Is the Bible Reliable?

Before we consider the evidence let us, by way of illustration, recall one of the greatest horrors of the 20th Century – the Jewish Holocaust and the extermination of 6 million Jews by the Third Reich. How do we know that this nightmare actually occurred? “Simple,” you say, “We have recorded testimonies of hundreds of survivors and other eyewitnesses, some still alive today.” Exactly. Now lets project forward another 2000 years. How would people at that time know that the Holocaust occurred? Again, it’s rather simple. All eyewitnesses are long gone of course, but there would be a variety of written and other records still available as confirmation. And if those records did not contradict each other then they would know with certainty that the records were a true and accurate record of the Holocaust. It’s no different with the New Testament of the Bible. They provide the equivalent accounts of accurate newspaper reports of the life, death and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago.

In fact, there are over 5300 New Testament manuscripts and portions of manuscripts all in 99.5% agreement. Although we do not have the original texts, the level of agreement among texts once scattered around the ancient world is so remarkable we don’t need the originals to know what they say. The number of texts and their degree of agreement determines their reliability. Many classical works have less than 20 manuscripts, yet scholars are certain that the copies we possess are accurate representations of the originals. Therefore, we can confidently know that the stories in the New Testament are historically accurate. These stories accurately record the life, death and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ as witnessed by hundreds of people! The apostle Paul confirmed this widely known fact: “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

Here’s, an argument confirming the reliability of the New Testament from philosopher Norman Geisler:

[i] God exists...

[ii] The New Testament is an historically reliable document...

[iii] Miracles confirm Jesus' claim to be God...

[iv] Whatever God teaches is true...