Evidence for the Bible

2004-12-07

Introduction

The Bible has been going under a lot of criticism over the past few centuries. Deist Thomas Jefferson saw it only for being a good moral book. A broken theologian by the name of Charles Darwin popularized the theory of evolution in his book Origin of the Species. The Bible today is somehow not “fashionable,” not scientific enough, and out of date. Even in some Christian circles, the Bible is undermined. The Bible, however, is a book like no other in the history of any written language. In this article, I will show how the Bible really is the written Word of God.

Transmission of Old Testament Texts

The Old Testament was faithfully transmitted throughout centuries by copying. They were written on papyrus scrolls or leather, which were fragile, requiring recopying from generation to generation. The Masoretes’ transcription of the Old Testament text was done, letter by letter, word by word, knowing the exact number of words and letters each individual book had. If there were a discrepancy in the count of either the words or letters when they were finished copying, the document was destroyed. In this way, the Hebrew Bible, as it is also called the Old Testament, was remarkably preserved.

Up until recently, the earliest complete copy of the entire Hebrew Old Testament dated in the eleventh century. However, in 1947, the Qumran Library, in which its texts became to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, were discovered. All of the Old Testament books, except Esther, were discovered in the caves of Qumran. Brotzman states that “while there are many small differences between the Masoretic Text and the various Qumran documents, the overall agreement between them is striking” (Brotzman 95). Brotzman then continues by quoting Burrows:

The conspicuous differences in spelling and grammatical forms between Mark’s manuscript and the Masoretic text makes their substantial agreement in the words of the text all the more remarkable... It is a matter for wonder that through something like a thousand years the text underwent so little alteration (Brotzman 95).

Brotzman also notes,

When the vast amount of time that separates our modern editions from the autographs is considered, especially in view of the need for hand copying for much of that time, it is amazing that we have any Old Testament. It is even more amazing that we have access to a generally faithful copy of the Old Testament that is substantially the same as the autographs written so many years ago (Brotzman 62).

The minimal alteration that the text had undergone throughout the centuries does not affect any doctrines of the Hebrew Bible, and when comparing and examining any difference in the text, the original reading can be determined.

Authorship of the New Testament

There are four gospels that explain the life and ministry of Jesus, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John authored them. The authorship of the four gospels is confirmed by Iranaeus in approximately A.D. 180 (Adversus haereses 3.3.4). Deviation from what the early church states about gospel authorship only has come about within the last century and a half. Each gospel has a different audience and stresses different themes, but nonetheless, the message is the same. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, preached the Kingdom of God, suffered and died for our sins, and rose on the third day, so that those who believe in Him will have eternal life.

Matthew and John were Jesus’ disciples, and therefore were eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. John Mark, according to Iranaeus, received most of his information from Peter, and Luke his information from Paul. Nonetheless, Mark and Luke were both active in ministry in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:25, note the first person in Acts 27:1). They personally knew the eyewitnesses well.

Most of the Pauline epistles are confirmed to have been written by Paul even by the most critical of scholars. If they were truly written by Paul, and they all were, then they were written by A.D. 62, when Paul was executed. This would be less than thirty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Dating of, and the Manuscripts the New Testament

The entire New Testament was written within the first seventy years after the crucifixion of Jesus. Given an abrupt ending to the book of Acts, we can see that the work was completed before the time Paul was executed, which means it must have been finished by A.D. 62. The gospel of Luke is the first part of the two-part work with Acts (compare Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3). Now most if not all of the Pauline epistles were written before the gospels were written.

One of the oldest portions of the scriptures known is a fragment of the Gospel of John, which is dated no later than A.D. 138. The oldest complete manuscripts are dated A.D. 350, the oldest being Codex Sinaiticus. While I believe that this particular manuscript was corrupted by Gnostic influence, it still shows that the New Testament was already around and complete by that time. There are well over 5,600 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, not to mention many other translations such as those into Latin.

This might not sound that impressive. The next work in line in the quantity of ancient texts is Homer’s The Iliad, a renowned work of Greek culture and history, where there are less than 650 known manuscripts, many of which are fragmentary. Consider also that Homer wrote around 800 B.C. about the Trojan War, which ended in 1184 B.C., and there are no manuscripts of The Iliad before the second century A.D. Again, Arrian and Plutarch wrote biographies of Alexander the Great over 400 years after the world conqueror died, and are considered trustworthy. What about the Bible, then, that was written by those who spoke to and walked with Jesus?

In short, there are more New Testament manuscripts, written closer to the actual events, than any other piece of ancient literature, with differences between the manuscripts so miniscule, that the meaning of the text is completely intact. Once again, one can always find the original words by comparing all of the manuscripts, just like in the case of the Old Testament. You will not find any phenomenon like this for any other piece of ancient literature in any part of the world.

Jesus Christ as Confirmed Outside Biblical Sources

Early church father Ignatius, who was martyred sometime before A.D. 117, wrote several letters on the way to Rome as a prisoner. In his letters, he spoke about how Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, and those who believe in Him would be raised from the dead with Him.

Non-Christian historical figures also mention Jesus and His followers. First century Jewish historian Josephus makes mention of James the half-brother of Jesus as being on trial before the Sanhedrin, and being sentenced to death (The Antiquities 20.200).

