Pertinent quotes:
"Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established."--Frederic G. Kenyon, archaeologist
"There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition."--Dr. William Albright, archaeologist
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."--Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist
"There are more marks of authenticity in the Bible than any profane history."--Sir Isaac Newton
"The existence of the Bible, as a book for people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity."--Immanuel Kant
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. all the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book."--Abraham Lincoln
"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength."--Robert E. Lee
"I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me."--Dwight L. Moody
"The studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."--Thomas Jefferson
"The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or ever will know." Charles Dickens, author of The Life of Our Lord
NB: IN A COURT OF LAW, A DOCUMENT IS ASSUMED GENUINE AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF FOR ITS FALSITY LIES WITH THE SKEPTIC (SOCRATES' DICTUM).
We don't just have blind faith that the Bible is for real and accept it with no more credence than we would a fairy tale, legend, or myth--we have sound reasons and evidence for our acceptance of its authenticity. The Bible is based on history and is the foundation of a faith founded in fact not fiction. The historicity of the Bible has been established by archeology with over 25,000 digs; many have attempted in vain to disprove it but have ended up believers.
"There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition."--Dr. William Albright, archaeologist
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."--Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist
"There are more marks of authenticity in the Bible than any profane history."--Sir Isaac Newton
"The existence of the Bible, as a book for people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity."--Immanuel Kant
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. all the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book."--Abraham Lincoln
"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength."--Robert E. Lee
"I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me."--Dwight L. Moody
"The studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."--Thomas Jefferson
"The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or ever will know." Charles Dickens, author of The Life of Our Lord
NB: IN A COURT OF LAW, A DOCUMENT IS ASSUMED GENUINE AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF FOR ITS FALSITY LIES WITH THE SKEPTIC (SOCRATES' DICTUM).
We don't just have blind faith that the Bible is for real and accept it with no more credence than we would a fairy tale, legend, or myth--we have sound reasons and evidence for our acceptance of its authenticity. The Bible is based on history and is the foundation of a faith founded in fact not fiction. The historicity of the Bible has been established by archeology with over 25,000 digs; many have attempted in vain to disprove it but have ended up believers.
For instance, Luke is a first-rate historian and his many facts referring to events, places, and persons have been fully accredited and not disproved in any detail. Christianity is the only historical faith, and believers have nothing to fear from any so-called new discoveries or so-called scientific facts. It is a sad commentary on our education system that when a secular historian says one thing and the Bible another, the Bible is held suspect, not the so-called authority.
The Bible's veracity, integrity, credibility, and fidelity have been vouched for by the facts despite centuries of attack by skeptics. The very fact of its existence is a miracle in itself due to the many attacks on it, such as being banned and rulers, like Diocletian, attempting to wipe out all extant manuscripts.
The Bible's veracity, integrity, credibility, and fidelity have been vouched for by the facts despite centuries of attack by skeptics. The very fact of its existence is a miracle in itself due to the many attacks on it, such as being banned and rulers, like Diocletian, attempting to wipe out all extant manuscripts.
The Bible is known for its simplicity (for even a child can comprehend its basic theme); its clarity or perspicuity (there is no double meaning or secret truths known only to the chosen or an elite, but it's plainspoken for all); its infallibility (its inerrancy is assured in its original documents when the authors were inspired by God and kept from error); its reliability; its sufficiency (the Bible is all we need to know about our abundant life and way of salvation--all God requires us to know); its necessity (the Bible as the vehicle of Truth is required for knowing the Way to salvation and how to live appropriately to please God in His will); its corroboration by secular sources and historians of the main facts; the Bible is not obtuse nor abstruse--it's easy to understand with the aid of the Holy Spirit as the Illuminator and Holy Guide or Beacon making the Bible our Owner's Manual and Holy GPS or Celestial Guide--there are no hidden meanings or secrets; and finally, by experience, anyone that has put it to the test has found it true and proven, because it speaks to every heart in time of need.
