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Can we trust the New Testament as a historical document?
Many people do not believe that the Bible is a reliable document of
history. But, the fact is the Bible is very trustworthy as a
historical document. If we were to look at a chart that compared the
biblical documents with other ancient documents, we would see that the
Bible is in a class by itself regarding the number of ancient copies
and their reliability. Please consider the chart below
|
Author1 |
Date
Written |
Earliest Copy |
Approximate
Time Span between original & copy |
Number of
Copies
|
Accuracy of
Copies |
|
Lucretius |
died 55 or 53
B.C. |
|
1100 yrs |
2 |
---- |
|
Pliny |
61-113 A.D. |
850 A.D. |
750 yrs |
7 |
---- |
|
Plato |
427-347 B.C. |
900 A.D. |
1200 yrs |
7 |
---- |
|
Demosthenes |
4th Cent. B.C. |
1100 A.D. |
800 yrs |
8 |
---- |
|
Herodotus |
480-425 B.C. |
900 A.D. |
1300 yrs |
8 |
---- |
|
Suetonius |
75-160 A.D. |
950 A.D. |
800 yrs |
8 |
---- |
|
Thucydides |
460-400 B.C. |
900 A.D. |
1300 yrs |
8 |
---- |
|
Euripides |
480-406 B.C. |
1100 A.D. |
1300 yrs |
9 |
---- |
|
Aristophanes |
450-385 B.C. |
900 A.D. |
1200 |
10 |
---- |
|
Caesar |
100-44 B.C. |
900 A.D. |
1000 |
10 |
---- |
|
Livy |
59 BC-AD 17 |
---- |
??? |
20 |
---- |
|
Tacitus |
circa 100 A.D. |
1100 A.D. |
1000 yrs |
20 |
---- |
|
Aristotle |
384-322 B.C. |
1100 A.D. |
1400 |
49 |
---- |
|
Sophocles |
496-406 B.C. |
1000 A.D |
1400 yrs |
193 |
---- |
|
Homer (Iliad) |
900 B.C. |
400 B.C. |
500 yrs |
643 |
95% |
New
Testament |
1st Cent. A.D.
(50-100 A.D. |
2nd Cent. A.D.
(c. 130 A.D. f.) |
less than 100
years |
5600 |
99.5% |
It should be
obvious that the biblical documents, especially in the New Testament
documents, are superior in their quantity, time span from original
occurrence, and textual reliability. The question is not into
documents a reliably transmitted to us. In the question is whether or
not the biblical documents record actual historical accounts.
The Bible is a book
of History
It could be said that
the Bible is a book of history -- and it is. The bible describes
places, people, and events in various degrees of detail. It is
essentially an historical account of the people of God throughout
thousands of years. If you open to almost any page in the Bible
you will find a name of a place and/or a person. Much of this
can be verified from archaeology. Though archaeology cannot
prove that the Bible is the inspired word of God, it has the ability
to prove whether or not if some events and locations described therein
are true or false. So far, however, there isn't a single
archaeological discovery that disproves the Bible in any way.
Nevertheless, many used to think that the Bible had
numerous historical errors in it such as Luke's account of Lysanias
being the tetrarch of Abiline in about 27 AD (Luke 3:1). For
years scholars used this "factual error" to prove Luke was wrong
because it was common knowledge that Lysanias was not a tetrarch, but
the ruler of Chalcis about 50 years earlier than what Luke described.
But, an archaeological inscription was found that said Lysanias was
the tetrarch in Abila near Damascus at the time that Luke said.
It turns out that there had been two people name Lysanias and Luke had
accurately recorded the facts.
Also, the walls of Jericho have been found, destroyed
just as the Bible says. Many critics doubted that
Nazareth ever existed, yet archaeologists have
found a first-century synagogue
inscription at Caesarea verified its existence. Finds
have verified Herod the Great and his son Herod Antipas. The
remains of the Apostle Peter's house have been found at
Capernaum.
