Claims & Evidence of Authenticity

• In the previous chapter, the Bible's own claims to its authority were considered.
• God's revelation prevails over its authors, content, transmission & audience.
• In this chapter, we will examine substantiating evidences to this claim.

• Believers are to be ready to defend the faith with gentleness (1 Peter 3:15).
• Apologetics is a formal branch of theology which seeks to "defend the faith."
• At least three levels of apologetics can be identified.
• The first & most common level is experiential, God working directly in our lives.
• Personal encounter with God is a subjective but valid testimony of Christianity.
• The other two levels of apologetics are more objective in nature.
• These are the two formal branches of apologetics: evidential & presuppositional.
• Evidential apologetics concentrates on the legal & historical evidences.
• Facts & data support Biblical claims giving a second testimony to Christianity.
• Historical evidences are more concrete & less abstract than the philosophical.
• Presuppositional apologetics emphasizes the claims of Christianity.
• This branch considers philosophical claims which addresses meaning in life.
• While more abstract, the realities of Christianity fill human longings for meaning.
• God meets the human need for meaning giving a third testimony of Christianity.
• These two branches of apologetics stem from rational & empirical knowledge.
• The Bible supports both proclamation & evidence of the faith (Acts 17:16-32).
• Figure: "A Spectrum of Evidences Supporting Christianity."

• The Bible's uniqueness supports God's inspiration & enlightenment.
• Figure: "The Uniqueness of the Bible."
• The Bible's ugly facts & unity in doctrine & history demonstrate God's inspiration.
• God's work of inspiration prevails over Biblical authors & content.
• The Bible's number one popularity is evidence of God's enlightenment.
• God's work of enlightenment prevails over Biblical audience.
• The original rigid criteria for assembling the Bible support God's preservation.
• Figure: "The Testimony of the Canon."
• The stringent criteria of the canons testify of the authenticity of the Bible.
• God's work of preservation prevails over human errors in its canonization.

• Three tests of historiography evaluate the reliability of historical documents.
• These universal tests are used to judge the authenticity of historical literature:

the bibliographical test
the internal evidence test
the external evidence test

• The Bibliographical test evaluates the textual transmission of a document.
• Figure: "The Manuscript Reliability of the Bible."
• Unparalleled reliability is evidence of God's work of preserving revelation.
• God's work of preservation prevails over corruption & omission in transmission.

• Internal evidence examines a work's internal consistency for authenticity.
• Figure: "Internal Evidence Supporting the Bible."
• The internal evidence of the gospels is evidence of God's inspiration.
• God's work of inspiration prevails over the Bible's finite & fallen authors.

• The external evidence test considers archaeology & other written materials.
• Figure: "External Evidence Supporting the Bible."
• The external evidence surrounding the Bible is testimony of God's inspiration.
• God's work of inspiration prevails over Biblical authors & content.

• In summary, countless evidences substantiate the Bible's authenticity.
• God's revelation indeed prevails over authors, content, transmission & audience.
• Given this wealth evidence, one can rely upon its claims.