Why the Bible Has Reliability

An important point that Williams brings forth is that the Dead Sea Scrolls contain fragments from almost every book of the bible and they also contain almost an exact precursor of the Hebrew text that emerged from the Massoretic tradition. (Williams) Not only that, but also the entire New Testament can be reproduced by quotations from the early Church Fathers with the exception of fifteen to twenty verses. (Williams) Overall, the point that can be made is that the biblical text is indeed very reliable and has influenced western civilization unlike any other work.

What is important about the fact that the Dead Sea Scrolls contain a very early version of a large portion of the Hebrew scripture is that the Hebrew scripture can be dated back to sometime before Christ and still reflect the accuracy of the Hebrew scripture of today. Although some might argue that with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that they show the Apocrypha to be not part of the biblical cannon, the fact remains that the Dead Sea Scrolls are unable to reflect the content of the entire Hebrew Bible anyway. If the Dead Sea Scrolls had contained the entire Hebrew Bible, then perhaps more weight could be given to the claim that the Apocrypha is not part of the biblical cannon.

Also note that the fact that the entire New Testament can be reproduced by quotations from the early Church Fathers (with very limited omissions) suggests that the New Testament had a very wide impact and that it was foundational for western civilization and literature. If Jesus had never risen from the dead, then the early apostles would not have given their lives for lies. If the New Testament was a false document, then it would not have been utilized so fully by early Christians as to be reproducible simply by small quotations. Overall, one can see that from the cross of Christ and the resurrection until now the changes in the world and the spread of gospel has been like a very large rock thrown into a pond with ripples reaching the very rocks of the shore.

One would be seemingly crazy to imply that the Bible is full of errors or that it did not have much relevance in its day but that people have capitalized on its message. Although the question of the canonical nature of the Apocrypha cannot be answered with fact and certainty, what can be assumed is that the Hebrew text clearly has far more value compared to the Apocrypha since it can be seen to be existent in its original language. Overall, one cannot underestimate the reliability of the New Testament especially since the early Church Fathers relied so heavily upon it, and one also cannot underestimate the reliability of the Old Testament since it corresponds to the exact meaning of fragments found that date back prior to Christ's birth.

REFERENCES

Williams, Jimmy. Are the Biblical Documents Reliable? Probe Ministries. Bib-docu.html. U Leadership. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bib-docu.html (accessed, July 3, 2011).