When I started to flick through this new book from The Good Book Company, I was excited by the thought of getting into the Bible, even though this book is aimed at families with pre-school children, it just looks great fun!

This is a new series of Bible study notes for parents to do with their children. Each session consists of an ‘appetiser’  introduction with ideas for chats and games, a main course with prayers, Bible story, and sticker time, and a snack time, a little nugget to keep kids thinking.

There’s a page at the back where you can photocopy and cut out the little snack nuggets and take them out with you during the day… I’m 24, and I think this sounds fun… in fact I might just have to start making babies (after getting married) so I can do it with my kids!!

The notes are written by Alison Mitchell and Jo Boddam Whetham, and produced by The Good Book Company. They’re just £5, which is a bargain with the stickers and fun stuff to do. You can get your hands on one of these from the 1st February… do it!

Read online sample (pdf)

Read More

Apparently there are 63,779 cross-references in the Bible… if you showed that visually it would look like this…

HT: Mark Meynell

Read More

Muslims claim that the Bible in its present form has been corrupted. While Muslims accept the truth of the Bible – the Injil, which refers to the New Testament (Gospel), they believe that the truth of this revelation has been lost.

But the question is… When was the Bible corrupted?

Was it corrupted before Muhammed?

Well this seems unlikely given what the Qu’ran says about the Bible… Sura 4:136 says that Muslims are to believe in God, in the Qu’ran and in the Bible (“the scripture He has revealed before”). Why would the Qu’ran call Muslims to believe a corrupt document?

Or, was it corrupted after Muhammed?

It seems, given the Qu’ran’s endorsement of the Bible that it must have been corrupted after Muhammed’s revelation. Muhammed died in AD 632. But we have lots of manuscripts before that date… check out the Codex Sinaiticus a complete manuscript of the Bible, dated to the fourth century.

So… if the Bible was corrupted, when was it corrupted?

Read More

How do we know that what we read is true?

The Bible says it is! – 2 Tim 3:16

Thus says the Lord, I tell you the truth,

That is a circular argument – yes, it has to be!

Think about the American Constitution…

Expanding the circle…

Prophecies Fulfilled

Unity of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation

Harmony between 40 authors over 1500 years in 3 languages

Style of writing – factual, eyewitness accounts, ‘little details’

“I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends and myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know none of them are like this.”… they are either reportage, or the first realistic novelistic writing without predecessor or successor…

CS. Lewis

Archaeology – Ebla archive, Hittites found in Turkey (19^th Century)

Dead Sea Scrolls – The Book of Isaiah (150 B.C.)

Secular Historians – Josephus, Tacitus

Christian Historians – Tertullian, Justin Martyr

How do we know that what we read is what was written?

See Manuscript Evidence!

What about all the different versions?

Translation Errors There are errors in the Bible! - “as originally given”

Transcription Errors 24,000 copies, check the footnotes (Mark 16)

Four Points of the Gospel

God created us in his image, for his glory

We have rejected God’s rightful rule over us as his creation and deserve to die

God sent his Son, the man Jesus Christ to take the death penalty for our rejection of him and to restore a right relationship with God

We will face God in judgement, there are two pleas, “I will take the punishment for my rebellion” or “Jesus took the punishment for my rebellion”

Is it coherent?

Does it correspond with reality?

Does it work?

We make our own errors…

Changing Scripture

Jehovah’s Witnesses – systematic removal of references to the deity of Jesus

“[Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” – 2 Peter 3:16

Adding to Scripture

‘Strict’ / Legalists – adding rules and morality not given by the Bible

Charismatics – too high a view of prophecy?

Roman Catholics – Papal Infallibility?

Denying Scripture

“There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behaviour for all time.”

– Bishop John Shelby Spong, ‘New Reformation’

Misinterpreting Scripture - It’s all down to interpretation!

Is God loving or wrathful? Is homosexuality a sin? Can women lead churches?

CONTEXT is KEY!!!

How should we view the Bible?

