Dave’s Monday Blast – August 26, 2024
Last week we began a discussion on the importance of having an ever maturing Worldview based upon the Word of God. In these days in which we find ourselves, we know that the Lord’s Return is imminent; we can not ignore the signs. As the Lord provides daily opportunities for us to provide comfort to an angry, hopeless and frightened world we must always be prepared to provide an answer for the Hope that is in us… (1 Peter 3:15).
Men of INTENTION know that the reasons that we can live peaceful and productive lives, and are able to share said reasons are found in the Word. As His hands and feet, we are tasked to do His work until He takes us home to live with Him forever. As Biblical Christian Apologists, we can do this work with confidence in the Word of God.
Last week we shared the first four reasons why we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is the same today as it was when it was written 2,000 years ago. Before we continue with the list (next week), I want to refer back to a comment I made concerning the best resource I have ever discovered on the topic of Biblical authority. Fifty years ago, Josh Mcdowell wrote Evidence That Demands a Verdict (2 volumes). Additionally, he wrote a companion book entitled More Than a Carpenter, that is one of best resources on this topic written as a Give Away for seekers and skeptics.
I wanted to share three simple things from chapter six of More Than a Carpenter to help you develop your apologetic in this area. There is a process that is accepted in all honest intellectual communities in regards to authenticating historical documents. They are as follows: I am quoting verbatim from the book.
1. The Bibliographical Test: This test is an examination of the textual transmission by which ancient documents reach us from the past. In other words, since we don’t have the original manuscripts, we have to ask questions: How reliable are the copies we have? How many manuscripts have survived? How consistent are they? What is the time interval between the original and the extant copies?
We can appreciate the tremendous wealth of manuscript authority for the New Testament by comparing it to textual material available to support other notable ancient writings. (Find these details in Mcdowell’s books)
2. The Internal Evidence Test: The bibliographical test determines only that the text we have now is what was originally recorded. One has still to determine not only whether that original written record is credible but also to what extent it is credible.
After examining just six eyewitness testimonies (Matthew, John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude), in comparison to the evidence of other literature of antiquity, we have far better sources for our knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth. (Details available in the Mcdowell books)
3. The External Evidence Test: This third test of historicity is that of external evidence. The issue here is whether other historical material confirms or denies the internal testimony of the documents themselves. In other words, what sources, apart from the literature under analysis, substantiate the document’s accuracy, reliability, and authenticity? (In the Mcdowell books you will receive an incredible lesson on surviving historical texts of all kinds relative to the volume of biblical manuscripts)
Next week we will return to our list of reasons why we can trust the Word to actually be God’s revelation to humankind.
