Reliability of the Old Testament Text

THE RELIABILITY OF THE

OLD TESTAMENT

TEXT

WHEN we talk about credibility and reliability of the Old Testament text, what we are establishing here is the textual accuracy and the historical reliability of the Scriptures. Textual accuracy of the Old Testament text has shown in at least in four major ways:

(1)   The accuracy of the textual transmission (the accuracy of the copying process down through history).

(2)   Bibliographical evidences.

(3)   Internal evidences.

(4)   External evidences.

Historical reliability is being an accurate source for the historical events it reports. The Bible has been shown to be historically reliable and credible in at least two major ways:

(1)      Through historical and even geographical accuracy of biblical accounts (the confirmation of the Bible by hard evidences uncovered through archeology.

(2)      Through documentary evidences uncovered through archeology.

Are the Old Testament documents reliable? 

Canon of the New Testament

THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

Although in the first decades of the Church, after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christians relied on the gospel that being preached by the apostles, and on the Old Testament, but afterwards, the apostles and the disciples wrote the account of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ (called the Gospel), and epistles or letters.

There are authors who claim that before the writing of the books or letters that would become the New Testament, early Christians relied on “oral tradition” about Jesus’ words and deeds, and on the Old Testament.

“At first, Christians did not have any of the books contained in our New Testament. They depended therefore on the Old Testament, on oral tradition about Jesus’ words and deed, and on messages from God spoken by Christian prophets.”¹

“Oral traditions” implies that the account of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ has passed on from generation to generation before committed in writings. We know that tradition” means “a long-established custom or belief, often that has been handed down from generation to generation.”

However, this was not the real case. The writer of Matthew and John were apostles, the eye-witnesses themselves, and the writer of Mark and Luke were disciples under the supervision of the apostles (contemporary of the apostles). Thus, it is wrong to say that the “Gospels” are “oral traditions” put in writing if those who wrote it were eye-witnesses themselves.

Actually, the apostles warn us about those not been written:

“Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.” (I Cor. 4:6, NKJV)

Thus, in the second-century onwards, the teachings of the apostles, and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ were already committed in writings. All were written in the first century AD. The Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament was written about 90-100 AD.

About Apocrypha

ARE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS CANONICAL?

THE Old Testament canon is consists of 39 books only. These 39 books are those recognized as “canonical” or those books which are regarded as divinely inspired. However, there were great numbers of Jewish literature that composed and circulated during the intertestamental period (the period between the Old testament and the New Testament which is about 400 years) and up to the first century A.D.

These extra-canonical books or Jewish literatures are known as “Apocrypha.” The Roman Catholic Church inculded these to their Old Testament and declared them as canonical and equal of the 39  books of the Old testament. This is the reason why the Old Testament of the Roman Catholic Church is consists of 46 books.

What is the meaning of the term “Apocrypha”? Why these extra-canonical books are called Apocrypha? Is the Roman Catholic Church right to include these books to the Old Testament canon?

THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

 

THE word “canon” has come to mean (1) “rule of faith” or the standard, authoritative teaching by which all doctrines were measured; and (2) a list or index. The English word “canon” was derived from the Hebrew qaneh, meaning “reed” or “stalk.” The Greek took over this Semitic word, thus “kanon” in Greek. The root meaning of the word (“reed”) denotes a rule, a measuring stick or an instrument with which to make straight lines.

Because the word “canon” could also means a list or index, the phrase “Canon of Scriptures” is the list of books that belong to the Holy Scriptures or those said to be “canonical.” 

How many books that belong to the canon of the Old Testament or those said to be canonical? How many books that belong to the canon of the contemporary Bible? How many books that belong to the Jewish canon? Why limit the number of the canonical books to the number the Jewish canon and the canon of the Septuagint gave?

How We Got The Bible

HOW THE WORDS OF GOD CAME TO US

The Bible has been the basis of faith of countless people in Christendom. It is the fountainhead of hope and inspiration of those who believe in the Almighty as introduced by the Lord Jesus Christ. However, how are the words of God came to us? The words of God came to us through:

(1)  Revelation

(2)  Inspiration

(3)  Canonization

(4)  Transmission

(5)  Illumination

 

The Bible is God's Word

“What God Was, the Word Was”: 

The bible is the word of god

Today we call our Sacred Scriptures “the Bible.” The Bible forms the foundation upon which are built every teaching and practice of the Iglesia ni Cristo or the Church of Christ. The Bible-centered method is one of the defining characteristics that make this Church unique.

However, the attitude of some more liberal groups concerning the Bible departs even further from the proper reverence that should be accorded the Scriptures, and some who even profess to be Christian, calling the Bible only one of many “sacred texts.”

These same people consider the religious books of other religions, such as those of Buddhism and Hinduism, to be equally valid “expressions of God’s voice” and worthy of equal consideration and respect as the Bible. They consider all the “sacred texts” to be God’s various ways of speaking His truth to man, no matter how much the “truths” these books teach differ from and contradict one another and the Bible.

Still others give the Bible no respect at all, as they try to deconstruct it and attempt to read into the motives of the different writers, assigning them various social and political agendas. For them, there is no such thing as a sacred text. They see the Bible only as a human text that can be analyzed and criticized like any other literary work.

There are those who classify the Bible as a mere collection of myths, that is, something beyond the realm of truth. Others believe that the Bible is a mere work of man and just a product of human imagination.

However, in the Church of Christ, the Bible is considered indispensable. It is the ultimate authority and guide to the way the Church members think, feel, and act. Why do God’s words written in the Bible hold such power over their lives that they untiringly invite people to listen to and follow His words? The answer to this question rests on the distinctive attribute of the divine word that is also present in God Himself.

Origin and History of the Word "Bible"

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD “BIBLE” AND HOW THE SACRED SCRIPTURES CAME TO BE CALLED “BIBLE”

TODAY, we call the Holy Scriptures the “Bible.” However, what is the meaning of the word Bible? What is the origin of the word? Why and when the Bible was called as such? Let us answer these questions in this article.

Physical Description of the Bible

 

THE BOOK CALLED “THE BIBLE”

 

MILLIONS of people accept the Bible as the basis of their faith. For thousands of years, it touched the lives of many. No other religious books can equal the influence of the Bible regarding religion, literature, and civilization.

Let us first have an introduction to this book called the Bible.

Uniqueness of the Bible

 

THE UNIQUENESS OF THE BIBLE

THE BIBLE IS the “book of books.” Even though there are many “sacred books” used by different religions, the Bible is above all these “sacred books.” The Bible is unique, possessing characteristics and attributes that cannot be found in any books of different religions. What is the uniqueness of the Bible that makes it different from other religious books?