can i trust the bible?
TRANSCRIPT
Can I trust the Bible?
What do we mean by“trust the Bible”?
Can I trust it as a faithful record of
events that happened so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
Can I trust it tolead me to God and
to guide me in living ?
Can I trust that it really is God’s word ?
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Ancient books were not like modern books...
...they were far more valuable!
But scrolls wear out and ink fades...
...how were ancient books preserved?
They were carefully copied
trained scribesthorough checks
expensive process
date
Julius Caesar-200
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
So historians trust the records about Julius Caesar even though...
Julius Caesar-200
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
10 copiesdate
... we have only 10 copies, from 1,050 years after his reign!
Julius Caesar Plato
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copiesdate
And historians trust the records about Plato even though...
Julius Caesar Plato
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies
date
... we have only 7 copies, from 1,700 years after his life!
Julius Caesar Plato Tacitus
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies
date
And historians trust the copies of Tacitus even though...
Julius Caesar Plato Tacitus
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies 20 copies
date
... we have only 20 copies, from 1,000 years after his life!
So how about Jesus?
...how old are the oldest documents we have,and how many of them are there?
Julius Caesar Plato Tacitus Jesus Christ
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies 20 copies
date
The earliest manuscripts about Jesus date to c50 years of his life
Julius Caesar Plato Tacitus Jesus Christ
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies 20 copies
date
most of the rest are dated to within just 150-300 years of his life
Julius Caesar Plato Tacitus Jesus Christ
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400
10 copies7 copies 20 copies
25,000 copies
date
...and there are about 25,000 of them!
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
is there a way of testing that these copieswere accurately done?
Imagine an original manuscript...
From this, four copies are made for other libraries...
From those locations, more copies are distributed...
Over time, the originals wear out or are destroyed...
Is there a way to tell if the more recent copies are still accurate?
Is there a way to tell if the more recent copies are still accurate?
There is a way of telling!
Suppose we have two copies from the same date, hundreds of miles apart...
They can’t have been copied from each other, as they are too far apart...
... so they must have both been copied from the generation before
If C and D are a good match with each other...
C
D
...it can only be because A and B in the generation before were also accurately copied
C
D
A B
S T... so even if whole generations are lost, but
manuscripts S & T – found miles apart – match well...
S T... it proves that the whole copying process
has been highly accurate.
Scroll-map
And in fact, the 25,000 manuscripts & fragments were found scattered all around the Mediterranean...
Scroll-map
...and the variations between themare negligible
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
Can I trust that it really is God’s word ?
Was it left for us, pre-written, on a hillsidelike the Book of Mormon ?
How is the Bible thought to be “God’s Word”?
Was it dictated word for word, and thus can only only be truly understood in Arabic, like the Quran ?
How is the Bible thought to be “God’s Word”?
These ideas sound
simple
and
attractive
...
...
but they don’t cohere
either with
the complexity of our world
or
the personality God has to have!
...an infinitely complex...
...of relationships...
...network...
...of God?
why would we thinkanything less
God isrelational!
to deposit
would it bein God’s nature
a pre-writtenmanual on a
hillside?
God isrelational!
to dictate
would it bein God’s nature
an untranslatable word to one person
over one lifetimein just one language?
God isrelational!
but the Bible was
neither deposited
nor dictated
written over 1600 years
through 60 generations
with at least 40 authors
at more than 50 locations
in 3 languages
infinitely translatable
The Bible BreathesRelationship
this is the work
of a relating God
None of this proves the Bible is God’s word;
but it does suggest that the Bible is
consistent with a relational God
who wants to communicate
with you and me
now
...
it is not “pre-scientific” nonsense;
it is consistent with precisely
the kind of universe
we now know
we live in
God inspired people to write the Bible
God helps people read the Bible
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
Can I trust that it really is God’s word ?
Can I trust the Bible as a faithful record of events that happened
so long ago ?
Can I trust it that it hasn’t been corrupted
over the years ?
Can I trust that it really is God’s word ?
Can I trust it tolead me to God and
to guide me in living ?
billions of people do, because the Bible
speaks at so many levels
on so many subjects
and in so many
ways
what was spoken in one context
will speak in a new context
because God continues
to speak through
what he has
spoken
Open up to God the Fatheryou are reading humbly and inquiringly as a child
Pay attention to Jesus the Sonhe is the final revelation and interpreter of the whole
Connect through God the Holy Spiritfeel for, and think about God’s message and leading for you today
How to read the Bible