The Bible Authenticity __ Why We Know It Is True
First, we recognize the blessing of our belief by faith. Christ assured that those who believe, even without physically seeing his after his resurrection, would be truly blessed.
John 20:26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Our discussion here is simply to make you aware that in addition, we have tremendous documentary evidence about the authenticity of the Bible.
My comments are drawn from the wonderful book by Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ. I highly recommend it to you, or to any of your friends who may wonder about the evidence supporting the validity and accuracy of our Bible.
In his work on The Case for Christ, Strobel worked with many of the most renowned Biblical scholars, such as Bruce Metzger, Ph.D.
Dr. Metzger points to the “mountain” of ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament – more than five thousand exist, 5664 to be exact. Some of the oldest date back to between 100 – 200 A.D.
There is no other ancient literature in the world with that volume of ancient copies. The closest comparison of documents of an ancient literary work is Homer’s Iliad, of which there are fewer than 650 Greek manuscripts today.
In addition to these manuscripts in the original Greek, there exist some 24,000 ancient copies in other languages.
According to another famous Princeton theologian, Benjamin Warfield, “If we compare the present state of the New Testament text with that of any other ancient writing…declare it to be marvelously correct…”
In addition, there is rich corroborating evidence by historians of the time, such as the famous Josephus, a famous Jewish historian. Their historical accounts attest in a marvelous way to the life and message of Christ that we treasure in our Bible.
Strobel, in one of his interview steps put it well – “Your Jesus—the Jesus you relate to—is both a Jesus of history and a Jesus of faith.”
We have only scratched the surface, but I hope you see that history and archaeology’s findings all bear witness to the truth of Jesus our Lord who we accept by faith.
Blessings,
Larry
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