In our scientifically modern and ideologically diverse postmodern world, can we really trust the Bible and affirm it as God’s word to humanity?  It’s not only fair for skeptics to ask, but an important question for Christians to settle as well.

There are several ways to answer this question, but here I will only focus on the way in which the Bible as a literary and historical document can be tested for its accuracy and trustworthiness.  Historical documents are typically analyzed using three basic tests: 1) The Bibliographical Test, 2) The Internal Test, and 3) The External Test.

The Bibliographical Test

The bibliographical test examines the reliability of any ancient document we currently have in our possession.  Since in most of these cases, none of the original writings remain, we are only left with copies (called manuscripts) that have been handed down through time.  Therefore, this test seeks to answer, “How close to the original are the copies that we have today?”

To answer, at least two things must be assessed.  First, we must determine how many manuscripts still exist and are available to examine and compare with one another.  The greater the number of manuscripts we have to compare, the more likely it is that we can accurately reconstruct the original text, and the higher the probability that any errors in transmission can be identified and corrected.

The second issue concerns time gaps.  If you have several manuscripts of a document, you must consider how much time has passed between when the original document was written and the earliest date of the manuscripts you possess.  The table below clarifies what is meant.

Author and/or Title	Date It Was Written	Date of First Copy	Number of Copies	Total Time Gap in Between
Caesar’s Gaelic Wars	100-44 B.C.	900 A.D.	10	1000 Years
Sophocles’ Plays	496-406 B.C.	1000 A.D.	193	1400 Years
Homer’s Iliad	900 B.C	100 A.D.	643	1000 Years
New Testament	48-90 A.D.	92-130 A.D.	24,633	40 Years

This table shows two crucially important things.  First, in comparison to other ancient literary works, there is a very small time-gap between the New Testament’s original writings and the manuscripts we possess.  Second, the number of New Testament manuscripts available are exponentially greater compared to other ancient literary works.  Historians have been forced to admit that given the brief period between the manuscripts and the original New Testament writings, there simply wasn’t enough time for falsely mythological elements and major textual inaccuracies to arise.  Thus, there is a high probability that what we have in our hands today is virtually the same as what the original writers wrote.  In short, we have a trustworthy reproduction of what these authors composed.

While this only focuses on the New Testament, because the Jews saw the Old Testament as the sacred word of God, they used very meticulous methods to copy and ensure the accuracy of Old Testament manuscripts.  The result was incredible accuracy over millennia of copying that was most recently and strongly confirmed by the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in the middle of the last century.

The Internal Test

The second test, the internal test, seeks to determine the internal consistency of any document.  In this test, the benefit of a doubt is always given to the document.  Thus, unless something can be demonstrated as a clear contradiction, any potential difficulties are assumed to have some sort of plausible explanation.

The Bible is truly remarkable because it was written over a period of 1,600 years with 40 different authors in more than 3 different languages, and most of the writers were eyewitnesses to what they wrote about.  Despite this astounding diversity and timespan, it completely agrees with itself on the most controversial subjects imaginable, including the nature of God and human beings, ethics and morality, the way to heaven, etc.

The internal test also looks at things like prophecy.  With respect to Jesus Christ, for example, there were over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament dealing with His life, death, and resurrection.  The chance that Christ could fulfill just 48 of these is 1 in 10 to the 157th power.  To put that into perspective, there are only an estimated 10 to the 80th power electrons in the entire universe, yet Christ fulfilled all 300 prophecies about Him, many of which He had no control over, like His means and place of birth, His death, lineage, etc.!

People often say that you shouldn’t believe in the Bible because it is filled with contradictions.  However, when asked to produce an example, most cannot point to a single one.  They simply parrot back what others have told them again and again.  To be sure, there are some apparent contradictions in the Bible, but there is a huge difference between apparent contradictions and genuine ones.

For example, one morning I could run into a group of friends, Lorenzo, Darnell, and Jamal.  Later on, I might run into James and tell him I just saw Darnell and Jamal earlier that day.  Then perhaps James later runs into Lorenzo and mentions that he saw me.  Lorenzo might say that he also saw me this morning.  At that point, unless James gathers more information, it might appear that I either lied to James about seeing Darnell and Jamal, or what I said I was contradictory, claiming that I saw Darnell and Jamal when I really saw Lorenzo.  In fact, I saw all of them, but (for whatever reasons) I only told James about seeing Darnell and Jamal, not Lorenzo.  There is no contradiction.

Similarly, the Bible has such apparent contradictions, which later, with the help of other scripture and additional information, can be shown to be non‑contradictory.  One classic example might be James 2:24 and Romans 3:28, something I have written about elsewhere.

The External Test

The last test, the external test, seeks to determine how well the document coincides with external historical discoveries.  Do biblical claims of historical, verifiable accounts and events match up with other ancient historical accounts and archaeology?  Chronicling the discoveries that confirm Biblical accounts would take literally volumes, but below are only two illustrative examples.

For many years, people ridiculed the Bible’s account of the Hivite people because there had never been any mention or evidence of these people except in the Bible.  The assumption was that the Bible was already wrong because it was the Bible.  In 1965, there was a major discovery of a civilization who had been called the Hivites confirming the Biblical accounts once again.

In another example, for many years, people claimed that because he is not found in other historical records, Pontius Pilate was nothing more than a fictional creation of the gospel writers.  Then, in 1961, an ancient stone was found in Caesarea with an inscription mentioning this Roman prefect.

Examples could be multiplied many times over, including several notable recent discoveries.  As archaeologist Nelson Glueck said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.”  It is not surprising, therefore, that the Bible is affectionately referred to by many archaeologists as, “The Archaeologist’s Handbook.”

I have only barely cracked the lid of a rich treasure chest full of examples that confirm the Bible is an accurate and trustworthy account of God’s revelation to us.  I suspect, however, that much of our resistance to trusting in the Bible as God’s word has more to do with what it actually says than anything else.  As Mark Twain once quipped, “It is not the things which I do not understand in the Bible which trouble me, but the things which I do understand.”

Hebrews 4:12-13 tell us that God’s word “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Bible reading convicts and exposes us to the reality of who we are and where we stand before a holy and righteous God.  While this is both frightening and humbling, that same Bible reveals a loving and gracious God who offers us forgiveness and eternal life through humble faith in Jesus Christ.  As we accept His biblically-revealed invitation to trust and wholly submit our lives to Him, we find ourselves gloriously forgiven and transformed for His greater honor and praise.

God’s word, indeed, can be trusted because He is trustworthy!