Historicity of the New Testament (theopedia)
| Historicity of the New Testament | |
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Christianity is "built upon the foundation of faith in the historical Jesus who is revealed by the historical New Testament documents. It is of utmost importance that these documents show themselves to be trustworthy and reliable since they are the primary documentary sources substantiating the object of the Christian faith, who is Jesus Christ. Unlike other religious systems which simply express a code of ethic, morality, and philosophical ideas, the Bible claims to be God's divine revelation for all of mankind and it verifies its claims through historical evidence. As New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce notes, "And this Good News is intimately bound up with the historical order, for it tells how the world's redemptive God entered into history, the Eternal came into time, the Kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ." Given the extraordinary historical events that the Bible records, it is crucial to determine two things: (1) The reliability of the New Testament documents and (2) The reliability of the New Testament witnesses. If we cannot establish the reliability of these sources, then we have no objective way to evaluate the historical sayings, deeds, and claims of Jesus and his disciples." John Rosser
Helpful publications
- The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, by F.F. Bruce
- The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, by Craig Blomberg
- Scripture Alone: Exploring the Bible's Accuracy, Authority, and Authenticity, by James White (see pp. 136-168)
- Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, by Norman Geisler (see pp. 91-96)
Quotes
Irenaeus Against Heresies, book 3: ch 10: para 5. Page 426 in ANF1, that is, Roberts A, Donaldson J and Coxe AC (1885) Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 1, at Christian Classics Ethereal Library. [c 185 AD. Evidence against the Victorian revisions (Westcott-Hort) to the New Testament Greek text. The Victorian Greek New Testament is critical of Mark 16:9-20, despite the fact that Irenaeus regards Mark 16:19 as written by Mark.]
- [Irenaeus wrote] Also, towards the conclusion of his Gospel, Mark says: "So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God;" [Mark 16:19]
Links
- Historicity of the New Testament Chapter 5 from J. P. Moreland's Scaling the Secular City.
- Why I Believe The New Testament Is Historically Reliable by Gary Habermas.
- Does it matter? Chapter 1 from F. F. Bruce's The New Testament Documents
- Manuscript evidence for superior New Testament reliability, from Carm.org
- Are the New Testament Gospels Reliable?, by Mark D. Roberts
Return to Christianity -> Bible -> Historical accuracy of the Bible
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