Home > Community > Good news > Christianity for Dummies 12

Christianity for Dummies - 12 - The Bible

by Michael Russell
January 2003

Based upon a sermon series by Pastor Jim Henry, senior pastor of First Baptist Orlando, and enhanced with my personal commentary and elaboration.

All religions have, in one form or another, a foundational set of doctrines that define it -- its rules, its rituals, its traditions, and its moral code for followers. From that perspective, one could claim that the Christian Bible is pretty much just another set of writings and no different than the Quran, The Veda, The Tripitaka, or Confucianism's Lun Yu.

But, the Bible stands apart from these other writings in many ways -- its history, its authorship, its preservation, its claims about its source, its affect on people, its internal consistence, and more. Let's look at some of the things that make the Bible stand apart and the evidences that strongly prove that the Bible contains the objective truth.

1. Key verses

The following were the key verses used in the sermon.

Psalm 119:89-91 (NIV)
Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.
Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Matthew 24:35 (NIV)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

2. Cultural

The Bible has very significant cultural relevance, especially in western society.

It is the most widely published book in history. It has been translated into more languages than any other book

It is a contraversal book. The writings have been the subject to a wide array of interpretations. Segments have been taken out of context and used to justify great evil. Others have added to it in order to build a cult. And all throughout history, people have picked and rejected various portions to make themselves feel good.

It is a hated book. Of all the religious documents in the world, the Bible seems unique in the violent hatred some show for the book. The ACLU attacks the Ten Commandments, the basis for most of modern western law and morality, because it comes from this Book. Some school districts after 9-11 required students to read the Quran, but would fight any attempt to get "equal time" by allowing the Bible to be read in school. Even some churches have turned from teaching what is in the Bible because its teachings "hurt feelings".

It is a well researched book. There has probably been more written about the Bible than any other single book. This includes devotional material, prayer books, hymns, popular songs, study notes, concordances, commentaries, and far more. Archeologists use the Bible to guide their research. Historians use the Bible to guide their study of ancient times.

Personal note; a sad fact that I've noticed is just how ignorant most Christians are of the foundational document in the faith. Far too many Christians only know the cliff notes version of the reader's digest version of the Bible. Most only know the Jesus portrayed in a few Bible stories they heard as kids, a 20 minute summary from a preacher on Sunday morning, and a overly emotialized version heard from a radio preacher or other source. This is sad because it totally misses out on the amazing and rich truth in the Bible and the underlying theme of how much God wants a relationship with man.

3. Creation

The books that made up the Bible were usually written first on papyrus and then copied onto a longer lasting parchment. The papyrus is the original. The parchment version is referred to as a manuscript. Because of the material, no originals exist.

The Old Testament books were written mostly in Hebrew with some segments in Aramaic. The New Testament books were written mostly in common Greek with some segments in Aramaic.

Most of the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, had become standardized between 200 and 400 BCE, but the "official" canon was established in 90 CE. The New Testament books had become mostly standardized around 100 to 120 CE, but the "official" canon was proclaimed around 367 CE.

There is a series of books, called the Apocrypha, which are not accepted in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Bible. It does appear in some Catholic Bibles, but I'm not sure of the reason.

The early Church fathers subjected any book or letter to the following tests to determine if the book would be included in the canon:

• The Apocrypha was rejected because it is not quoted anywhere in any New Testament book and history records that the early Church fathers did not accept it.
• A NT book had to be written by an apostle or direct eyewitness.
• A NT book had to poses merit and authority. That is, events could not be contradictory or outside of the consistent behaviour of Jesus.
• A NT book had to be accepted by the large majority of the local churches.
• A NT book had to be accepted by the whole council of churches.

It is also important to understand that the Bible is complete. According to its own testimony, especially in Revelation (the last book written), the Bible is complete and there will be no new revelation. We are instructed to not add or subtract from the Bible. Therefore, if any person claims to have a "new revelation" and that this is to be added to what the Bible already says, then you must avoid that person. According to the Bible they are a false teacher and are preaching a doctrine that will steal you away from the true doctrine.

4. Preservation

It is amazing to study how meticulously the books have been preserved and accurately copied through the ages. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls show just how little the OT documents have changed in a 1000 year period. Until the Dead Sea scrolls were found, the oldest OT manuscript was dated to 900 CE. The Dead Sea scrolls are dated to about 125 BCE.

Once the Dead Sea Scrolls were translated and compared with modern versions, the Hebrew Bible proved to be identical, word for word, in more than 95 percent of the text. And, that 5 percent variation was spelling and stylistic changes. That is, after 1000 years of copying, the OT books were for all practical purposes identical with no changes to the meaning or interpretation.

Historians use one of two approach to evalute the textual reliability of literature -- either consistency between the most recent and oldest copies or the consistency between a large number of copies. The OT is evaluated reliable because of the consistency over a thousand year period. The NT is evaluated reliable because of the large number of consistent copies.

For example, the gap between when Plato wrote and the earliest manuscripts is about 1300 years and there are only 7 manuscripts. The gap between Homer's Illiad and the earliest manuscript is about 400 years and there are about 640 manuscripts. The Annals by Tacitus (early historian) and the earliest manuscript is about 1000 years and there are 20 copies.

Now, the gap between the writing of the New Testament and the earliest manuscript is about 100 years and at this point there is over 5600 Greek manuscripts. By the time we reach 400 CE, (about 300 years passed), there are over 19000 manuscripts.

Until recently, the earliest manuscripts were dated to about 120 or 130 CE. That is a gap of only 50 years. However, the pastor shared that there will be soon an announcement that they have found manuscripts that can be dated to around 60 to 70 CE. This would mean these are likely first generation copies with a gap of a couple years from authorship.

5. Inspiration

The Bible is "God-breathed". What this means is that God took the personalities and experiences of the authors and directed them what to write.

As a result, ALL of Scripture, as it says in 2 Timothy, is from God.

If it is from God, then we know the following must be true:

• It is plenary -- the Bible is complete and self-contained. All the words are meant to be there.
• It is verbal -- not just ideas, but literal words. God chose which words appear.
• It is infallable -- all the words are the right words for the sentence.
• It is inerrant -- all the words are consistent and there is no error when the context is understood.

God literally selected the words out of each author and directed him to write from personal perspective. This is why Moses would use terms familar to people just leaving Egypt. This is why David would write from the perspective of a king. Why Peter would write from the perspective of a fisherman.

Also, because this is the revelation from God about Himself, we cannot take out sections we don't like. We also cannot add sections just because we want them.

I'm going to quote from Josh McDowell's book, Beyond Belief, ...

It is overwhelming to realize that the God of the universe has superintended the writing and passing down of His words from generation to generation so that you and I can have an accurate revelation of Him. It is truly amazing to hold in your hand a book you can confidently believe is an accurate transmission of God-breathed (inspired) words. And it is thrilling to know that God gives us His Word so that by following His ways we can count on His protection and provision.