When thinking about the relationship between the authority of scripture and the historical reliability of the Bible, it is important to understand the definitions of the two key words at hand. According to the Oxford Dictionary, authority is defined as “the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.” Reliability is stated as “the quality of being trustworthy or of performing constantly well.” From the beginning of our Christian lives, we are taught, or perhaps told, that the Bible is God’s truthful word and that we should not only trust it, but base our lives around serving Him through what is written in it’s pages. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, …show more content…
But the Bible delves so much deeper than that. The Bible is in itself, a translation of history and humankind, showing how people, as individuals or groups, have either been blessed or disciplined by God for their demeanor towards Him and His holy laws. It is this unique account of the moral and spiritual factors behind the historical narrative, that continues to make the Bible so relevant to modern day society today. God’s word reveals the will of God in each of our lives through showing His divine nature as depicted in hundreds of real-life illustrations throughout the Bible.
When speaking about the authority of scripture, it is necessary to understand that while all Scripture was given to us by God, the form in which it was given was transcribed in two different ways. First by direct revelation; by which the literal words of God are chronicled by the prophets. Second by inspiration; by which the Holy Spirit oversaw the prophets as they wrote and thus the prophets wrote ‘Divine Truth.’ As seen in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Nearly four thousand times in the Bible there are written words or
Inherency is the interpretation of the Bible as not an all-powerful word of God, but rather
Most Christians do not think about the canon of scripture or know what it is or means in theology. Most take for granted the Bible they have and never question how it came into being. Today, we have 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. There was a time, however, that we did not have a canon. Bruce defines canon as books of the Bible that were recognized to be considered scripture (p. 17). The importance of the canon and how it was developed was intriguing to professor and author F.F. Bruce. He dedicated his book The Canon of Scripture to explore and explain the formulation of the canon we have today. Bruce taught in universities, including the University of Manchester, where he began to lecture students on the
Evidence for OT and NT canonicity and tests for canonicity are for the OT canonicity is seen in “the Law” originating from the Old Testament in Law of Moses is seen as being “authoritative”. Examples of scripture that supports this are “1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6 and Ezra 6:18”. These writings help justify the first five books of the Old Testament that Moses contributed in writing. Second “from the prophets” is another example of evidence seen where the prophets were inspired with the word from God. The gospels of Joshua, Chronicles, and Daniels are examples of supportive books in the gospel. Third example is “from Malachi 4:5” where the prophecy ends with Malachi and resumes with John the Baptist. Evidence for the NT is “quotations of the old testament to the new”, which shows “250 quotes from the old testament” being used. Second, “Matthew 5:17” shows the Law and the Prophets holding power as spoken by the Lord. Third, “Luke 11:51” the condemnation of Jewish leaders for murdering the Lord's messengers throughout time. The tests for canonicity are first “the test for authority” where the books of the canon were backed up by an authoritative prophet or apostle. Second, “the test for uniqueness” where evidence had to be unique to be placed in the canon. Third, “the test of acceptance by the churches”, where the books had to gain acceptance by the
Finally, who told you all the scripture should be perfect? Is his, or her credentials greater than Martin Luther's, or other Bible scholars throughout history which did not hold this view? There is enough evidence here, I will gladly join with these scholars,
Bible as the Inspired Word of God The Bible is the work of various authors, who lived in different continents and wrote in different eras. Furthermore, much of the text does not claim to have been 'dictated' by God and is not always God speaking to people. In parts it consists of people speaking to God, as in the Psalms, and people speaking to people, as in the New Testament letters written by Paul. In light of this, some maintain that it is not possible to treat the Bible as a book of divine oracles, delivered once by God and recorded by its authors through divine inspiration, since biblical authors were products of their time and subsequently their understanding of divine truth was culturally
The first question we need to answer is what the definition of reliable is. The short version would be, the reliability means something is trustworthy. However it can also mean that something is consistently good in its quality. When referring to the bible reliability has to do with what it confirms and what it doesn't, such as the history of the geography to the dates stated. If the bible fails in these areas than clearly it is unreliable. I have decided to look into if the old and New Testament are reliable and if they line up with one another. Before we go back to the Old Testament let's look at the and New Testament, there are 27 books. The 4 gospels play an essential role in determining what we know about Jesus which include his birth,
Scripture, the saving revelation of God in Jesus Christ, addresses us with full divine authority in its total extent and in all its parts, and therefore the CRC speaks of the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God.
