History

Many people would like to believe that the Bible is just a collection of myths and legends. This is understandable, given its bold claims and the personal consequences. However, while it is easy to claim that it is describing fictional events, archaeolgical discoveries have slowly but surely strengthened the Bible's claim of being a historical account of real events. It has sometimes been dramatic when "history experts" have scoffed at a Biblical account as being unrealistic, only to be forced to admit that it was "right all along" when the evidence is unearthed.

Jesus did exist

The historicity of Jesus is well established. Many early historians and other non-biblical writers referred to Jesus as a real person. They were often highly critical of him or his followers but never denied his existence. Some of these writers include Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Mara Bar Serapion, Lucian of Samosata, Celsus, Thallus, and Phlegon. Read more on the references to Jesus outside of the Bible.

The eyewitnesses are reliable

To consider the Gospels as reliable we need to prove that we have unaltered versions of their original accounts, and that their descriptions are likely to be truthful.

The manuscript reliabity evidence is very strong. There are around 6,000 manuscripts of the New Testament, which is more than any other writing in history. These manuscripts date within 30-60 years of the original writings, which is considered close compared to other historical writings. The manuscripts have very few errors, and most differences are in letters. The earliest fragment of a Gospel is the John Rylands fragment, which is dated between 117-138 AD, which is 30-60 years after the writing of John.

The Bible has been subjected to a great deal of critical study, with Christians leading the way in textual criticism.

The Gospels are congruent with known historical facts and cultural practices of the time. The books of Luke and Acts are often cited as having very specific and accurate historical details, but all the gospels show that the authors cared about using correct information. Similarly, the sayings of Jesus that have Aramaic roots are likely to be authentic because they reflect his cultural context.

The Gospels were written in a time when many other eyewitnesses were still alive. Legends or myths usually are not concerned with real-life details. In this case, the events and names in the Gospels would have been easily subject to verification during the first century. These facts suggest that the Gospel authors meant to root their narratives in real historic events. Also given that most of the authors were martyrd for their beliefs, it is extremely unlikely that they would have died for something they knew to be false.

Research and discovery have also continued to confirm the historical accuracy of the Gospel accounts.

The Pilate Stone, is a stone block with an inscription that confirms the existence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

The Pool of Bethesda is mentioned in the Gospel of John. Until the 19th century, there was no clear archaeological evidence for the existence of such a pool. However, in 1888, the remains of a pool were discovered near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. The pool was found to have five porticoes, just as the Gospel describes.

The foundation of scripture is reliable

Jesus and the disciples were Jewish. All of the topics and events that they described had their meaning and significance from the Old Testament scriptures. To be able to trust the New Testament, we need to also trust the Old Testament as they did. Similar to how the Gospels can be supported by the historical and manuscript evidence, the Old Testament can also be supported by the evidence.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of Jewish manuscripts dating back to around 500 BC. They were discovered from 1946 to 1956, and contain the oldest known surviving copies of the Old Testament. They are significant because they confirm that later copies of scripture have remained faithful to the originals and have not been altered, distorted or corrupted in any significant way. They also confirm that prophetic passages were indeed written before their fulfillment.

The House of David Inscription was discovered in 1993 at Tel Dan in northern Israel. It is a fragment of a stela inscribed with an Aramaic inscription that mentions the "House of David". It is the first extra-biblical reference to the Davidic dynasty. The inscription corroborates passages from the Bible that refer to Jehoram the son of an Israelite king, Ahab, by his Phoenician wife Jezebel.

The City of Jericho is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is mentioned in the Bible as the first city that the Israelites conquered when they entered the Promised Land. The Bible describes how the walls of the city fell down after the Israelites marched around it for seven days. Archaeological excavations at Jericho have confirmed that the city was indeed destroyed in an earthquake around 1400 BC, which is consistent with the Biblical account.

The Clay Seals of Davids City were discovered in 2005 in the City of David in Jerusalem. They are small pieces of clay that were used to seal documents. They are inscribed with the names of people who lived in Jerusalem around 2700 years ago. The seals confirm that Jerusalem was a wealthy city at the time of King Hezekiah, who is mentioned in the Bible.

The Merneptah Stele is an inscription from the time of the Pharaoh Merneptah, who ruled Egypt from 1213 to 1203 BC. The stele indicates that the nation of Israel existed in the promised land at least 3200 years ago.