Is The Bible Reliable?

Outline

How the Bible was made

How the Bible was taught

Does the Bible have errors

Evidence of one of many Biblical stories

Questions from You

Conclusion and Purpose

How the Bible was made

Work from the slides

God wrote some of it

God told certain people to write the rest

Collections of writings over time

God wrote the 10 commandments with his own finger.

Exodus 31:18 “And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.”

God told people to write down the words he spoke

2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Is 8:1 “Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters...

Habakkuk 2:2 “And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”

Jeremiah 36:1–2 (ESV) In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today.

Our faith is based on historical writings that were collected overtime and put into the book you have today.

Here is a full list regarding the passages in the Bible about the written word.

Ex 17:14; 32:16; 34:1, 27; Nu 5:23; 17:2, 3; Dt 6:9; 10:2, 4; 11:20; 17:18; 27:3, 8; 31:19, 24; Jos 18:4, 8; 1 Ch 28:19; 2 Ch 35:4; 36:22; Ezr 1:1; 5:10; Ne 9:38; Es 8:8; 9:25, 32; Job 13:26; Pr 3:3; 7:3; Is 8:1; 10:1, 19; 30:8; 38:9; 44:5; Je 22:30; 30:2; 31:33; 36:2, 17, 28; Eze 2:10; 9:2, 3, 11; 24:2; 37:16, 20; 43:11; Da 5:7, 8, 15, 16, 17, 24, 25; Ho 8:12; Hab 2:2; Mk 10:4; Lk 1:3, 63; 16:6, 7; Jn 5:47; 19:21; Ac 15:20; 25:26; Ro 10:5; 16:26; 1 Co 4:14; 5:11; 9:15; 14:37; 16:21; 2 Co 1:13; 9:1; 13:10; Ga 1:20; 6:11; Php 3:1; Col 4:18; 1 Th 4:9; 2 Th 3:17; 1 Ti 3:14; 2 Ti 3:15; Phm 19, 21; Heb 8:10; 10:16; 2 Pe 3:1; 1 Jn 1:4; 2:1, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 21, 26; 5:13; 2 Jn 5, 12; 3 Jn 13; Jud 3; Re 1:11, 19; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 12, 14; 10:4; 14:13; 19:9; 21:5

Instruct them to Remember Josiah for Later

The Bible began to be formulated very early on and the history and law given to Moses by God by some means.

https://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-answers/where-did-moses-get-the-information-to-write-the-creation-account

This is interesting: First, Moses' knowledge of the origins of the world could have been passed to him through a process of oral history from Adam to Moses. Due to the extremely long lifespans of early humanity, very few generations were required to pass this knowledge over thousands of years. For example, only two people are required to connect the lifespan of Adam to Abraham: Adam —> Lamech —> Shem —> Abraham

How the Bible was Taught

Telling stories (faithful accounts of historical events)

Reading the written word

Memorizing and reciting the word

From the time of Moses, God gave clear instructions that the Word of God must be taught. That it should be talked about and thought about all the time so that they would keep the words of God in their heart and do what is right.

Deuteronomy 11:18 (ESV) “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Frontlets between your eyes and your arms.

Deuteronomy 11:19 (ESV) You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Deuteronomy 11:20 (ESV) You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

Who have Bible verses on the walls in their house as decoration?

“It is no accident that Jews are often known as “The People of the Book.” Christians should be too!

Jewish life is lived according to texts, commentary, and interpretation of those texts. The varied methods of teaching them include instructive, experiential, argument, and discussion.” (amitchildren.org)

Children from a very early age, some say age 5 and on, to memorize, faithfully, the history that was given to them.

There is no real comparison to the telephone game and the rigorous and very serious teaching and memorizing of history that was required of the ancient Hebrew people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsGJ1wwIgjU

Does the Bible have errors?

In the next few slides, we will be looking at other peoples work from the exercise we did a few weeks ago.

Some of the things that may seem funny to you are actually really great representations of the types of things we see in ancient manuscripts going back thousands of years ago.

We will now look at the manuscripts that you wrote

A manuscript is “a written or typewritten composition or document as distinguished from a printed copy.” (Merriam-Webster)

MANUSCRIPT REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

Follow Up Questions

Did any of the errors we saw in the manuscripts change the original meaning of the text? No

Can we know what the original said based on the copies? Yes

Would more copies make it easier or more difficult to know what the original manuscript said? Easier

Where there any errors in the original manuscript that needed to be corrected or clarified? Yes. Some misspellings and punctuation.

Paul identified two of Timothy’s duties in the last days to impress him with what was of the highest priority.

NOTES FROM THE NET BIBLE:

“Jewish parents were expected to teach their children the Law from the age of five onwards.”[80]

Scripture is useful. Therefore Timothy should use it in his ministry. It is profitable for teaching (causing others to understand God’s truth) and reproof (bringing conviction of error when there has been deviation from God’s truth). It is helpful for correction (bringing restoration to the truth when there has been error) and training in righteousness (child-training type guidance in the ways of right living that God’s truth reveals). This is a selective rather than an exhaustive list of the ways in which the Scriptures are useful.

“They are profitable for doctrine (what is right), for reproof (what is not right), for correction (how to get right), and for instruction in righteousness (how to stay right).”[85]

Consequently the man (or woman) of God has all that is essential to fulfill his (or her) ministry (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3). The “man of God” refers to Timothy (1 Tim. 6:11) but also anyone who commits himself (or herself) to God, especially, in view of the context, those in positions of spiritual oversight. He is adequate (complete, filled out, equipped with all the essential tools he needs).

Evidence of one of many Biblical stories

Remember King Josiah that we briefly spoke of earlier?

Jeremiah 36:1–2 (ESV) In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today.

We can confirm king Josiah’s existence because the seal of the king’s servant, Nathan-melech, was found in Jerusalem in 2019.

2 Kings 23:11 (ESV) And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

This was part of the narrative of King Josiah’s reforms starting in 2 Kings 23:1-11.

“(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King”

I am willing to do more on evidences in the next class. What do you guys think?

Questions from You

Classroom discussion

How do we know the events weren’t altered when put in text?

How do we know things in the Bible weren’t altered by losing information through time?

How do we know its all true when history changes all the time?

Why are there different versions of the Bible?

Who put the Bible together?

How does the Bible tie in with dinosaurs?

Job 15:15–34.

If the Bible was made so long ago, how do we have typed versions.

Other questions regarding pain and suffering.

Conclusion and Purpose

The Bible is a reliable historical document.

Jesus quoted the Old Testament and therefore trusted it:

When he was being tempted by Satan;

and all throughout his ministry while he was teaching.

John 5:46-47 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?””

Everything we think, say or do should be first filtered through God’s word, the Bible.

This means that scripture informs us about what is true instead of what the world teaches us. The world allows culture to decide what is true, which is almost always at odds against God’s word. If we do not know or trust God’s word, then it can cause us to be led astray.

Memory Verse:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.