Josh McDowell concludes by saying that, due to the overwhelming evidence for the validity of the Bible, one must admit that the Bible is completely trustworthy and historically reliable. If a person discards the Bible as unreliable, he or she must also discard all literature of antiquity. If one cannot believe the Bible, he or she cannot believe that George Washington nor Abraham Lincoln ever lived, for there is more overwhelming evidence for the validity of the Bible than there is for the writings about the lives of Washington and Lincoln.
Dr. Clark H. Pinnock, professor of systematic theology at Regent College, stated, "There exists no document from the ancient world witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and histroical testimonies, and offering so superb an array of historical data on which an intelligent decision may be made. An honest (person) cannot dismiss a source of this kind. Skepticism regarding the historical credentials of Christianity is based upon an irrational bias."
The Testimony of Jesus Christ
The validity and reliability of the New Testament has been established above. Therefore, one can trust the validity and reliability of the Words of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus Himself often quoted the Old Testament, thus assuring His hearers that the Words of the Old Testament are true and reliable (Matthew 4:4,7,10;9:13;11:10,17;12:39-40;13:14-15;15:7-8; Mark 10:6-9; Luke 4:4;7:27;20:17;22:37;24:25,44,46; John 5:45-47). Jesus Himself stated that the Old Testament is the Word of God (Matthew 15:3-4;22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27,36). The writers of the New Testament wrote that the Old Testament is the Word of God (Matthew 1:22-23; 2 Timothy 3:16).
Some skeptics have stated that there are inconsistencies and errors in the Bible but these statements are actually ignorance of proper interpretation of the scriptures; in addition, such false statements deny the Words of Jesus Christ Himself (see scriptures above that show reference to the belief of Jesus that the Old Testament is the reliable Word of God).
Some believe that the Bible contradicts itself, although the truth is, the Bible never contradicts itself, it only compliments itself. Again, it is a matter of proper interpretation of the Bible. When a person reads the Bible and has questions or has misconceptions about scripture, it is very important for that person to consult a conservative Christian minister or a conservative Christian commentary (The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary or The New American Commentary) in order to find correct interpretations and answers about the scriptures. Any conservative minister should be able to prove to any skeptic that the Bible is reliable, valid, true, without error and without inconsistencies.
Conservative Christians of every generation have passed on their oral testimony and belief that the words of Jesus and the words of the writers of the New Testament can be trusted: the entire Bible is valid and reliable; the entire Bible is the Word of God, without error; and the entire Bible was given to man by the inspiration of God.
Prophecy As Evidence
One of the greatest evidences that the Bible is true and Jesus is God is prophecy fulfilled. It can be proven by carbon dating the early Old Testament documents that the prophecies were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and some were written thousands of years before Jesus was born. Only God in the flesh could fulfill all the prophesies about the coming Messiah. It is a proven fact of history that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the promised Messiah (60 major prophesies and 270 parts pf prophecy).
Some may think, "Well, maybe Jesus became well acquainted with all of the Old Testament prophecies and went out to fulfill them all." That seems possible until you realize that many of the prophecies were fulfilled by persons other than Jesus (even unbelievers) who had no idea they were fulfilling prophecy by how they responded to Jesus.
Others have mistakenly argued that the prophecies were written down after the time of Christ and fabricated to coincide with His life. This could be feasible until you understand that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, was translated around 150-200 B.C. This Greek translation shows that there was at least a two-hundred year gap between the prophecies being recorded and their fulfillment by Jesus Christ. In addition, only God Himself could change a person from being a prideful, selfish skeptic into a humble, loving, selfless, believing Christian; only God in Jesus could calm a storm, give sight to the blind, heal the lame and diseased, raise the dead and raise Himself from the dead. Remember, many unbelieving historians who lived during the time of Jesus saw these miracles and wrote about them, providing more proof of fulfilled prophecy.
In his book More Than A Carpenter, the author Dr. Josh McDowell states: "If you can find someone, other than Jesus, either living or dead, who can fulfill only half of the predictions concerning Messiah in Both Testaments by Fred John Meldau, the Christian Victory Publishing Company of Denver is ready to give you a $1000 reward." No one has claimed this reward and no one will because only Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, could fulfill all of the prophesies written about Him.
Over and over again, Jesus appealed to the prophecies of the Old Testament to substantiate His claims as the promised Messiah. "And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets he explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27). Jesus said, "These are My Words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). Jesus told the unbelieving Jews: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Before Abraham was born, I AM. If you do not believe that I AM the great I AM, you will die in your sins. If you had known Me you would have known My Father also. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. I and My Father are one. Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you - Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. He who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. All should honor the Son just as they honor the Father; he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Luke 10:16; John 5:23,39,45-46; 6:37; 8:24,56,58; 10:30; 14:6,9,23). Jesus referred to Himself as the promised Messiah; Jesus explained to his disciples how He fulfilled all of the prophesies of the Old Testament prophets (Matthew 4:4,7,10;9:13;11:10,17;12:39-40;13:14-15;15:3-4,7-8;22:31-32; Mark 10:6-9;12:26-27,36; Luke 4:4;7:27;20:17;22:37;24:25,44,46; John 5:39-47).
In addition, the apostles, the writers of the New Testament, constantly appealed to fulfilled prophecy to substantiate the claims of Jesus as the promised Messiah, the only Savior, the Son of God, God in the flesh of man (Matthew 1:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; Luke 24:25,44,46; John 5:39-47; Acts 3:18; 17:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; James 2:23; 1 Peter 3:21-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
God gave the prophets bits and pieces of prophecy to tell us who the Messiah would be, how we could recognize Him when He came in Jesus. If you read all of the prophecies together, they actually write the story of who Jesus is, what He would do, what people would do to Him and how they would respond to Jesus.
Only God in Jesus can fulfill the greatest prophecy of all for those who choose to accept it - the promise of new life: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you...therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!" (Ezekiel 36:25-27; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
To see a list of these fulfilled prophesies go to www.hopeofisrael.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=27.htm
Since the validity of the Bible has been well established, the question now is: what will you do with the Bible and who do you say Jesus Christ of Nazareth is? (Matthew 16:15-17; John 5:18,23). Most Christians affirm that the Bible is God's Love Letter to all persons He created. All true born again Christians affirm that Jesus is God, the promised Messiah, the only way to heaven.
Jesus loves you more than you can imagine. God wrote His Love Letter to you hoping you will reconcile with Him by allowing Him to come into your heart by His Spirit, forgive you forever for all your sins against Him, take control of your life as your God and Friend, give you His free gift of eternal life in heaven and bless your life each day as your Provider. Click on the above icon entitled "How To Become A Christian" and you will learn more about how to surrender to Jesus as your Savior, God and Friend. The testimony of Jesus Christ is that God loves you so much that if you were the only person who ever lived, God would have come in Jesus to die for you alone on the cross so you can have everlasting life with Him in heaven (see John 3:16). Please pass on this wonderful news: The Bible is true, Jesus is God, Jesus loves you and desires that you spend eternity in heaven with Him!
For more reading on evidence for the validity of the Bible go to:
http://josh.org/apologetics/skeptical.asp
http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2005/theevidenceforheaven.html
www.creatingfutures.net/evidence.html
www.carm.org/questions/other-questions/how-do-we-know-christianity-true-and-we-are-not-deceived
www.hopeofisrael.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=27.htm
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