- About the Bible -
Jesus answered:
"I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
The Reliability of the Bible
Obviously, a vast amount of time has passed since the Bible was
first penned. So, how do we know that the Bible is reliable?
The
Bible is a historical document. Interestingly enough, if you subject
it to the same tests that you subject other historical documents to,
youll discover that the Bible proves itself to be far superior to
any other ancient writing.
First,
lets look at the New Testament which, incidentally, was originally
written in the Greek language between 50 and 100 A.D. Although we
dont have the original autographs, there are presently some 5,000
Greek manuscripts in existence, with as many as 25,000 more copies.
Just as amazing is the fact that the earliest manuscripts can be dated
back as far as 120 A.D. This is tremendous when you consider that
only seven of Platos manuscripts are in existence today and theres
a
1,300-year gap which separates the earliest copy from the original
writing! Equally amazing is another fact; and that is, that the New
Testament
has been virtually unaltered. This has been demonstrated by scholars
who have compared the earliest written manuscripts with manuscripts
written centuries later. And remember, the accounts in the New Testament
were recorded directly by eyewitnesses, (or by those who were associated
with them) and in fact had close contact with the events themselves.
But
what about the Old Testament? Lets take a quick look at one
of the most incredible finds of the century the Dead Sea Scrolls.
With the discovery of these manuscripts at Qumran in 1946, texts were
found that were about 1,000 years older than any previously-known
Old Testament manuscript. And when compared with the later texts,
these writings proved to be virtually identical.
With
every turn of the archaeologists spade, we see further evidence of
Scriptures trustworthiness. Such renowned and historical scholars
as William Albright and Sir Frederick Kenyon have clearly testified
that
the findings of archaeology have served to underscore the
authenticity of the Bible. Well, is the Bible reliable?
I believe the evidence speaks for itself.
