Why is the Bible Reliable?
Investigate the Bible's reliability as a detective of a Cold Case Team.
Is Jesus Christ really who he claims to be?
"Investigate everything, keep the good and avoid any evil in whatever form it occurs." 1 Thessalonians 5:21
The famous American Cold Case detective J. Warner Wallace has thoroughly investigated the Cold Case, the murder case of Jesus Christ. Below you will find his findings.
The New Testament
The arguments for the reliability of the New Testament eyewitness accounts depend on the reliability of the authors. Eyewitnesses are usually evaluated in criminal investigations by asking four critical questions: Were the witnesses actually present at the time of the crime? Can the witnesses' witnesses be somehow confirmed? Have the witnesses changed their story over time? Do the witnesses have prejudices that cause them to lie, exaggerate, or misinterpret what was seen? We can examine the Gospels and their authors by asking similar questions. Is the Bible true? The cumulative evidence for the reliability of the Gospels confirms their reliability:
(1) The Gospels were written early
It is much more difficult to tell an extended lie in the same generation as those who witnessed the truth. The Gospels were written early enough to have been checked by those who were alive and would have known better:
(a) The missing information in the book of Acts (ie the destruction of the temple, the siege of Jerusalem, the death of Peter, Paul and James) can best be explained by dating Acts before 61AD
(b) Luke wrote his gospel prior to the book of Acts
(c) Paul's reference to Luke 10: 6-7 (1 Timothy 5: 17-18, written in 63-64AD) and Luke 22: 19-20 (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26, written in 53-57AD) is best explained by dating the Gospel of Luke before 53-57AD
(d) Luke's reference to his gospel as "orderly" in Luke 1: 3 (compared to Mark's 1st century description of Mark's testimony as "not, indeed in order") and Luke's repeated references to Mark's gospels best explained by dating the Gospel of Mark before Luke 45-50 AD
(2) The Gospels have been confirmed
First-century gospel accounts are better confirmed than any other historical history:
(a) Archeology confirms many people, locations and events described in the Gospels
(b) Ancient Jewish, Greek and Pagan accounts confirm the contours of Jesus' identity, life, death and resurrection
(c) The authors of the gospel correctly identify small, local geographic features and cities in the region where events occurred at that time.
(d) The authors of the gospel correctly quote the words used in that time and region
(e) Mark's repeated reference and familiarity with Peter confirms the correctness of the description of Papias in the Gospel of Mark
(f) The authors of the Gospels unintentionally support each other with various details they mention in the testimonies. The deepening in different details per Gospel makes the testimonies even stronger because no eyewitness experiences a situation in exactly the same way as another. Watch the video above: "The Unintentional Eyewitness Support of the Gospels"
(3) The Gospels have been delivered accurately
The Gospels were cherished and treated as Scripture from the earliest times. We can test their content and accurate shipping:
(a) A New Testament "Chain of Custody" can be reconstructed by the authors of the gospel (through their subsequent students) to confirm the original content of the documents
(b) Many of the Gospels (and all the critical features of Jesus) can be confirmed in the writings of the Church Fathers
(c) The vast number of ancient copies of the Gospels can be compared to identify and eliminate late additions and copy variations within the text
(d) The earliest caretakers of the text considered it an accurate, divinely inspired document worthy of careful preservation
(4) The gospel writers were not prescribed
The Gospel authors claimed to be eyewitnesses transformed by what they observed in Jesus of Nazareth:
(a) The authors were convinced based on retrospective observation, rather than biased in advance
(b) The three motives that caused prejudice were absent from the authors' lives. They were not driven by financial gain, sexual (or relational) lust or the pursuit of power. They died without any of these benefits
(c) The authors' testimony was confirmed by their willingness to die for what they claimed. There is no evidence that either of them has ever revoked their testimony
The gospel authors were present during the life of Jesus and wrote their stories early enough to be verified by those who knew Jesus.
The gospel authors were present during the life of Jesus and wrote their stories early enough to be verified by those who knew Jesus. Their testimonies can be sufficiently confirmed and have been accurately delivered to us over the centuries. The authors lacked motive to lie to us about their observations and died rather than revoke their testimony. Is the Bible true? The arguments for the reliability of the Gospels are strong and substantive. We have good reasons to trust what the eyewitnesses told us about Jesus of Nazareth.
For a clearer and more detailed picture of this case, please watch the videos above.