Bones with nail scars through the wrists and feet have been uncovered
as well demonstrating the actuality of crucifixion. The High
Priest Caiaphas' bones have been discovered in an ossuary (a box used
to store bones).
There is, of course, a host of archaeological digs that
corroborate biblical records such as Bethsaida, Bethany, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Cyprus, Galatia, Philippi,
Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, etc. For more on this see, Archaeological Evidence verifying biblical events and places.
- An inscribed
stone was found that refers to
Pontius Pilate, named as Prefect of Judaea.’ (The New Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton,
Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; 1962.)
- Luke 3:1, "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea..."
- "A decree of Claudius found at Delphi (Greece) describes Gallio
as proconsul of Achaia in ad 51, thus giving a correlation with
the ministry of Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:12)." (The New Bible
Dictionary)
- Acts 18:12, "But while Gallio was proconsul
of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and
brought him before the judgment seat."
- Excavations have revealed a text naming a benefactor Erastus
which may be a reference relating to the city-treasurer of
Rom. 16:23. (The New Bible Dictionary)
- Rom. 16:23, "Gaius, host to me and to the whole
church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and
Quartus, the brother."
- At Ephesus parts of the temple of Artemis have been
uncovered as is mentioned in Acts 19:28-41. (The New Bible
Dictionary)
- Acts 19:28,
"And when they heard this and were filled with rage, they began
crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians."
-
"It is known that
Quirinius was made governor of Syria by Augustus in AD 6.
Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay discovered several inscriptions
that indicated that Quirinius was governor of Syria on two
occasions, the first time several years prior to this
date...archaeology has provided some unexpected and supportive
answers. Additionally, while supplying the background behind these
events, archaeology also assists us in establishing several facts.
(1) A taxation-census was a fairly common procedure in the
Roman Empire and it did occur in Judea, in particular. (2)
Persons were required to return to their home city in order to
fulfill the requirements of the process. (3) These procedures
were apparently employed during the reign of Augustus (37 BC–AD 14),
placing it well within the general time frame of Jesus’ birth."2
- "The historical trustworthiness of Luke has been attested by a
number of inscriptions. The ‘politarchs’ of Thessalonica (Acts 17:6,8) were magistrates and are named in five inscriptions from
the city in the 1st century ad. Similarly Publius is correctly
designated proµtos (‘first man’)
or Governor of Malta (Acts 28:7). Near Lystra inscriptions record
the dedication to Zeus of a statue of Hermes by some Lycaonians,
and near by was a stone altar for ‘the Hearer of Prayer’
(Zeus) and Hermes. This explains the local identification of
Barnabas and Paul with Zeus (Jupiter) and Hermes (Mercury)
respectively (Acts 14:11). Derbe, Paul’s next stopping-place,
was identified by Ballance in 1956 with Kaerti Hüyük near
Karaman (AS 7, 1957, pp. 147ff.). Luke’s earlier
references to *Quirinius as governor of Syria before the death of
Herod I (Luke 2:2) and to *Lysanias as tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3:1) have likewise received inscriptional support." (The New
Bible Dictionary.)
There are
many such archaeological verifications of biblical events and places.
Is the Bible trustworthy? Absolutely! Remember, no
archaeological discovery has ever contradicted the Bible.
Therefore, since it has been verified over and over again throughout
the centuries, we can continue to trust it as an accurate historical
document.
________________
1.
This chart was adapted from three sources: 1) Christian
Apologetics, by Norman Geisler, 1976, p. 307; 2) the article "Archaeology
and History attest to the Reliability of the Bible," by
Richard M. Fales, Ph.D., in The Evidence Bible, Compiled by Ray
Comfort, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Gainesville, FL, 2001, p. 163; and
3) A Ready Defense, by Josh Mcdowell, 1993, p. 45.
2. (Habermas, Gary R., The Historical
Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, MO:
College Press Publishing Company) 1996.)
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