Source: Irrefutable Proof Christianity is True: A Summary of the Works of Norman Geisler by Shawn Nelson
It will be argued here that the New Testament documents are historically reliable because the events were accurately recorded by reliable witnesses and the manuscripts were accurately copied and preserved.
New Testament Manuscripts
In terms of sheer number of manuscript copies, the New Testament is in a category by itself. It is the best textually supported book from antiquity.
More Manuscripts than Any Other Ancient Works
We have 5,800 partial and complete copies of the original Greek New Testament manuscripts dating as far back as the first and second centuries. These were translated early into Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Latin and other languages, giving us another 19,000 copies of the text. Furthermore, we have 36,289 quotations by the early church fathers that we can use to reconstruct the New Testament if we had to (every book and nearly every chapter).
No Other Ancient Work Comes Close
Nothing else in the ancient world comes close to the New Testament’s manuscript attestation. The second most documented ancient work after the Bible is Homer’s Illiad with a mere 643 copies. Beyond that, we have 200 copies of the works of Demosthenes, twenty copies of Tacitus’ Annals, ten good copies of Julius Ceasar’s Galic War, eight copies of the works of Herodotus, seven of Pliny, and seven of Plato. It’s quite common for works of antiquity to survive on only a handful of manuscript copies.
New Testament Manuscripts Are Earlier
No other book in the ancient world has a narrower time gap between original composition and its copies. Most other ancient books survive on manuscripts that were copied about a thousand years after they were composed. Works like the Odyssey are a rare exception, with one copy made five hundred years after the original.
In contrast, the New Testament gap is not one thousand, five hundred, or even a few hundred years, but less than twenty-five to one hundred and fifty years. The earliest undisputed New Testament manuscript is the John Ryland Papyri (P52) dated 117-138 AD. Its discovery location in Egypt suggests it had been in circulation for quite some time, placing the original date of composition in the first century AD. The Bodmer Papyri is a complete copy of the New Testament dating around 200 AD, just 100 years after the originals. If a person rejects the New Testament on the grounds of manuscript evidence, they would have to reject all other works of ancient antiquity also.
What About Manuscript Errors?
Critics often point to the variations between manuscripts as proof that the record is not accurate. However, even the biggest New Testament critics like Bart Ehrman admit that none of these copyist errors are theologically significant, but are simply slips of the pen, accidental omissions, misspelled words or inadvertent additions (Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus, 2007, 55). To illustrate the types of “errors” we are talking about, compare copies of a message: “YO# HAVE WON $1,000,000”, “YOU HAVE #ON $1,000,000”, and “YOU HAVE WON $#,000,000”. Even though there are copyist errors, the message comes through and we can accurately reconstruct the original message with certainty.
Critics have exaggerated the number of such errors by counting copies of mistakes. But in reality, with very few exceptions these mistakes are minor and do not have any significant impact on the text. In fact, multiple scholars have concluded independently that 98.33% to 99.9% of our manuscripts are free from significant errors whatsoever, which is remarkable considering the amount of manuscripts we have.
Scholar Tests the Reliability of the Bible and Finds THIS
Dr. Daniel Wallace, one of the leading New Testament manuscript scholars, reveals whether or not we can trust the New Testament of the Bible.
The Historicity of the New Testament
Some doubt the Jesus of the New Testament. Others go so far as to say that Jesus never even existed and that everything written about him is a forgery. How does this stack up to the evidence?
Based On Eyewitness Testimony
The apostle John repeatedly pointed to the fact that he was an eyewitness of the life, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus from the dead (John 19:35; 21:24; 1 John 1:1). Likewise, Peter claimed to be an eyewitness and that they were merely teaching what they had seen (Acts 2:32; 4:19-20; 10:39-40; 2 Peter 1:16). Paul challenged those who doubted the resurrection to talk to the 500 witnesses who had seen Jesus alive after the resurrection, the majority of whom were still alive (1 Cor. 15:3-8). Luke was diligent to base his accounts (the books of Luke and Acts) on eyewitness testimony (Luke 1:1-4).
There Were Nine Authors Documenting Testimony
There were nine different authors (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews) of twenty seven books. All of these authors were either direct eyewitnesses of the events or were contemporaries of eyewitnesses.
Legal Experts Confirm the Testimony As Credible
Modern legal experts (see works of Simon Greenleaf, Thomas Sherlock, Frank Morrison, John Montgomery) have confirmed that the eyewitness testimony in the New Testament is authentic, and that any impartial person in a court of law would have no reason to doubt the credibility of the testimony.
Jesus On Trial | Would The Bible Hold Up In A Court Of Law?
Dr. Simon Greenleaf decided to put Jesus’ resurrection on trial by examining the evidence. Greenleaf helped Harvard Law School gain widespread credibility. He also wrote the three-volume legal masterpiece A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, which has been called the “greatest single authority in the entire literature of legal procedure.” The U.S. judicial system today still relies on rules of evidence established by Greenleaf.