It is a sheer myth that science has undermined the Bible. In fact, science wouldn't be possible without the biblical worldview, and Christianity is the mother of modern science, with most early scientists being Christian. The Bible does make scientific statements but isn't a science document either. There are no scientific absurdities in Scripture, and many times the Bible has been proven right where it did make a scientific statement. For example, the Bible told of the ocean currents (cf. Ps. 8:8), the water cycle (cf. Ezek. 47:8), the laws of nature (cf. Job 38:33) before modern science conceived of them.
What is the miracle of the Bible? First, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to man as the writers, but God is the true Author. Second, its canonization or selection by the Church Fathers deciding which books were authentically inspired and worthy of inclusion, and afterward, closure of the canon. Third, the transmission or copying of Scripture has been to the utmost fidelity and its reliability has been confirmed. For instance, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, only 17 letters are in question (ten for spelling, four for style, and three remains), and they are from someone adding an implied word; and so we can be assured of at least 99.5 percent accuracy of the text (freedom from discrepancy)--since the autographs are no longer extant and we only have explainable copyist error. Many so-called inconsistencies or variants are merely changes in style or spelling such as honor and honor, both of which are correct--but no doctrine is in question or up to debate due to text variance. With over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, scriptural integrity and fidelity have been firmly documented.
Two authoritative and scholarly books have been written to dispel any notion of contradiction in Scripture: Gleason Archer's Encylopedia of Bible Difficulties, and John W. Haley's Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible. It may be categorically affirmed that no alleged discrepancy has not been clarified and addressed, and no one is going to come up with some new challenge or question after twenty centuries of scholarship by Church Fathers and theologians. It can also be stated unequivocally that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference and also that any unbiased jury would confirm the historicity of the resurrection and New Testament record of the early church being founded upon this fact. According to D. James Kennedy, the resurrection is "arguably the best-attested fact of antiquity," and Luke, in Acts 1:3, says it's vouched for by many "infallible proofs." One cannot deny the Bible's credentials when examining the evidence!
One glaring difference between Holy Scripture and the writings of other faiths (note that of twenty-six writings in the world claim to be "scripture" none but the Bible have prophecy!) and note this is the fact of the presence of the unique abundance of prophecy in the Bible; Islam's Koran only contains one prophecy--the self-fulfilling one of Muhammad returning to Mecca! There are over 2,000 specific, predictive, fulfilled OT prophecies, and 333 concerning Christ, that meet completion in his first advent, mentioning and delineating 456 details of His life. These are not just a few lucky guesses, but very exact in nature, detailed and explicit. If the Bible can be relied on to fulfill prophecy and to be accurate historically, why not trust it on its spiritual truths concerning eternal life?
The most compelling reason for the Bible's authenticity is its ability to change lives and transform character to those who choose to live by its precepts. Many stories have been told of how someone has been inspired by the Word. We know it's inspired because it inspires us. But not in the way that Shakespeare is inspired--you could read him all day and your life wouldn't change, but the Bible has power inherent to change your life.
The Bible claims to be inspired in the sense of being God-breathed and directly-given by the Holy Spirit with men as the writers. Many people, who are skeptics about the power of the Bible, have never read it nor are aware of its inner and main message or point for man. The point is that you don't have to become a believer in the Bible first to become a Christian, but God will make a believer out of you and use it to transform your life; the end result being a profound love for the Word.
Indeed, the reasonable evidence is there to be discovered, one must just have an open mind and a willing spirit! You don't prove the Bible, it proves itself; when asked to prove it, ask them to prove it by reading it themselves! Remember, if the Bible can be dehistoricized, it is fully discredited, and many have attempted and failed, becoming believers in the process. In short, the Bible is historical and given by God or it's nothing.
