February 2015 - Bible Authenticity

Archaeological Evidence Supporting the Bible

February 26, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

“All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for proof, for correction, for gaining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 Legacy Standard Bible, marginal reading). There is abundant archaeological evidence supporting the Bible, as evidenced by the amphitheater in the ancient city of Ephesus (Acts 19; 1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Ephesus 1:1).

Unfortunately, many people either ignore or deny the abundant archaeological evidence supporting the Bible. Critics who brush off the Bible as a compilation of mythology and legends, do so overlooking the fact that archaeologists have made thousands of discoveries over the past century and a half that have verified hundreds of details in the Bible. read more

Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

February 26, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

“The word of God, for: “All flesh is like grass, and all the glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts, but the word of the Lord remains forever'” (1 Peter 1:23-25 New American Bible). The Dead Sea Scrolls provide the oldest existing copies of the Old Testament, proving the text was accurately preserved.

Before this discovery, the earliest complete Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts were from the 10th century CE. The scrolls contain texts from the third century BCE through the first century CE. By comparing them with modern Bibles, scholars confirmed that the Old Testament text was faithfully transmitted over the centuries with remarkable consistency. read more

Ancient Flood Stories – Is Genesis One of Many?

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

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The traditions of ancient peoples throughout the world share in common the inclusion of flood stories. The Mesopotamian accounts have garnered the most discussion since they are culturally closer to the Biblical material than any of the other non-Scriptural narratives. The most famous of the many ancient flood stories is the Mesopotamian flood account, the Babylonian version, found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (seventh century BCE) as part of the larger Epic of Gilgamesh. read more

Ancient Creation Stories and Narratives

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

Is the Bible just another one of many ancient creation stories, or is it different?

“Yahweh God, the Almighty . . . created all things”—Revelaat ion 4:8,11 LSB

ANCIENT PAGAN CREATION STORIES

In contrast to the Biblical creation narratives, ancient creation stories from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria-Palestine do far more than try to explain how the physical world came into being. Creation myths often elevated the particular god of a particular shrine to supremacy over all other gods in order to validate the prestige of that deity, that shrine or the city in which the shrine was located. read more

Who Were the Nephilim?

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

There are only two Biblical references to the “Nephilm” (Genesis 6:4 NIV); Numbers 13:33 NIV). In Genesis 6:4, they are the “giants on earth in those days” before the flood, “the mighty men . . . of renown” (Genesis 6:4 NKJV). The Israelite spies’ “bad report about the land” of Canaan used the term “Nephilm” to describe “people . . . of great size” (Numbers 13:32,33 NIV), from whom the Anakites were claimed to have descended. Upon glimpsing these imposing inhabitants of Canaan, ten of the twelve spies became demoralized and terrified. The “Nephilim” the ten spies spoke of at Numbers 13:33 may have been similar in appearance to the Rephaites, a race of strong, tall people with whom the Anakites are compared in Deuteronomy 2:20,21. read more

What is Textual Criticism? Has the Bible Been Changed?

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

NT canon — Textual Criticism collates and compares the many ancient extant Bible manuscripts for the various Biblical texts to determine the original reading for each scripture?

Is Textual Criticism something that is critical of the Bible’s text, something that shows the Biblical text is unreliable? Or, is Textual Criticism something positive, even favorable, toward authenticating the Bible’s text as being genuine, reliable, and trustworthy?

It is popularly believed today that the Bible has been copied and re-copied so many times over the centuries that is text is unreliable, and no one can be sure of what was in the originals. Is there any truth to this? read more

Should Pseudepigrapha (Books By Fake Authors) Be In the Bible?

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

Is the Bible reliable? — Should Pseudepigrapha books be in the Bible?

Increasingly claims are being made that many worthy books were omitted from the Bible, and thus raising doubts in people’s minds that “the Scriptures” of the Bible are “the word of God” (John 10:35 NLT). Pseudepigrapha, meaning “false title,” or books by fake authors, refers to Jewish books that falsely claimed to have been written by Moses, Enoch, Abraham or some other ancient hero of the faith, and are supposedly arbitrarily omitted from the Bible.

Most pseudepigrapha, or books by fake authors, were written between 250 BCE and 200 CE. Why aren’t they part of the 66 book Biblical cannon of inspired books/ The Pseudepigrapha books compared with what is genuinely “all Scripture . . . by God” (2 Timothy 3:16 LSB) solves this puzzle. read more

The Ending of Mark

February 23, 2015 BibleAuthenticity


The end of Mark 15 (excluding verse 47), along with Mark 16:1 in Codex Sinaiticus (c. 350 AD) What is the true ending of Mark?

The ending of Mark is controversial with some groups. There are several different endings to the Gospel of Mark found in the various Greek manuscripts. Most Greek texts and several ancient translations conclude with the ending familiar to us as Mark 16:9-20. However, the earliest Greek manuscript with that ending is from the fifth century, although evidence from the church fathers suggests that the longer ending was already in existence during the second century. Many scholars feel, however, that, in addition the manuscript evidence, the vocabulary and themes of the traditional ending are inconsistent with the rest of the Gospel. read more

The Rylands Papyrus 457 Dated to 125-135 CE

February 20, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

The Rylands Papyrus 457 (P52) is the oldest copy yet discovered of any portion of the New Testament, having been paleographically dated back to the first half of the second century CE, about 125-135 CE A tiny fragment of a codex (a leaf-form text, like a modern book, in contrast to a scroll) of the Gospel of John, it contains parts of John 18:31-33 on one side and John 18:37-38 on the other side. It was acquired in Egypt in 1920 and is now in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England. read more

The Historical Accuracy of Luke-Acts

February 19, 2015 BibleAuthenticity

The historical accuracy of the Luke-Acts two-volume work is frequently challenged. Scholars dispute such issues as the dating of the reign of Quirinius (Luke 1:5; 2:2) and references to Palestinian geography (Luke 4:44; 17:11), and raise additional historical questions regarding the numerous speeches in Acts (e.g., Acts 2:14-36), and the harmonious portrayal of the early church (Acts 4:32-35). The most critical historical objection to Acts concerns the details of Paul’s ministry. Although certain passages suggest that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10-17; Acts 27:1–Acts 28:6), some scholars deem this tradition untenable on the basis of perceived difficulties in harmonizing the life and perspective of Paul as presented in Acts with details about his life found in his letters.

Many of these perceived difficulties are lessened when we recall the purpose of Luke’s accounts. In composing his volumes, Luke did not intend to record a comprehensive history, but, rather, to provide an accurate historical account to meet the needs of people to develop faith (Luke 1:4). Luke acknowledged his use of sources (Luke 1:2), which he investigated thoroughly in order to compose an orderly account (Luke 1:3). Where it is possible to verify Luke’s use of sources, we find that the Gospel writer followed them meticulously. Furthermore, Luke was precise concerning the titles of officials and municipalities in various towns (Acts 13:12; Acts 17:6; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:31,35), details that reveal the writer’s commitment to accuracy.”—Based on the New International Version Archaeological Study Bible article “The Historical Value of Luke-Acts” read more