Can We Trust the New Testament? by Al Walmsley

Can We Trust the New Testament? (Al Walmsley)

- Do you believe the Bible is the word of God?

- Is it true?”

- Is it historically trustworthy”

- Two questions which must be asked when investigating the reliability of the New

  Testament

            1.  Do we have an accurate copy of the originals?

            2.  Do those copies tell the truth?

- Question 1

            - We have earlier manuscripts (mss)

            - We have more mss (~5700 Gk mss alone)

            - More accurately copied mss (Mahabharata: 95%.  Iliad: 90%.  NT: 99.9%)

            - More abundantly supported mss (18,000 non-Gk mss.  36,000 quotes)

            - So how do we know we have an accurate copy of the NT?

                        - By applying the Bibliography test:  The one applied to all ancient writings

            - Bibliography Test addresses to questions

            1.  How many mss do we have?

            2:  What is the timeline (amount of time between the original writing and the copy of

                the mss)?

            - Quest. 1:  How many mss?

                        - General rule:  More copies, the easier it is to recreate the original

                        - Compare copies and find and resolve errors

            - Quest. 2:  What is the timeline?

                        - General rule:  The closer the mss is to the original, the more accurate the copy

                        - John Ryland Fragment:  segment of John’s Gospel dated 117-138 AD –

                          undisputed

                        - Magdaline Fragment:  Dated around 60 AD – disputed

                        -Nine fragments of N found mixed with Dead Sa Scrolls dated 50-70 AD

Author	Book	Date Written	Earliest Copies	Time Gap	No. of Copies
Homer	Iliad	800 B.C.	c. 400 B.C.	c. 400 Years	643
Herodotus	History	480-425 B.C.	c. 900	c. 1350 Years	8
Thucydides	History	460-400 B.C.	c. 900	c. 1300 Years	8
Plato		400 B.C.	c. 900	c. 1300 Years	7
Demosthenes		300 B.C.	c. 1100	c. 1400 Yrs	200
Caesar	Gallic Wars	100-44 B.C.	c. 900	c. 1000 Yrs	10
Livy	History of Rome	59 B.C. – 17	c. 4th Cent. partial.  mostly 10th Cent.	c. 400 Yrs c. 1000 Yrs	1 Partial 19 Copies
Tacitus	Annals	100	c. 1100	c. 1000 Yrs	20
Pliny Secundus	Natural History	61 – 113	c. 850	c. 750 Yrs	7
New Testament		50-100	c. 114 (frag.) c. 200 (bks) c. 250 (most of N.T.) c. 325	+50 Yrs 100 Yrs 150 Yrs 225 Yrs	5366

Source:  The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1999. Josh McDowell. Page 38

            - Diocletian (Roman Emperor)

                        - 303 AD:  ordered destruction of all mss and Christian books

                                    - Hundreds, maybe thousands, of mss destroyed

                                    - Could re-build entire NT from quotes from early church fathers

                                                - With exception of 11 verses (mostly from 3 John)

            - So beyond reasonable doubt, we have an accurate copy of the original

2.  Question 2 of Bibliographical Test:  Is what we have today true?

            - Expected Testimony          

                        - Messiah would be a man (Gen 3:15)

                        - Line of David (Jer. 23:5, 33:15)

                        - Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

                        - God and Man (Is. 9:6)

                        - Visits the Temple (Mal 3:1)

                        - Dies in 33 AD (Dan 9:24)

                        - Rises from dead (Is. 53:11)

            - Early Testimony

                        - 33 AD:  Cross

                        - Mid 50’s:  Mark and I Cor

                        - 62 AD:  Acts (Luke written before Acts), James

                        - Mid 60’s:  Romans, II Cor, Galatians

                        - Paul dies in 68 AD, so his writings were complete by then

                        - 70 AD:  Temple destroyed.  Believed most of the NT written by 70 AD

            - Eyewitness Testimony

                        - Luke 3:1-2

                                    - Mentions exact date (29 AD)

                                    - Eight historical figures

                                    - All eight lived at same time

            - Embarrassing Testimony

                        - Apostles looked dim-witted

                                    - Didn’t understand Jesus teaching (Mk.  9:32, Luke 18:34)

                        - Uncaring

                                    - Fell asleep in the Garden

                                    - Didn’t try to give him a decent burial

            - They were rebuked

                        - Peter called “Satan” (Mk: 8:33)

                        - Paul rebuked Peter (Gal 2:11)

            - Were cowards

                        - Peter denied Christ three times

                        - Disciples hid after the Crucifixion

                        - Women were brave

            - Were doubters

                        - Disciples denied Jesus arose

                        - Doubted after the Resurrection (Mt 28:17)

            - Jesus

                        - Considered out of his mind by his own family (Mk. 3:21, 31)

                        - Not believed by his own half-brothers (John 7:5)

                        - Called madman (Jn 10:20 and a drunkard (Mt. 11:19)

- Excruciating Testimony

            - Disciples suffered for their beliefs/faith

            - What did they have to gain by making up a story?

