Can we trust the Bible?

Udo,

Can we trust what the Bible teaches us? For example, since nothing is more important in understanding what Christianity is all about than the person of Jesus, can we really trust what is said about Him in the New Testament?

Regards

Udo

 

Hi Smithy

Yes, we can trust the Bible. Here are a few very brief reasons (adapted from On Guard, 2010):

• The documents of the New Testament was written within the lifetime of eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry. Therefore there wasn’t enough time for untrue stories to confuse the true facts surrounding the life and person of Jesus.
• We know that the Jews were very careful in how they kept written records of their history. We also know of many writings of people who were not followers of Jesus which shows that the events surrounding Jesus’ life really happened.
• Especially in the Gospels, in which we find most of the details about Jesus, we have many signs that speak of the truth of what was written about Jesus. For example, studying history shows that the people and places mentioned in the Gospels, are accurate. We also know that several different people wrote about Jesus in different ways about the same events (meaning that they didn’t just make up stories). Furthermore, we know that some things in the Gospels would have been embarrassing to the early Christian church, so that it is unlikely that Christians would mention these if they weren’t really true.
• There are certain statements in the Old Testament (like the suffering servant in Isaiah 53) that seem to refer to Jesus or events surrounding his life. These statements would be examples of prophecies, which are remarkable predictions of things that came true in the future and which points to the divine and reliable nature of the Bible.

Also see the following video: J. Warner Wallace

Regards

Udo