BIBLE PROOFS

Even though the Bible was written on perishable materials and copied by scribes for hundreds of years before the invention of the printing press, it has survived virtually intact. In fact, the Bible has more manuscript evidence than any other 10 pieces of classical literature combined. There are over 24,000 manuscript copies of the New Testament in existence today, with the oldest manuscript dated at 125 years after the original autograph. That might seem like a long time, but by comparison, Homer's Iliad is a distant second with a mere 643 manuscript copies, and with the oldest copy dated at 500 years after the original. In their book, "A General Introduction to the Bible", Geisler and Nix compare the textual variations between the New Testament documents and their closest competition for accuracy, Homer's Iliad. Both texts were considered sacred, and both underwent textual changes and criticism of their Greek manuscripts. The Iliad contains about 15,600 lines of which 764 lines are in doubt. This means the Iliad manuscripts contain five percent textual corruption or uncertainty. By contrast, the New Testament contains 20,000 lines with only 40 lines, or 400 words in doubt, which figures to 99.5 percent textual certainty, or only one-half of one percent of words containing variants (Giesler & Nix 366 367). None of the disputed passages in the New Testament represent a challenge to any Christian doctrine or moral precept, with most of the variants being attributed to errors in spelling or slight differences of style.

The Jews had elaborate systems in place to preserve the accuracy of the Old Testament documents as they were painstakingly copied by hand. Bernard Ramm speaks of the accuracy and number of old testament manuscripts, and he describes how the Jews used a special process know as "massora" (parva, magna, and finalis) which kept tabs on ever letter, syllable, word, and paragraph. A special class of dedicated, and highly trained men did this work; their sole duty was to preserve and transmit these documents

Another proof of the Bible's inspiration is that it foretells of persons, places, and things that had not yet occurred at the time of the writing. In one such prophecy, written about 700 BC by the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah predicts that a king named Cyrus will say that Jerusalem shall be built, and that the temple foundation shall be laid (Isaiah 44:28 - 45:1). But there was a problem. At the time of this writing Jerusalem was a fully developed city and the entire temple was standing! More than 100 years later (about 586 BC) King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and temple. Then the Persians conquered Jerusalem in about 539 BC, and finally, about 160 years after the prophecy of Isaiah, a Persian king named Cyrus gave the decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This is not an isolated prophecy, but one of literally hundreds that accurately predicted future events. The notion that so many fulfilled prophecies could be the result of coincidence is absurd.

All the evidence leads to the conclusion that the Bible is not only accurate and historically unique, but it is truly remarkable, even to the intellectually honest skeptics who have explored it. It is completely reasonable, and intellectually defensible, to base one's faith and life on the Bible.

TO GOD be all honor and glory amen and amen