Is the New Testament Reliable?
Jarrod Drawbaugh
Regarding the Bible, The Da Vinci Code claims " … it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book." (TDVC, 231) From this claim and others within the book, we see that Dan Brown would have us believe that the Bible is not Gods word, is not historically accurate, is not factually true, and the original message has been lost and corrupted over time.
Is the New Testament reliable? Can we know with certainty that it is truth? The pursuit of truth, after all, is our goal, for it is truth that sanctifies us and sets us free (Jn.17:17; Jn.8:32). If we are going to use the New Testament as our guide, we need to know that it is Gods truth, and that it is factually, historically, spiritually, and in all other areas, reliable.
This will be a brief analysis. We strongly encourage you to study the matter further. With so much to say I am going to be short and direct, and as pithy as possible with each point.
New Testament Claims
The very purpose Luke gives for writing his Gospel is to give an accurate account of the story of Jesus (Lk.1:1-4). Pauls teachings were from God (1 Thes.2:13). Pauls writings were inspired scripture (2 Pet.3:14-16). The word of the Lord endures forever (1 Pet.1:24-26). Jesus words will never pass away (Mk.13:31).
Historical Facts
First century historian Josephus is one whom historians and archeologists have long regarded as being an accurate source for Jewish history. In his writings, he records a brief excerpt on the life of Jesus, his marvelous works, his trial under Pilate, his crucifixion, and his resurrection (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, p. 379). The story of Jesus is not fanciful fabrication, but historical fact.
Josephus also records other historical facts that correspond precisely with the New Testament, such as the death of John the Baptist (Josephus, 382), the famine in the reign of Claudius (Josephus, 416), and the martyrdom of James (Josephus, 423).
The Greek historian Thallus, writing in about 52 AD, writes of the darkness that occurred on the day Jesus was crucified. Those three hours of darkness when Jesus died (recorded in Mt.27:45, Mk.15:33, and Lk.23:44) are historical fact according to both Scripture and secular history.
The books of the N.T. were written within the lifetime of those who were eye witnesses to the life, works, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If the story the gospels tell is not true, these eye witnesses (especially the unbelieving Jews) would have pointed out the error. When the Gospels were written, many witnesses were still alive who saw and knew the facts written therein to be true. We can see this to be the case from both scripture and from secular history. While countless archeological discoveries confirm what we read in the N.T., archeology has not produced anything that is unequivocally a contradiction to the Bible. (Strobel, The Case For Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998, page 100). This is just a small sample of the wealth of data that shows the New Testament to be historically reliable.
Preservation of Scripture
We have far more copies of N.T. writings that were written closer to the date of the originals than there are for any other piece of literature that has come down to us from ancient times. Many of the copies we have date back to within a generation or two of the original date of composition, whereas with most other texts, centuries have elapsed between the original date of composition and the oldest surviving copies around today.
In no other case is the interval of time between the composition of the book and the date of the earliest manuscripts so short as in that of the New Testament. (Strobel, 63)
In addition to copies of the text itself, we also have literally thousands of quotations and references in lectionaries (sermon notes, commentaries, etc.) from first second and third century Christians. (Strobel, 59). Over 5,000 ancient Greek N.T. manuscripts have been found and catalogued (Strobel, 60), something that can be said of none other. In second place is Homers The Iliad, of which there are fewer than 650 Greek manuscripts around today, which were written nearly 1,000 years after its original date of writing (Strobel, 60). Yet no one questions its preservation and reliability.
While skeptics and critics like to call into question the reliability of the Bible, they never do so with other historical works that have far less evidence to back them up. For example, the two earliest biographies we have of Alexander the Great were written more than 400 years after his death (Strobel, 33). Yet historians consider them to be accurate and reliable. If we compare the present state of the New Testament text with that of any other ancient writing, we must declare it to be marvelously correct. Such has been the care with which the New Testament has been copied-a care which has doubtless grown out of true reverence for its holy wordsThe New Testament is unrivaled among ancient writings in the purity of its text as actually transmitted and kept in use. (Strobel, 70)
Conclusion
After such examination, we conclude that the New Testament claims cited above certainly hold up. The New Testament is what it claims to be, as the evidence shows. The Christian faith has been tested and tried for nearly 2000 years, and for nearly 2000 years it has stood firm! It shall never pass away! After The Da Vinci Code, other false teachings will arise and sadly overthrow the faith of some, but the Christian faith and Gods inspired Word will abide forever!
The reliability of the Bible has been called into question countless times, only to emerge triumphant time and time again. I believe Henry H. Halley said it best in his famous Halleys Bible Handbook, so I will close with a quote from him. The dear old book has worn out many anvils, and long after the critics have been forgotten will go marching on loved and honored by unnumbered millions. Precious book! (Halley, 747).