Review and dealing with the question of whether the Bible has been accurately transmitted through the ages.

1. A cHRISTIAN
today’s world
WITNESS in
Tactics + sTRATEGIES
Relativism
The Bible
Pluralism
Islam
Sexual Revolution
Media
Training and Equipping Believers
to Live Out a Confident Faith

2. A cHRISTIAN
today’s world
WITNESS in
Tactics + Strategies
Pluralism
Islam
Sexual Revolution
Media
Training and Equipping Believers
to Live Out a Confident Faith
The bIble
Relativism

3. The Challenge of Authority - Part 2:
The Bible
“The Bible is just a book written by men”

4. The Challenge of Authority - Part 2:
The Bible
“The Bible has no authority over me”

6. There is only
one way the bible has any
authority…

7. If it comes from God

8. Main qUESTION:

9. iS THE bIBLE A BOOK
FROM MEN
ABOUT GOD?
oR…
iS THE bIBLE A BOOK
FROM gOD
given to Men?
AuthoritativeLiterature

10. From men:
Subjective
From God:
Objective
TruthPreference

11. wHAT
Good REASONS
DO we have to think
The Bible
comes from God?

12. The Bible comes from God
“All Scripture is inspired by God”
6 Reasons

13. Reason #1:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has amazing
unity despite its diverse
origins
Unity
Ring Finger
“Unity”

14. Reason #2:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has genuine
fulfilled prophecy that is
precise, detailed, and
accurate.
Prophecy
Pinkie
“Prophecy”

15. Reason #3:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has proven to be
historically accurate, even
though it records
supernatural events
History
Index
“Index to History”

16. Reason #4:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has survived
through time and lots of
persecution
fIGHTER
Fist
“Fighter”

17. Reason #5:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has answers to the
big questions of life that all
people ask.
biG quESTIONS
Biggest Finger
“Big Questions”

18. Reason #6:March
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
The Bible has changed the
lives and has done so for
thousands of years
cHANGED lIVES
Thumb
“Changed Lives”

19. Pinkie
“Prophecy”
Ring
“Unity”
Biggest Finger
“Big Questions”
Index Finger
“Index to
History”
Thumb
“Changed
Lives”
Fist “Fighter”

20. It is now time to
Practice
1) Explain what each point means
2) Explain why it matters

21. Pinkie
“Prophecy”
Ring
“Unity”
Biggest Finger
“Big Questions”
Index Finger
“Index to
History”
Thumb
“Changed
Lives”
Fist “Fighter”
1.What it
means
2. Why it
matters

22. toNIGHT

23. How do we know
The bIBLE
wE HAVE TODAY
IS THE SAME
AS THE ORIGINAL?

24. Columbo Questions

25. “The Bible has been
Changed”
What Columbo questions
could we ask here?

26. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“What parts, specifically, have
been changed?”

27. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“Where did you study textual
criticism?”

28. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“How many times has the Bible
been retranslated”

29. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“Which parts have been
changed the most?”

30. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“Can you explain to me how you
understand the process of how the
Bible was handed down?”

31. “The Bible has been
Changed”
“Can I share some evidence that
shows the Bible hasn’t been changed?”

32. Where we start

33. The pROBLEMMarch
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
No originals of ANY
classic writer exist.
“Did you that know no original
manuscripts of any classic writer
exists, not even Shakespeare?”

34. The RealityMarch
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
All ancient documents were
handwritten before the
printing press
“You realize that all ancient
documents were hand-written, right?”

35. Why do we start
this way?
Treats the Bible as history,
not as fantasy

36. Why do we start
this way?
The real power is in the comparison
to other texts that nobody doubts

37. Lack of originals

38. manuscripts of the bible texts
no original
Fact:
We have

39. Potion
of
Eternal
Youth
and
Beauty

41. 10 years later

42. Potion
of
Eternal
Youth
and
Beauty

46. 6 Copies
(3nd Generation)

47. Can she rECONSTRUCT
THE ORIGINAL?

48. Where do you start?

49. 1. Compare the copies

50. Comparing the Copies
What if all 6 copies were
exactly the same?
Could you confidently
reconstruct the original?

51. Comparing the Copies
5 were exactly the some,
but one had the ingredients
in a different order?
Could you confidently
reconstruct the original?

52. Comparing the Copies
What if 3 of the 6 had
spelling errors (but all
the same ingredients)?
Could you confidently
reconstruct the original?

53. Comparing the Copies
What if one of the
copies had 2 ingredients
the others did not?
Could you confidently
reconstruct the original?