In the correspondence of Pliny the Younger with Emperor Trajan, he discusses how he would punish Christians that would not deny Christ in a letter dated approximately A.D. 111. The letter shows how Christianity had already spread over a wide area, and that they were a very moral people that could not be easily swayed from their loyalty to Christ (Letters 10.96).

Tacitus, in A.D. 115, wrote that Emperor Nero used Christians as scapegoats for a fire in Rome in A.D. 64; for it was rumored that Nero started these fires. The passage records that Christians, named for Jesus Christ who suffered under Pontius Pilate, were arrested in “immense multitudes” (Annals 15.44). We see by A.D. 64, Christianity had already spread as far as Rome (only about 30 years after the resurrection of Jesus).

Jesus Christ as Confirmed in Old Testament Prophecies

The Bible has many prophecies within it, most of which have already come to pass. If a prophet speaks, the thing he speaks of must come to pass to be considered a valid prophet (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). The fulfillment of prophecy validates the text of the Bible. Check out just a few of these fulfilled prophecies:

There is much more fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures than listed here, and the authors of the gospel often quote the fulfilled scriptures as the events are happening. Here is a larger list of prophecies.

Science and Biblical Misconceptions

Often people have conclusions allegedly from the Bible that the Bible is not scientific. But there is nothing in the Bible that contradicts real science. Here are just a few of the observations that Norman Geisler notes:

The prophet Isaiah wrote down that the earth is round far before any scientist came to such a conclusion. Yet people write their own conclusions into the Bible, saying, for example, that somehow the Bible says the world is flat. The main problem of the critics is ignorance of what the Bible actually says.

Archeology and the Bible

Archeology is an ongoing process that time and again verifies the validity of the Bible. I wrote above how the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 verified the consistency of Old Testament manuscripts over a period of well over a millennium.

In 1993, an inscription was discovered with beit David, or house of David, on it. The discovery was huge, because there was little evidence of King David outside the Old Testament before this point. The inscription dates from about the ninth century B.C. This of course is close to the time when David actually reigned, about 1000 B.C.

I also discussed texts talking about Jesus above, which are worthy to note, showing that Jesus was well known very shortly after His death and resurrection. In the Acts of the Apostles, when John and Peter are on trial for preaching the Gospel, a non-Christian Pharisee cites people charged with rebellion, of which Jesus was accused. This Pharisee, named Gamaliel, talks about a Theudas and a Judas of Galilee, and notes that their efforts came to nothing, and they are remembered only today by this passage (Acts 5:33-42). How can a poor carpenter (like Jesus) launch a major world religion in his own power, without violence, with followers still willing to die for his cause 2,000 years later?

Many have questioned the existence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman ruler who sentenced Jesus to death. In 1961, an inscription was excavated in ancient Caesarea that proved his existence: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans.” This inscription answered the question of Pilate’s existence. Read also about Tacitus above.

Caiaphas was a high priest mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 26:3, 57; Luke 3:2; John 18:13-28; Acts 4:6). His ossuary (a stone box where the bones of a man were contained after his flesh had decomposed) has been found. He is also mentioned in the writings of Josephus.

Conclusion

The Bible is the foundation of the Christian faith. Consider an argument contrary to this truth. Some argue that Church tradition is the real foundation of our faith. But since the first century A.D., the eyewitnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and their close associates, who have written the Bible have passed on to be with the Lord, and a new generation of Christians arose after them. Up until the time of Emperor Constantine of Rome, Christians had suffered for their faith. When they received political freedom, and decades later, when their faith became the official religion of the Empire under Theodotius I, the position of the church drastically changed, and the focus on Jesus Christ alone was often lost. For example, were Inquisitions and Crusades things that were taught by Jesus? Never! In fact, Jesus teaches the exact opposite (Matthew 5:38-42; John 18:10-11), as He laid down His life to the people who crucified Him that Jesus easily could have annihilated (Matthew 26:53).

The message of the Bible is the message God wants us to have. He wants us to know the reality of the condition of this broken world, where death and evil reigns. He created humankind and the world to be perfect (Genesis 1:31; Deuteronomy 18:13), but because of our rebellion against Him (Genesis 3:6; Romans 3:23), we live in a fallen world (Genesis 3:17). But at a point in history, God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die in our place (1 Peter 3:18) so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus was raised from the dead (Acts 2:23-24), was seen by many (Luke 24:36-40), and ascended into heaven until the Day He will return to judge the living and the dead (Hebrews 10:13).

I have referenced all of these verses above because this is the message of Jesus Christ, and this is where it is found, in the Bible. The Bible predicts many things that have come to pass, as I have said, and there are some things that have not happened yet. Jesus will come back in the future, but He is waiting for the message of the Gospel to go out to the whole world so that everybody can hear about His wonderful grace that saves us (Matthew 24:14).

Further Reading

For a much longer work concerning the Bible, read the short book Twoedged Sword: A Bibliology Primer. This should provide much more information concerning this subject.

Sources

Brotzman, Ellis R. Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.

Geisler, Norman L. Can I Trust My Bible? You Decide! A PowerPoint presentation. April 2003.

McKenzie, Rolaant L. Why Christianity? Available on the web at http://www.gospeloutreach.net/whychristianity.html.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.