Caveat: As you read the Bible, it reads you; as it feeds you, it makes you hungry; its promises have been tried and found proven and fulfilled--none have failed! Though Muslims claim the Bible's fidelity has been corrupted or compromised, there's no evidence to that premise; au contraire, God has indeed preserved His Word with ultimate integrity through the ages. Any honest man, examining the compelling evidence (which is not easily dismissed as bogus, but must be reckoned with or explained), would concede that the Bible is based on incontrovertible facts.
Let me mention in passing that the Bible's ultimate integrity was ultimately proven by the veracity of its writers, who were in many cases called to lay down their lives as martyrs as the test of their veracity--people will die for a lie if they believe it, but not a known lie. The evidence is abundant and sometimes compelling; one cannot disbelieve due to lack of evidence, that would even stand up in a court of law--even of the Resurrection.
In review, we verify Scripture in manifold ways: inspiration; canonization; transmission; internal consistency; historicity; corroboration; its inerrancy--it doesn't contradict any known fact; verification by witnesses; its miraculous preservation despite attempts to eradicate it by authorities; and even personal experience and testimony of the readers including martyrs. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16, NIV).
The most compelling evidence for the authority of Scripture is that it's its own authority--its self-attestation, for if it appealed to science or some so-called authority figure, you would be placing your faith in something other than God's Word--the comforting thing though, is that you don't have to believe the Bible to be saved (belief in the gospel precedes it), but God will make a believer out of you by regenerating your heart and its convicting power to change your life. Acknowledging that the sense of Scripture is Scripture and it can meet all our needs, like giving a balm for every sore, an answer to every problem, because it comes from the Answerer Himself. In response to skeptics: have you considered the evidence with an open mind? The believer has nothing to fear from the facts because Christianity is a religion based on fact.
In conclusion, the man of integrity must acknowledge the Bible's impeccable credentials and yet the necessity for finding the truth known in Jesus, the incarnate Word of God; we must "cater to his intellectual integrity," but not "pander to his intellectual arrogance," according to the famous remark of John Stott. Soli Deo Gloria!
It is a sheer myth that science has undermined the Bible. In fact, science wouldn't be possible without the biblical worldview, and Christianity is the mother of modern science, with most early scientists being Christian. The Bible does make scientific statements but isn't a science document either. There are no scientific absurdities in Scripture, and many times the Bible has been proven right where it did make a scientific statement. For example, the Bible told of the ocean currents (cf. Ps. 8:8), the water cycle (cf. Ezek. 47:8), the laws of nature (cf. Job 38:33) before modern science conceived of them.
What is the miracle of the Bible? First, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to man as the writers, but God is the true Author. Second, its canonization or selection by the Church Fathers deciding which books were authentically inspired and worthy of inclusion, and afterward, closure of the canon. Third, the transmission or copying of Scripture has been to the utmost fidelity and its reliability has been confirmed. For instance, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, only 17 letters are in question (ten for spelling, four for style, and three remains), and they are from someone adding an implied word; and so we can be assured of at least 99.5 percent accuracy of the text (freedom from discrepancy)--since the autographs are no longer extant and we only have explainable copyist error. Many so-called inconsistencies or variants are merely changes in style or spelling such as honor and honor, both of which are correct--but no doctrine is in question or up to debate due to text variance. With over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, scriptural integrity and fidelity have been firmly documented.
Two authoritative and scholarly books have been written to dispel any notion of contradiction in Scripture: Gleason Archer's Encylopedia of Bible Difficulties, and John W. Haley's Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible. It may be categorically affirmed that no alleged discrepancy has not been clarified and addressed, and no one is going to come up with some new challenge or question after twenty centuries of scholarship by Church Fathers and theologians. It can also be stated unequivocally that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference and also that any unbiased jury would confirm the historicity of the resurrection and New Testament record of the early church being founded upon this fact. According to D. James Kennedy, the resurrection is "arguably the best-attested fact of antiquity," and Luke, in Acts 1:3, says it's vouched for by many "infallible proofs." One cannot deny the Bible's credentials when examining the evidence!