“The Holy Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.” – CMFs Christian Beliefs

2 Timothy 3:16 Breathed out by God, thoroughly equipped for every work (Sufficient)

Hebrews 1:1-2 God’s final word, all about Jesus, from God (Authoritative)

Luke 24:44 One book, one message… it really is all about Jesus

How should we answer questions from non-christians?

- Avoid disputable matters – creation, end times, spiritual gifts, election etc.

- If you don’t know, say so! Be honest and come back with an answer.

- Be prepared. Study the Bible. Study apologetics. (1 Peter 3:15)

- Look behind the question. Who’s asking it? Why are they asking it?

- Pray for the questioner. Pray for your answer. Be gracious in your response. (Colossians 4:2-6)

Herod, Quirinius and Jesus’ Birth, Luke 2

Caesar Augustus 63BC – 19AD

Herod the Great Died 4BC

Quirinius Governor from 6AD (Josephus)

Consul from 12 BC (Deeds of Augustus)

Advisor to Augustus’ son in Armenia and Syria (Tacitus)

The Bible says Quirinius was ‘governing’ in Syria, not the Governor

Census’

- Augustus had the power, used it to tax provinces

- 104 AD (Gaius Maximus), 48 AD (Tiberius Claudius)… required a returning to native land

Tertullian – 155-222 AD

Tertullian, a lawyer of the second century, had no trouble reconciling the statement of Luke 2:2 that Quirinius was “hegemon” of Syria with Saturninus’ governorship of Syria, because he would have understood Quirinius’ position in Syria as a special assignment. Because of the special assignment of Quirinius, Luke refers to him as the “hegemon” during the registration. Schurer mentions other scholars who have accepted the position that Quirinius was a special legate to carry out this census.

- See Emil Schurer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ

Canon of Scripture

Irenaeus AD 160 – Four Gospels

Justin Martyr, in the early second century, mentions the “memoirs of the apostles,” which Christians called “gospels” and which were regarded as on par with the Old Testament

Origin 3^rd Century – 27 New Testament books

Athanasius 367 AD – calls 27 books ‘canonized’

Synod of Hippo 393 AD – confirms canon

Divinity of Jesus – Council of Nicea 325 AD

Heretic called Arius

Vote was 318 – 2

Gospel of Thomas

GoT 114: Simon Peter said to them, “Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life.” Jesus said, “I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Manuscripts

Author	Date Written	Earliest Copy	Time Span	Copies (extent)
Secular Manuscripts:
Herodotus (History)	480 – 425 BC	900 AD	1,300 years	8
Thucydides (History)	460 – 400 BC	900 AD	1,300 years	?
Aristotle (Philosopher)	384 – 322 BC	1,100 AD	1,400 years	5
Caesar (History)	100 – 44 BC	900 AD	1,000 years	10
Pliny (History)	61 – 113 AD	850 AD	750 years	7
Suetonius (Roman History)	70 – 140 AD	950 AD	800 years	?
Tacitus (Greek History)	100 AD	1,100 AD	1,000 years	20
Biblical Manuscripts: (note: these are individual manuscripts)
Magdalene Ms (Matthew 26)	1st century	50-60 AD	co-existant (?)
John Rylands (John)	90 AD	130 AD	40 years
Bodmer Papyrus II (John)	90 AD	150-200 AD	60-110 years
Chester Beatty Papyri (N.T.)	1st century	200 AD	150 years
Diatessaron by Tatian (Gospels)	1st century	200 AD	150 years
Codex Vaticanus (Bible)	1st century	325-350 AD	275-300 years
Codex Sinaiticus (Bible)	1st century	350 AD	300 years
Codex Alexandrinus (Bible)	1st century	400 AD	350 years

(Total New Testament manuscripts = 5,300 Greek MSS, 10,000 Latin Vulgates, 9,300 others = 24,000 copies)
(Total MSS compiled prior to 600 AD = 230)

Sir David Dalrymple sought to do this, and from the second and third century writings of the church fathers he found the entire New Testament quoted except for eleven verses (McDowell 1972:50-51; 1990:48)! Thus, we could throw the New Testament manuscripts away and still reconstruct it with the simple help of these letters. Some examples of these are (from McDowell’s Evidence…, 1972 pg. 51):

Clement (30- 95 A.D.) quotes from various sections of the New Testament.
Ignatius (70-110 A.D.) knew the apostles and quoted directly from 15 of the 27 books.
Polycarp (70-156 A.D.) was a disciple of John and quoted from the New Testament.