                        -Had every reason to deny the whole thing to save their lives

            - Why would they die for a lie?

- We have overwhelming evidence to believe what was written was true

- Beyond reasonable doubt it is safe to

Christian Apologetics by Al Walmsley

Christian Apologetics

- What is apologetics?

            - Comes from Greek word:  apologia

                        - A defense:  As in a court of law

                        - Making a case for the truth

            - Like in Fencing:  Thrust and Parry

- Why do apologetics?

            - Reason demands it (Jude 10, Is. 1:18, I Jn. 4:6, Heb. 5:14)

            - Bible commands it (I Pet. 3:15, II Cor 10:15, Jude3, Acts 17:16-17)

            - Strengthens our faith

            - Assists in evangelism

Let’s Talk About Truth

- Truth about reality is knowable

- How do you define truth?

            - That which corresponds to the facts and to its referent

            - Telling it like it is

            - This is called the correspondence theory of truth

- Two types of truth

            - Absolute Truth:  True for all people, in all places, at all times

            - Relative Truth:  True for some people (but not all), true in some places (but not in

              all), true some of the time (but not all)

- Do you believe that absolute truth exists?  Why or why not?

- Examples some people have provided of “Relative” Truth

            - Cold at the North Pole in the winter and hot in Egypt in the summer

                        - True wherever you are

                        - Corresponds to its referent; either the North Pole or Egypt

                        - Location doesn’t change the truth

            - People once thought the earth was flat, but now we know its round

                        - Was this a relative truth?  Did this truth change?

                        - Truth never changed.  But what did?

                        - Our understanding of the truth changed

            - Relativism is self-defeating

                        - Someone claims “truth is relative.”

                        - How should you respond?

                                    - “Is that true for everyone?”

            - Can we know reality?

                        - If someone says:

                                    - “You can’t know reality.”

                                                - Response?  “Is that a statement about reality?”

- The answer to the question is yes, we can know something about reality!

      - What are some things we know about reality?

- The Law of Non-Contradiction

            - Opposite ideas cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense

            - Examples: 

                        - The world is flat.  The earth is round.  Both can’t be true.  It’s one or the other.

                        - God exists.  God doesn’t exist.

            - Avicenna’s quote

            - Objections to Objective Truth

                        - No such thing as truth

                        - You can’t know truth

                        - All truth is relative

                        - True for you but not for me

                        - No one has the truth

                        - Truth depends on your perspective

- How can we respond to these statements?

            - Apply the claim to itself

                        Example:  I can’t speak a word of English!

                                    - Response:  Didn’t you just say that in English

            - The Road Runner Tactic:  Leave the person with no ground to stand on

                        - An easy way for you to be a lie detector!

            - How would you respond to “No truth is found in religion, it’s found only in science.”

                        - “You should not judge.”

Statistics on Church Dropouts--Daniel Wiginton

Statistics and Information on Church Dropouts, Ages 18-22*

Who drops out?

·        80% of teenagers who attend church plan to continue attending after graduating.

·        70% of teenagers who attend church drop out between ages 18-22.

·        71% of those who drop out aren’t planning on it before they graduate.

·        62% of those who plan to stay end up dropping out anyway.

·        The numbers are the same for those who go to college and those who do not.

Top Reasons Given for Dropping Out of Church by People Ages 18-22

1.      Simply wanted a break from church.

2.      Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.

3.      Moved to college and stopped attending church.

4.      Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.

5.      Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.

6.      Became too busy though still wanted to attend.

7.      Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.

8.      Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.

9.      Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.

10. Was only going to church to please others.

11. Wanted to make life decisions not accepted by the church.

12. Disagreed with the church’s teachings about God.

13. Was unsure of the reasons behind my faith.

14. Family and/or home responsibilities prevented me from attending.

15. Lost touch with my churchgoing friends.

16. Other activities/scheduling conflicts prevented me from attending church.

17. No longer wanted to identify myself as a Christian.

18. Stopped believing in God.

How plugged in were these people after they graduated?

·        Of those who attend only the worship service, 16% are still in church after 5 years.

·        Of those who attend worship and a small group, 83% are still in church after 5 years.

Conclusions: Most youth group graduates in America simply don’t value church enough to stick with it.  Of these, most are probably unsaved (1 John 2:19).  Some reject Christ altogether, while many others have a false assurance of salvation based on previous religious experience. A small number are saved but do not understand the biblical importance of church.  The best tools to combat this trend are the gospel of Jesus Christ and biblical teaching on God’s love for the church.

*From Essential Church? Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts by Thom and Sam Rainer