Why We Can Trust the New Testament

Without a doubt, there have been times within human history when it has been difficult to get access to high quality resources about important topics created by experts. People used to have to go to universities or ticketed events to get access to the experts.

The internet has, of course, changed that. Not only has it provided us easy access to an endless supply of cat videos, but it has also provided opportunities to get easy access to legitimate experts with a few clicks and the right key words.

The problem with this free and open information society is that it can be hard to differentiate the hacks from the heroes. In some cases, the hacks make videos with better production value, which makes them seem more authoritative, even as they are really ignorant.

The Trustworthiness of the New Testament Text

The actual point of this post is not to discuss the media ecology of the internet, however, but to provide some resources on the text of the New Testament and its trustworthiness.

One of the main challenges raised to belief in Christianity is the trustworthiness of manuscripts of the New Testament. The accusation leveled against the Bible is that we cannot really know what the New Testament teaches because of variations in the available manuscripts. Daniel Wallace has dealt with that very effectively.

The Reliability of the Gospels

Another significant question is why there are differences between the various Gospels. In a lecture, Mike Licona helps explain the genre of the Gospels, the literary conventions of the day, and why we can trust the Gospels as authentic and faithful, even when they don’t match modern standards of documentation.

Peter Williams presents another approach to the reliability of the Gospels that deals less with the literary attributes and focuses on the content of the Gospels. This is a complementary perspective to the one that Licona presents.

The Formation of the Canon

Also significant is how the canon of the New Testament was formed. Some critics like to claim that a power struggle between church leaders led to certain books of equal value and authority being excluded from the canon, so that we should be just as open to the truthfulness of the Gospel of Thomas as we are to the canonical gospels. Michael Kruger helps dispel that notion.

Conclusion

These men are each expert in their field and respected in their academic disciplines, even among those who do not agree with their theological conclusions, because they have demonstrated proficiency in their discipline. That we live in an age where such resources are readily available is amazing. That we often fail to take advantage of this level of expertise is a shame. Taking a few hours to watch these videos (even with your family) would be an excellent means of discipleship for yourself and your family.