What is the Bible?

What is the Bible?

Pastor Brandon Berg

The Bible is the story of God, it’s reliable, and it’s alive because Jesus is alive!

While many people know stories in the Bible, they don’t know the story of the Bible.

The Bible is not entirely trustworthy because some parts - maybe many or most parts - are scientifically impossible, historically unreliable and culturally regressive.

“It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand...” 

Mark Twain

“The word 'God' is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change this.” 

Albert Einstein

“To be fair, much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents, composed, revised, translated, distorted and 'improved' by hundreds of anonymous authors, editors and copyists, unknown to us and mostly unknown to each other, spanning nine centuries”  

Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (atheist and well known critic of creationism and intelligent design)

“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.” 

Frank Sinatra

“The Bible is not an antiquated text. The scriptures are the text that will lead us into the future”.

Erwin McManus

“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”

Augustine of Hippo

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

1. Contradictions?

Mark 16: 9-20 and John 7:53- 8:11

“SOME OF THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT INCLUDE”

2. Manuscript reliability

Author: Thucydides
Work: History
Date written: between 460-400 BC
Earliest manuscript- 3rd Century BC
Span: about 200 years
Number of MSS: 96 extant manuscripts.

Author: Caesar
Work: Gallic Wars
Date written: 100-44BC
Earliest MSS: 9th Century AD
Span: about 1,000 years
Number MSS: 251 manuscripts

Author: Homer
Work: Iliad
Date written: 800 BC
Earliest manuscript: 400 BC
Span: 400 years
Number of MSS: about 1,800 manuscripts

Work: The NT Bible
Date: written between 50-100 AD
Earliest manuscripts- 130 AD and earlier
Span: within 50 years of when it was written Number of MSS: 5,838 Greek NT manuscripts, 18,524 Greek NT = 25,000+ extant manuscripts of the NT

“The Word of God is living and powerful...”

3. Writing Style

It is far too counterproductive to be made up.

The literary form is far too detailed to be legend.

The Bible didn’t produce Christianity... the resurrection produced the Bible.

Discussion Questions

1. What have you always believed about the Bible?
2. Are there any passages in the Bible that are especially difficult for you to understand or accept?
3. Is it helpful to know the Bible stands up under standard textual criticism methods? If so, in what ways is this helpful to you?
4. Have you ever considered the idea that without the resurrection, we would not have the Bible? In what ways is this helpful to you?