One glaring difference between Holy Scripture and the writings of other faiths (note that of twenty-six writings in the world claim to be "scripture" none but the Bible have prophecy!) and note this is the fact of the presence of the unique abundance of prophecy in the Bible; Islam's Koran only contains one prophecy--the self-fulfilling one of Muhammad returning to Mecca! There are over 2,000 specific, predictive, fulfilled OT prophecies, and 333 concerning Christ, that meet completion in his first advent, mentioning and delineating 456 details of His life. These are not just a few lucky guesses, but very exact in nature, detailed and explicit. If the Bible can be relied on to fulfill prophecy and to be accurate historically, why not trust it on its spiritual truths concerning eternal life?
The most compelling reason for the Bible's authenticity is its ability to change lives and transform character to those who choose to live by its precepts. Many stories have been told of how someone has been inspired by the Word. We know it's inspired because it inspires us. But not in the way that Shakespeare is inspired--you could read him all day and your life wouldn't change, but the Bible has power inherent to change your life.
The Bible claims to be inspired in the sense of being God-breathed and directly-given by the Holy Spirit with men as the writers. Many people, who are skeptics about the power of the Bible, have never read it nor are aware of its inner and main message or point for man. The point is that you don't have to become a believer in the Bible first to become a Christian, but God will make a believer out of you and use it to transform your life; the end result being a profound love for the Word.
Indeed, the reasonable evidence is there to be discovered, one must just have an open mind and a willing spirit! You don't prove the Bible, it proves itself; when asked to prove it, ask them to prove it by reading it themselves! Remember, if the Bible can be dehistoricized, it is fully discredited, and many have attempted and failed, becoming believers in the process. In short, the Bible is historical and given by God or it's nothing.
Caveat: As you read the Bible, it reads you; as it feeds you, it makes you hungry; its promises have been tried and found proven and fulfilled--none have failed! Though Muslims claim the Bible's fidelity has been corrupted or compromised, there's no evidence to that premise; au contraire, God has indeed preserved His Word with ultimate integrity through the ages. Any honest man, examining the compelling evidence (which is not easily dismissed as bogus, but must be reckoned with or explained), would concede that the Bible is based on incontrovertible facts.
Let me mention in passing that the Bible's ultimate integrity was ultimately proven by the veracity of its writers, who were in many cases called to lay down their lives as martyrs as the test of their veracity--people will die for a lie if they believe it, but not a known lie. The evidence is abundant and sometimes compelling; one cannot disbelieve due to lack of evidence, that would even stand up in a court of law--even of the Resurrection.
In review, we verify Scripture in manifold ways: inspiration; canonization; transmission; internal consistency; historicity; corroboration; its inerrancy--it doesn't contradict any known fact; verification by witnesses; its miraculous preservation despite attempts to eradicate it by authorities; and even personal experience and testimony of the readers including martyrs. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16, NIV).
The most compelling evidence for the authority of Scripture is that it's its own authority--its self-attestation, for if it appealed to science or some so-called authority figure, you would be placing your faith in something other than God's Word--the comforting thing though, is that you don't have to believe the Bible to be saved (belief in the gospel precedes it), but God will make a believer out of you by regenerating your heart and its convicting power to change your life. Acknowledging that the sense of Scripture is Scripture and it can meet all our needs, like giving a balm for every sore, an answer to every problem, because it comes from the Answerer Himself. In response to skeptics: have you considered the evidence with an open mind? The believer has nothing to fear from the facts because Christianity is a religion based on fact.
In conclusion, the man of integrity must acknowledge the Bible's impeccable credentials and yet the necessity for finding the truth known in Jesus, the incarnate Word of God; we must "cater to his intellectual integrity," but not "pander to his intellectual arrogance," according to the famous remark of John Stott. Soli Deo Gloria!
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