Source of the Bible

CHRISTIAN HANDBOOK OF REASON AND INSIGHT FOR SCIENTISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS

Chapter 10 - Source of the Bible

Were the autographs, for the book referred to as the Christian Bible, inspired by God? By Christian Bible we mean the 39 books of the Old Testament (corresponding to the 24 books of the Jewish Scriptures) and the 27 books of the New Testament.

The autographs for the 39 Old Testament books were written over a period of approximately 1000 years by many different authors. If any teaching set forth in one of these documents was not inspired by God, then surely God could identify it! More generally, "The Old Testament autographs were inspired by God if and only if God cannot identify a single false teaching." Remember, one of the attributes of the Christian God is absolute truth.

During His incarnation, Jesus claimed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; 4:1; 4:18) and to teach only what He learned from His Father (John 8:28; 14:24). In other words, the teachings of Jesus are the teachings of God. Jesus taught that the high purity manuscripts, to which he had access, were infallible and inerrant (Mat 5:18; 21:42; 22:29; Luke 24:44; John 5:39). Not a single false teaching was identified.

What about the New Testament autographs? Jesus implied that the teachings of the disciples and their colleagues "would be" inspired by God (Mat 28:18-20; John 14:26; Acts 9:15).

What you believe about scriptural inspiration is determined by the importance you attach to the opinion of Jesus. If you believe Jesus is God then the answer to the question asked at the beginning of this chapter is "yes."