54. Comparing the Copies
What if we had 10
copies instead of 6?
Could you confidently
reconstruct the original?

55. 2. ASK quESTIONS

56. Comparing the Copies
Is it more likely that one
person added an
ingredient or 5 took one
(the same one) out?

57. Comparing the Copies
Do spelling errors or
varying order of
ingredients make them
corrupt?

58. of copies
lots and lots and lots
Fact:
We have
Lots

59. Criteria for evaluation

60. 2 things that Matter

61. 1. hOW MANY COPIES DO WE HAVE?
2. hOW CLOSE TO THE
ORIGINALS ARE THEY?

62. MaterialsMarch
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible
Plant
sheep or goat skins
calf skins
Papyrus
Parchment
Vellum

63. MaterialsMarch
The Challenge
of Authority
Part 2
The Bible

65. do we have?
copies
Our 2 Main Questions:
How Many
were they written to the
events they record?
closely
How
Manuscripts Time Gap

66. “Natural History”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Pliny Secundus
AD 61-113
AD 850
750 years
7

67. “History of rOME”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Partial Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Livy
AD 59-17
Partial: 4th cen.
1
Complete: 10th cen.
Partial: 400 yrs. Complete: 1000 yrs.
Complete:19

68. “Writings of Plato”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Plato
400 BC
AD 900
7
1300 yrs.

69. “Writings of demosthenes”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Demosthenes
300 BC
AD 1000
200
1400 yrs.

70. “iLIAD”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Homer
800 BC
400 BC
643
400 yrs.

72. “New Testament”
Author:
eARLIEST Copy:
Copies:
Written:
Gap:
Multiple
50-100 BC 114 AD (Fragments)
5366
50-225 yrs.
200 AD (Whole Books)
250 AD (Most of NT)
350 AD (Complete NT)

73. Author Book eARLIEST C. CopiesWritten Gap
Pliny
Natural
History
AD
61-113
AD 850
750
Years. 7
Livy
History
of Rome
AD
59-17
450 yrs
1000 yrs
Partial: 4th Cen.
Most: 10th Cen.
Partial: 1
Whole: 19
Plato Writings 400 BC AD 900
1300
Years. 7

74. Author Book eARLIEST C. CopiesWritten Gap
Demos. Writings 300 BC AD 1000
1400
Years. 200
Homer Iliad 800 BC 400 yrs
Mult.
New
Testament
50-100
AD
AD 114 50 yrs 5366
400 BC 643

75. “New Testament”
Greek Copies 5366
Latin Copies 10,304
other Copies 9300
Total: 24,970

76. "on the basis of manuscript tradition
alone, the works that made up the
Christians' New Testament were the
most frequently copied and widely
circulated books of antiquity."
- F.E. Peters

77. In no other case is the interval of time
between the composition of the book
and the date of the earliest extant
manuscripts so short as in that of the
New Testament.
- Sir Fredric Kenyon, Director, British Museum

78. “In the variety and fullness of the
evidence on which it rests the text of
the New Testment stands absolutely
and unapproachably alone among
ancient prose writings."
- f.j.a. hORT

79. Changed?
But, Have they

80. Have they Changed?

81. N.t.
tHE
ILIAD
hoMER’S
6435366 15,60020,000
Copies CopiesLines (Total) Lines (Total)
Lines in Doubt: 40 Lines in Doubt: 764
.05%Percentage of Total: 5%Percentage of Total:

82. These variants have so little support and
are of so little importance that their
adoption or rejection would cause no
appreciable difference in the sense of the
passages where they occur."
- bb Warfield

83. “Only about one-eighth of all the
variants had any weight, as most of them
are merely mechanical matters such as
spelling or style.
- bb Warfield

84. Of the whole, then, only about one-
sixtieth rise above 'trivialities,' or can in
any sense be called 'substantial
variations.'
- bb Warfield

85. Mathematically this would compute to a
text that is 98.33 percent pure."
- bb Warfield

86. It cannot be too strongly asserted that in
substance the text of the Bible is certain:
Especially is this the case with the New
Testament.
- Gleason Archer

87. The system of spiritual truth contained
in the standard Hebrew text of the Old
Testament is not in the slightest altered
or compromised
- Gleason Archer

88. by any of the variant readings found in
the Hebrew manuscripts of earlier date
found in the Dead Sea caves or anywhere
else.
- Gleason Archer

89. "A careful study of the variants (different
readings) of the various earliest
manuscripts reveals that none of them
affects a single doctrine of Scripture.
- Gleason Archer

90. lADIESaND
gENTLEMEN

91. Changed
The bIBLE HAS NOT BEEN

92. bELIEVE IT
wE CAN CONFIDENTLY
AS THE woRD OF gOD

93. Next Week:
lEVITICUS IN hEBREW

94. Next Week:
bREAK!