3 Types of Error

Textual

Written within eyewitness time frame (from 15 years)

Lots of copies

Good oral tradition as back up

…see manuscripts (Josh McDowell)

Factual

Written within eyewitness time frame (from 15 years)

No problems for the early church and early historians

Named eyewitnesses (Mark 15:21), 500 witnesses (1 Cor 15)

Most ‘errors’ aren’t when read in context

Secular history is not 100% reliable, the Bible sometimes wins (Hittites)

Fabrication - it’s a bad one!

Unhelpful facts – women witnesses, Peter’s denial, Mark runs away, crucified leader…

Genuine Error – casts doubt on ‘God breathedness’ rather than on truth

Social / Cultural

Slavery? Women? Sex?

Mark 14 (argument from TK – Reason for God)

62“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

71He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

Mark 16:7 – Peter restored to leadership

Why is our culture deemed more progressive? How arrogant!

‘Stepford God’? - The Bible should contradict us!

Read More

Here’s a little outline from the talk I did at Medical Christian Union at Sussex 2 weeks ago…

---

Isn’t the Bible full of errors?

The short answer is NO!

If the Bible is God’s word as it says (2 Tim 3:16), then it will be true.

That is a massive circular argument, BUT it has to be – just like the American Constitution!

God’s word must be ‘self-authenticating’, but we can look to other evidence to expand this circle of argument.

Expanding the Circle

Internal One message from Genesis to Revelation Harmony between 40 authors, over 1500 years, in 3 languages Prophecies fulfilled, in detail! Factual, eye-witness, reportage style of writing

External Secular historians like Josephus and Tacitus Christian historians like Tertullian and Justin Martyr Dead Sea Scrolls (copy of Isaiah dated to 150 BC) Archaeology (Ebla archive proves existence of Hittites)

Textual Errors?

• Eyewitnesses still around when words are committed to paper
• Huge number of copies to compare with one another for errors (see manuscript table)

Factual Errors?

• Written when eyewitnesses were around, starting around 15 years after Christ
• Early Church and historians have no problems with so-called errors
• Eyewitnesses are named (Mark 15:21), 500 at one time (1 Cor 15)
• Secular history is not 100% accurate – see Hittite example where the Bible was right from the start
• If the Bible is fabricated then it’s a bad job – women witness the resurrection, first church leader denies Jesus, and the movement is based on a crucified leader

Social / Cultural Errors?

• Different cultures are offended by different bits of the Bible (see Mark 14, example from Tim Keller – Reason for God)
• We are arrogant when we assume our culture is more progressive than others!
• The Bible should contradict us (see Keller, ‘Stepford God’)

4 Main Points of Christianity

We shouldn’t ignore possible errors in the Bible, we need to think, discuss and research.

But we shouldn’t use possible errors to dismiss the Bible completely or to avoid addressing the central claims of the Bible…

1. We were created by God, for God
2. We’ve been happy to live in God’s creation, but without God, we deserve to die because of this rebellion
3. Jesus Christ, God-as-man, died. His death acts as a substitution, he dies where we should have died.
4. When we face God in judgement, we can take the punishment for our rebellion on ourselves or trust in Jesus that his death in our place restores a right relationship with God.

---

There was about 15 people at the MCU meeting – I was going to talk about how we as Christians ‘make our own errors’ in the Bible by poor theology or poor handling of the Bible, and how we can best respond to non-Christians. However, there were I think 4 non-Christian guests, so I went more evangelistic, there was good discussion afterwards, although this inevitably focused more on Genesis 1 than on those 4 central claims of the Bible. But it was a good discussion anyway!

Read More