Bible Authenticity

The Historical Value of Luke-Acts

February 19, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

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; 27:1—28:16), 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. read more

The Superior Integrity of the New Testament Text

February 19, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

No other ancient text is substantiated by such a wealth of ancient textual witnesses as is the New Testament, about 5,800 separate manuscripts are available, variously containing anything from the entire New Testament corpus to a slight fragment of a single verse. There are also hundreds of copies of ancient translations (or versions) in languages other than Koine’ Greek of the New Testament that reveal the form of the text known to their translators, as well as numerous New Testament quotations in the writings of the early church “fathers” that disclose the form of the particular texts known to them. read more

The New Testament Canon

February 18, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The process of determining which texts would comprise the Biblical canon (the standard of authoritative and normative teaching for the church) took place over several centuries. Beginning in the first century A.D., Christian communities recognized the authority of texts that they gathered into collections for circulation and use in public worship. Second Peter already suggests a familiarity with multiple letters of Paul and goes so far as to place them on par with the Hebrew Scriptures (3:16). Evidence reveals that during public worship Christians in the earliest centuries read from the texts that would become the New Testament, just as they did from the Hebrew Scriptures. read more

Is the Gospel of John Historical and True?

February 18, 2015 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Jesus' Temple Cleansing — Is the Gospel of John historical and true? For example, does the temple cleansing in John contradict the Synoptic Gospels?

The question of whether the gospel of John is historical and true has been raised for quite some time now. Some even consider most of the 4th gospel to be fiction.

“Since the 19th century, scholars have almost unanimously accepted that the Johannine discourses are less likely to be historical than the synoptic parables and were likely written for theological purposes”—Wikipedia

There are obvious and striking differences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). These include: read more