Learn why you can trust the bible as the inerrant word of god. This subject deserves more than your passing interest. The old testament authors declared that they spoke the very words of god exodus 20. How can we know that the bible isnt just an ancient book of fiction and folklore. It is the compass god has given us to govern our lives. Yes, the bible can be trusted even though it was written by sinful people because god inspired the writers. Bock, executive director of cultural engagement, the. It can be trusted because it is inerrant, inspired, and infallible. We can know the bible is gods word the same way we know the world is gods world, same dynamic, same principle. The evidence for our new testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical authors, the authenticity of which noone. Ten reasons why you can trust the bible the leastread bestsellerthats the bible. What is the apocrypha and can we trust these books to be. At answers in genesisthe parent ministry of answers magazineour statement of faith declares, the 66 books of the bible are the written. Can i trust the bible three proofs that we can trust the.
The bible contains a message that one would imagine to be the most exciting news to someone looking for real answers to the problems of life. There is also the subjective evidence of inspiration that comes by simply reading and heeding the bible cf. The jewish teacher and military leader josephus 37c. Les tells of deletions and additions since 1881, which dovetail into new age teaching. If the bible is written by sinful people, how can we trust. With his expert knowledge and skill, yet in a remarkably easytofollow way, williams, one of the worlds leading authorities on the text of the new testament, takes the reader through various lines of evidence supporting the historical reliability of the gospels. Written by about forty authors over the course of 1500 years, it was essential that a list be drawn up of the books which reflected the truth of gods message and were inspired by the holy spirit. I hope this will give the reader a sense of confidence that the bible, as it has come down to us, is an altogether historically reliable record. Recent battles over the teaching of evolution or the warning labels affixed by some school districts on biology texts reveals an anxious trust in the bible. A short, readable book that explains clearly and simply what christians believe about the bible and how god speaks today. November 16, 2017 we can be confident that our translations of the historical documents are accurate and correct and that we know what the authors of those documents originally wrote. A professor in a state university apologized to his students for the bible, as he said, we all admit there are scientific errors in the bible. If the bible is written by sinful people, how can we trust it.
When we stand up, we trust that our legs will hold us. Another reason that you can be sure that the bible is trustworthy is because jesus said it was. To me this is up there with ff bruces the new testament documents and at a popular level amy orrewings can we trust the bible. The bible may not tell us everything we want to know, but it certainly tells us everything we need to know in order to have a right relationship with god. Can we trust the gospels roberts, mark d 97815848668. The good news is that we can see for ourselves that the books of the bible we have today are essentially the same as those of. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. But we have thousands of other ancient writings on papyrus, vellum, and parchment with originallanguage text copied from each book of the bibleabout 5,400 distinct pieces when it comes to the new testament, many going back to the first three centuries. Can we trust the gospels williams, peter j 9781433552953. The new testament has approximately 5,700 surviving greek copies plus more than ten thousand copies in latin dating from between the second and tenth centuries.
And the text that points me in that direction is 2 corinthians four verses four and six. The bible stands at the heart of the christian faith. Sep 09, 2008 john piper can we trust the 66 books of the bible. But, the fact is the bible is very trustworthy as a historical document.
Many people do not believe that the bible is a reliable document of history. Core christianity 10 reasons why you should trust the bible. We can trust the bible related media some writers, reportedly of high intellectual and spiritual standing, look upon the bible as a book which, to them, is obviously marked by inconsistency, historical inaccuracy and selfcontradiction. The fact that many of our countrymen currently want to do so is a disturbing trend. Aug 04, 2019 what can we conclude then, about the apocrypha.
If theres anyone we can trust regarding the word of god, its the one who proved himself to be the son of god by fulfilling hundreds of old testament prophecies, living a sinless life, performing numerous miracles and his resurrection from the. Chances are theres a copy lying unread on your bookshelf. For early christians, it meant the rule of faith, what is accepted as authoritative scripture 2. Right now, theres an onslaught on the reliability, accuracy, and authority of scripture within the evangelical community. But as you can see, there really is a remarkable body of evidence supporting the reliability of the bible as we have it in english today. I learnt lots from one or two of the chapters about the canon of scripture. Its assertions are factually true in all the original autographs. The apocrypha itself recognizes our ot canon as a distinct twentyfour books, which corresponds to the hebrew bible as it is known today a. In everyday language, he shows why we can trust scripture and pay attention to what it says about life. Even the most skeptical among us exercises complete trust in many things. Many people today assume that the bible is full of errors and contradictions. Historical documents also support the bibles testimony about jesus. Why the bible is the word of god can i trust the bible.
After all, if the bible is, indeed, a trustworthy source of guidance from our creator, then you owe it to yourself and. Hugh hewitt, nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Yes, we can trust the new testament as a historical document. Exploring christianity can we trust a book written 2000. Most books were acknowledged from the very beginning c. They recorded two unrehearsed interviews where they answered many antikjv accusations to show you why you can trust just one bible the king james version. What is the canon of the bible and how did we get it. Just as our natural father has more experience in life and often knows much more than we do, jehovah, our original father, is greater in knowledge and wisdom than all of us and can even foretell the future. Aug 24, 2019 at answers in genesisthe parent ministry of answers magazineour statement of faith declares, the 66 books of the bible are the written word of god.
