Post by Caroline on Feb 24, 2017 9:41:04 GMT -5
The evidence for the believability of the documents that form the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is strong enough to support the weight of its importance and impact, even though they constitute literally ancient history. Here are some of the building blocks which form that strong foundation:
1. Number of manuscripts – No other ancient document even approaches the New Testament in number of ancient manuscript copies. And though there are thousands of variants between the thousands of copies, as one would only expect when a text is copied by hand, none of them affect any major doctrine of the Christian faith. As even agnostic New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman admits, “Far and away the most changes are results of mistakes, pure and simple—slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort or another” (Misquoting Jesus, 55)
2. Early originals and early copies – It is widely accepted that all of the New Testament was written in the first century, and most probably before 70 A.D. by eyewitnesses. The earliest undisputed copy fragment is dated within 75 years of the original and likely within 40. Several nearly complete Bibles date from the fourth century, and a few nearly complete New Testament copies date before 250 A.D.
3. Archeological evidences – The Bible is replete with mentions of specific personages, places and dates, and many of these have been corroborated in archeological discoveries, and none of them have been disproven.
4. Internal consistency – The Bible is actually composed of 66 books written by about 40 different authors over a span of approximately 1500 years. Yet it displays remarkable consistency in its depiction of God and his plan of redemption for mankind.
5. Confirmation from ancient non-Christian sources – There are at least ten non-Christian writers from within 150 years of Jesus’ life that mention him. Some of these could even be considered anti-Christian sources.
6. Biblical references from early Church fathers – Many Church leaders’ writings from the first centuries A.D. quote from the Bible, so much so that roughly half of the New Testament could be reconstructed just from their quotations.
7. Fulfilled prophecy – Numerous events foretold in the Bible have occurred, and none that should have by now have failed to. Some of the more notable fulfilled prophecies are the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the coming and circumstances of the life and death of Jesus the Messiah, and the destruction and rebirth of the nation and land of Israel.
1. Number of manuscripts – No other ancient document even approaches the New Testament in number of ancient manuscript copies. And though there are thousands of variants between the thousands of copies, as one would only expect when a text is copied by hand, none of them affect any major doctrine of the Christian faith. As even agnostic New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman admits, “Far and away the most changes are results of mistakes, pure and simple—slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort or another” (Misquoting Jesus, 55)
2. Early originals and early copies – It is widely accepted that all of the New Testament was written in the first century, and most probably before 70 A.D. by eyewitnesses. The earliest undisputed copy fragment is dated within 75 years of the original and likely within 40. Several nearly complete Bibles date from the fourth century, and a few nearly complete New Testament copies date before 250 A.D.
3. Archeological evidences – The Bible is replete with mentions of specific personages, places and dates, and many of these have been corroborated in archeological discoveries, and none of them have been disproven.
4. Internal consistency – The Bible is actually composed of 66 books written by about 40 different authors over a span of approximately 1500 years. Yet it displays remarkable consistency in its depiction of God and his plan of redemption for mankind.
5. Confirmation from ancient non-Christian sources – There are at least ten non-Christian writers from within 150 years of Jesus’ life that mention him. Some of these could even be considered anti-Christian sources.
6. Biblical references from early Church fathers – Many Church leaders’ writings from the first centuries A.D. quote from the Bible, so much so that roughly half of the New Testament could be reconstructed just from their quotations.
7. Fulfilled prophecy – Numerous events foretold in the Bible have occurred, and none that should have by now have failed to. Some of the more notable fulfilled prophecies are the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the coming and circumstances of the life and death of Jesus the Messiah, and the destruction and rebirth of the nation and land of Israel.