Christianity is an intelligent faith, rooted in the facts of history. In this article I hope to provide you with a rational basis for faith. In a previous article I examined the uniqueness of the Bible. There really is no other book like it in the world. It is…
Unique in its continuity
Unique in its circulation
Unique in its translation
Unique in its survival
Unique in its teaching
Unique in its influence on literature
Unique in its influence on civilization
Obviously it is unique, but is the Bible a reliable record of history? I received a note from someone recently which read,
Dear Pastor Doug,
“Why should we believe the Bible over any other religio us writings? There are contradictions throughout it, and it has been interpreted so many times, surely it’s lost something.”
If you were asked this question, how would you respond? Let’s begin by asking another question:
Question: How does one go about determining the authenticity and accuracy of an ancient document?
C. Sanders, a military historian, outlines three basic tests used by historians and literary critics.1 These are the internal evidence test, the external evidence test, and the bibliographic test.
Let’s consider how the New Testament stands up to each one. We will begin with the internal evidence test.
(Read more…Christianity is an intelligent faith)