‘Nearly caught fire’ as the Bible is defended
“A good day – the only problem my pen nearly caught fire there was so much to write down.” So said one of the church leaders attending a day conference at Roundhay Evangelical Church, Leeds. Around 80 people from nearly 20 different church across Yorkshire gathered at Roundhay Parochial Hall on 18th Oct to hear Dr Pete Williams lead a day on ‘Bible Fact or Fantasy’. Pete is warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, having formerly lectured at Cambridge and Aberdeen Universities on biblical subjects and languages. He is extremely well qualified to look at the Bible manuscripts and related matters. The day consisted of three main talks with plenty of opportunity for questions.
First Pete looked at the current attacks on the Old Testament.
There are accusations from the new atheism that the Bible is full of violence, and supports acts of aggression. Pete looked in detail at the OT’s attitude to violence. He showed that it consistently teaches that violence is evil. People were punished for their own wickedness – never for their race. God’s people showed what for the times was unparalleled restraint in how they treated other peoples. God himself is shown to be compassionate and gracious, a God who delays judgment for hundreds of years, so that people can change their ways. Pete also pointed out the Israel itself is criticised and judged when it commits the same sins as other nations.
Against the accusation that the bible supports slavery, Pete looked at the position of ‘slaves’ in the OT, showing that it was very different from slaves in other nations, or in the more modern transatlantic slave trade. In Israel slaves had rights and could even take their masters to law. And of course it was bible men who brought about the abolition of slavery in recent times.
In general, people who attack the Old Testament read it selectively, taking phrases out of context, and missing the main point of the teaching. The Bible is totally trustworthy, with history and teaching that stands up to examination.
In his second lecture, Pete Williams focussed on attacks on the New Testament which would suggest the bible was a political selection of the available books, and that the church promoted Jesus to the position of God.
Pete showed his familiarity with early manuscripts as he detailed the first century use of the NT manuscripts. The documents some claim to be ‘other gospels’ were described and clearly shown to be late, non-specific, and unreliable as a source for the events of the NT. For example the ‘Gospel of Thomas’ only survives in its entirety in Coptic, consists of 114 individual sayings claimed to have been given secretly by Jesus, and contains some extremely doubtful sayings.
Similarly the ‘Gospel of Philip’ was shown to be vague, with gaps that people have filled in imaginatively to support their own perspectives. Other early manuscripts were also examined. Pete quoted a number of second century writers who clearly use the four gospels we have in the NT. concluded that the Bible books stand up to investigation, and their claim to be the word of God is entirely reasonable.
The suggestion that the gospel was invented by the early church was shown to be entirely implausible – there was not the time or the organisation to do such a thing before Christians spread throughout the Mediterranean world. They emphasised truth and were prepared to suffer for it. The message of the Christian gospel – death on a cross and resurrection of the body – was the last message people might have made up. It could hardly have caused greater offence in its fundamentals!
The NT and its message stands. Investigation of the content of any attacks and references to other early documents only strengthens the case for the authenticity of the bible and its message.
The last lecture concentrated on the Bible in today’s world, showing its authoritative and defensible message for the 21st century.
Far from being something in need of defence, the Bible presents major challenges to modern society. It is a superior basis for morality and human relations, offering practical wisdom for today’s living.
Prophecy too shows the Bible’s authority – not just all the specific Old Testament statements that have been fulfilled, but in the way the whole NT is fulfilled prophecy. The OT and the NT combine to show consistently the problem of sin and that God alone saves, through Jesus.
Linguistic analysis of the NT documents shows a variety of features that clearly evidence its authenticity. The use of names, comparisons with contemporary documents similarly confirm the NT date. Even the apparent differences between gospel accounts of the same story are evidence – they show independence of authorship combined with detailed accuracy in the account, and in fact often it is only combining the complementary accounts that gives a clear picture of events.
Finally the resurrection has so much supporting evidence. However it is not just a fact – it is a life changing reality, that calls for a personal response.
The question times were fascinating! Ranging across a very broad field Pete was able to show confidently the trustworthiness of the Bible. In fact the Q&A session in itself showed a willingness to examine opposing claims and think them through – always finding the Bible comes out on top!
At the end of the day people were enthusiastic, mentally stretched and excited by all they had learnt … and were asking when the next conference would be!
“The Bible is absolutely key to the Christian faith. This was a day that has greatly increased our appreciation of what God has given us.”