Archeology Confirms the Testimony
Not one archaeological discovery has ever conflicted with the Bible. On the contrary, there have been many archaeological discoveries that support it. We know the locations of places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Bethany, the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. We have also found artifacts like a coin of Caesar Augustus, inscriptions regarding people like King Herod, Pilate, and Caiaphas, and places like the synagogue in Capernaum, the pool of Siloam and the steps of the temple. We’ve even discovered examples of crucifixion and tombs (including one that is empty!).
Expedition Bible brings you the teaching of Joel Kramer, a biblical archaeologist and former expeditioner in his younger years. Joel teaches by "taking you into the Bible," showing you Biblical sites, and giving you context, evidence, and experience to understand Scripture more profoundly. Watch, learn, and be encouraged as Joel lays out the evidence for the historicity, authenticity, and authority of the Word of God.
The Dating of the New Testament
Critics argue that the New Testament was written too late, and therefore could not have been written by eyewitnesses or their contemporaries, and that it cannot be trusted as a historically reliable document.
Critics Need More Time For Myths And Errors
Critics attempt to put as much time as they can between the writing of the New Testament documents and when the events actually occurred. More time allows for more mistakes in oral tradition and for mythologies to develop.
Argument for Early Date for Luke/Acts
Noted Roman historian Colin Hemer argues for an early date of AD 60 to 63 for Acts based on what we do not see: (1) there’s no mention of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, (2) the Jewish war of AD 66, (3) persecutions by Nero in late 60s or (4) the death of James in AD 62. Since the Gospel of Luke was written before Acts (Acts 1:1), this also dates Luke’s Gospel before AD 60/63, less than thirty years after Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul’s Early Letters Corroborate Gospel Details
The majority of New Testament scholars and critics accept that Paul wrote Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and that these books were written between 55 and 61 AD. That means that in less than two decades after the events of Jesus took place (30 to 33 AD), we have confirmation of at least twenty seven details of the gospels such as Jesus was Jewish (Gal. 3:16), he was descended from David (Rom. 1:3), he was born of a virgin (Gal. 4:4), etc. Most important is Paul’s confirmation of the burial and resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the fact that he appeared to more than 500 witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, composed in 54/55 AD, just twenty two years after Jesus’ resurrection.
Critics Beginning to Accept These Early Dates
More and more critics are beginning to accept these early dates. John A. T. Robinson, leader of the “death of God” movement revised his dates saying all books were written between AD 40 and 70, with Matthew as early as AD 40, Mark AD 45, Luke AD 57 and John AD 40. William F. Albright emphatically adds that there is no longer a basis for accepting any book beyond AD 80 (Albright, Recent Discoveries in Bible Lands, 136).
No Signs of Mythological Embellishment
There is good evidence for the authentic nature of the New Testament documents. (1) There are differences between narratives, yet the writers did not attempt to harmonize their stories. (2) The writers included material that made Jesus look bad (e.g., his own family thought he was insane). (3) They did not try to remove difficult passages. (4) They included self-incriminating information (they were slow to understand, fell asleep when they should have been praying, denied the Lord). (5) They included difficult sayings of Jesus (deny yourself, suffer, eat His flesh and blood). (6) They clearly reported the words of Jesus by distinguishing their own words from those of Jesus. (7) They didn’t deny their testimony even when threatened with death. (8) They claimed repeatedly that they were eyewitnesses (or in Luke’s case had talked to eyewitnesses). (9) The reporting that women had witnessed the resurrection before men. (10) They challenged their listeners to check the facts for themselves from other eyewitnesses. (11) Something significant must have happened for them to seemingly overnight discard long-held Jewish traditions (e.g., worshipping on the Sabbath and eating pork). (12) They mention too much detail (over thirty historical people) for it to be myth.
Too Much Accurate Detail To Be A Fabrication
Historians have noted the high degree of accuracy in the book of Acts (See works of Adrian Sherwin-White, Thomas Arnold and Colin Hemer). Even a casual reader of Luke 3:1-2 can see the high level of detail as Luke ties the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry to no less than seven people’s public office. Furthermore, Luke is accurate in his frequent description of routes, places, officials, customs, idioms and practices of his day, many details of which would only be known to first-hand eyewitnesses. This is significant because Luke also wrote the Gospel of Luke and claimed that it was as accurate of account as he could possibly make it (Luke 1:1-4), basing it on eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion: The New Testament is a Reliable, Accurate Testimony
Because a theistic God exists, miracles are possible. Since miracles are possible, they can be used to confirm that truth claims come from God. The historical writings of the New Testament contain eyewitness testimony of miracles and corresponding truth claims. These writings can be trusted. Now I will prove from these documents that its central figure, Jesus Christ, not only rose from the dead, but is God. Therefore, whatever, Jesus says is truth. And anything opposed is false.
Hope this may be a blessing to the readers.
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