The Bible is not a book of religions or rituals. Rather, the Bible is a library of 66 books—39 of which are known as the Old Testament and 27 books referred to as the New Testament—that reveals God’s divine plan of redemption, reconciliation, salvation, restoration and renewal of the whole world. The Bible can be read as a great literature, or as a history of Israel, or as a source of theological information. Though it is all of these things, none of them does full justice to Scripture as being authoritative. God has all authority, and we accept the Bible as the primary authority by which God communicates to us what He wants us to believe and to do. N.T. Wright’s book theorizes that Scripture is authoritative in that “the authority of
The Bible contains sixty-six books, written by approximately forty authors, over the course of two thousand years. God created and loves humans despite their rebellious attitude towards Him, and God wants to reunite humans to Himself (Poythress, 2008). The Bible is a record of the sinful rebellion of humans and it still declares God’s love for humanity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This foundation prepares the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill God’s entire promised covenants.
When studying any piece of literature there are many different methods and techniques that can be used. The Bible, in specific, is often referred to as a source of moral code, hope, and answers to social, ethical, and political questions. However, this incredibly influential book can also be read as if it were any other novel. The events, settings, and characters can all be evaluated for what they are, forgetting the notion that they are from a religious text. This approach is called narrative criticism. When regarding to the Bible in this way, we do not need to know any historical information or focus on seeking a deeper theological meaning. Instead, the stories are evaluated in terms of how
The Bible contains sixty-six books, written by approximately forty authors, over the course of two thousand years. God created and loves humans despite their rebellious attitude towards Him, and God wants to reunite humans to Himself (Poythress, 2008). The Bible is a record of the sinful rebellion of humans and it still declares God’s love for humanity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This foundation prepares the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill God’s entire promised covenants.
This topic has been studied on for a long period of time already. Thus, resulting to a lot of articles on the internet or in books that prove that the Bible really is reliable. Despite it being about thousands and thousands of years old, it is still consistent and very up to date.
The process by which the English Bible, as it is known to the English culture today, was compiled is an extraordinary thing to see. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The process by which both Testaments were written and then canonized into one book transpired over a period of many years. Once the canonization of the Bible officially came to an end, it was translated into English. Since then, many versions of the modern Bible have been made. Since the individual books of the Bible became scattered as they were written, people set forth to preserve God’s Word by compiling them into one
I believe that scripture is the infallible Word of God, divinely inspired by God through human hands, for the teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training of Christians and forming the basis of the Christian life and guiding them on the path to Christ. I believe that scripture is infallible rather than inerrant, because human writers through which God spoke can still make mistakes. However, Matthew 24:35 reminds us that God’s word is true in all ages and places. 2 Timothy 3:16 gives reasons why it is import for believes to use the scripture such as teaching and correcting. Scripture guides us along the path we should as evidences by Psalms 119:105 comparing Scripture to a lamp to show us the way. I have also personal experienced the wisdom that the scriptures can offer to those who need guidance. I also believe that scripture should be the main point of guidance, which is something that my church has taught me such I was young. Matthew 7:24 instructs us to build our house on the rock (scripture) which is the most solid place to rest our life.
The bible was written as an account of what many viewed that God had accomplished so his actions and words could be passed on for generations. Some believe it is a literary account and some believe it is a historical account. The word of God in the bible comes in many forms and is left up to interpretation by the reader. Some believe that the word of God should be the only word and should be strictly followed. Some believe that the words are meant as a guideline to help us through life. Whatever your belief is you can always seem to find the meaning behind your belief through the word of God in the Bible.