Is the Bible Reliable?

Is the Bible reliable? Many people discount the claims of Christianity based on the assumption that the original biblical manuscripts are unreliable. Both the Old and New Testaments, however, pass three tests historians use to determine the validity of any document:

The bibliographical test. This test examines the number of manuscripts available and the time elapsed between the original and the copies. There are more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament available and thousands more in Latin and other languages. Scholars can easily compare copy with copy to determine accuracy. Archaeological discoveries confirm mid-first-century writing dates. The Iliad, second to the New Testament in manuscript authority, has only 643 manuscripts.

While fewer manuscripts of the Old Testament exist, its accuracy has been corroborated by finds such as the Dead Sea Scrolls (1948). The rules for copying manuscripts were extremely rigorous; two manuscripts of Isaiah dated 1,000 years apart are virtually identical.

The internal test. The internal test examines the credibility of the author by such criteria as whether there are contradictions and how close the writer was to the event being reported. In the case of the New Testament, the historical accuracy of many passages has been verified.

"Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus... ." (Luke 1:1-3) .

" ...that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ". (I John 1:3 )

The external test. This test determines whether historical material confirms or denies the veracity of the documents. Both early historians and later archaeological discoveries corroborate the testimony of the New Testament. The Old Testament, which was ridiculed for its mention of places such as Sodom and Gomorrah and a people called the Hittites, has been vindicated by archaeological finds mentioning these names.

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