This books shows why it is rational to trust the gospels. Not only do we have overwhelming evidence the bible has been reliably. We know it can be difficult to always maintain our trust in god so here we have gathered some of the best bible verses about trust for encouragement to have faith. Helping us trust the bible are the claims of the writers themselves. Matthew was a tax collector who became one of jesus. However, we can excuse these errors on the ground that the bible was not intended to be, nor is it, a textbook on science, so let us not look for scientific accuracy in such a book.
Nor can we use it to demonstrate whether a historical event resulted in a spiritual truth, such as jesus death on the cross paying for our sins. Written to help nonchristians, longtime christians, and everyone in between better understand why gods word is reliable, this short book explores the historical and theological arguments that have helped lead millions of believers through the centuries to trust. Sproul shows that these common assumptions are wrong. After all, quoting the bible to prove the bible assumes the bible is true, which is really the point of contention or discussion. Revered by christians as gods holy word, the bible spans centuries of history, contains a variety of literary styles and culminates in the person of jesus christ.
The bible is divinely inspired and inerrant throughout. But if the bible can be shown to be a reliable document, accurately recorded and transmitted through history, from god to us, then we can build a. Williams answers questions about how the accounts were handed down throughout history and addresses objections that theyre historical fiction, were imposed on the early church by a council, or were simply created to fit existing. The bible contains an array of accounts about events, some of which had to have been initially passed on orally. More importantly, he shares why we can have confidence in our new testaments and trust the bible. What does the bible say about trust and trusting god. The canon of scripture is defined as the books of the bible officially accepted as holy scripture. As with other ancient books, the physical pieces of paper on which the original authors first. That theme is introduced in genesis, expanded on in the books that follow, and brought to a climax in revelation. Even more than other religions, christianity presents itself as history. In returning, then, to the question of trustworthiness of the gospel text, it is rational to have a high degree of confidence in the text of the gospels as it. The word canon means a rule or standard for anything b.
After all, if the bible is, indeed, a trustworthy source of guidance from our creator, then you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to consider what the bible has to say. Of course, it was not the first time that sanath had heard about the bible. Some books however, do puport to give accounts of past events. If we were to look at a chart that compared the biblical documents with other ancient documents, we would see that the bible is in a class by itself regarding the number of ancient copies and their reliability.
This question has bothered readers of the bible since the increasing historical. Here are five reasons why we can trust what the bible says. After reading the articles that follow, you can decide for yourself whether the bible merits your trust. It is the bestselling, most quoted, most published, most circulated, most translated, most influential book in the history of mankind.
Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. What about the additional books in catholic versions of the old testament. At best, it is a mildly interesting look at the lives and beliefs of people who lived centuries ago. And its created monumental confusion among gods people. This books is a miniintroduction and apologetic to the doctrine of scripture for the believer and nonbeliever alike. So, by applying the tightest standards scholars can muster without eliminating all the other classical works, we can conclude that the nt we have is a trustworthy copy of the original. He had always known that it is a holy book, but now he began to think that if the bible really contains true prophecies, perhaps it is more than just an ancient holy book.
Even if it contains some history, is there any way we can trust it completely. Williams conclusion sums up the purpose of the book. With so many different translations available, how can there be a famine for the word. In his recent book, can i really trust the bible and other questions about scripture, truth and how god speaks, barry cooper answer these questions and more. Cindeed, it would be rash skepticism that would now deny that we have our old testament in a form very close to that used by ezra when he taught mark a. The videos are available on youtube, however, this printed book edition has much more information and documentation. First steps book 4 and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Those are bold claims, but how can we be so confident. The 66 books of scripture reflect the work of many different authors, writing in a variety of settings and times. For this reason, he was able to let the bible writers know what to write about the. What can be known about its historical reliability. Oct 23, 20 the reception of the bible is a fascinating topic.
The bible contains four gospels, or books about the good news of jesus christ and salvation. In this book cooper lays out all the truths about the bible and explains exactly why it can be trusted. Sanath thought a lot about what buddhika had told him. The books that comprise apocrypha are historically valuable though not without historical errors for understanding the development of the canon of scripture, culturally insightful to the intertestamental times in israel, and even devotionally helpful, in places. Jun 01, 2015 we can know the bible is gods word the same way we know the world is gods world, same dynamic, same principle. But while we cant examine all the bibles details by scientific or historical inquiry, we can investigate plenty of evidence that corroborates biblical details. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament.
Laird harris concluded, we can now be sure that copyists worked with great care and accuracy on the old testament, even back to 225 b. I feel the importance of it right now, because i just spent six weeks writing a book to answer the question. Christians cant prove beyond any doubt that the bible is worthy of your trust and belief any more than they can prove to you that love is real or that right is better than wrong. How can we trust the canon created by the early church. But we can start with the bibles claim of trustworthiness and then look for supporting evidence to validate it. If you want certain and ironclad arguments about the bible, we dont have them.
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