Day 3 - The Bible and Jesus
Session #3
Q-1 As a Christian have you ever heard someone question or object to the authority/reliability of the Bible?
If so, what was the objection?
How did you respond or would you respond if given the chance?
If so, what was the objection?
How did you respond or would you respond if given the chance?
Over the next four video clips we are going to cover two basic topics concerning the Bible:
1- How we got the Bible in its current form
2- Why we can trust the originality/authenticity of the Bible
1- How we got the Bible in its current form
2- Why we can trust the originality/authenticity of the Bible
Have ever wondered how it is we can trust that the current versions of ancient pieces of writing are the same as the original?
An objection to the validity of the bible you are likely to come across at some point in your life, especially if you spend any significant amount of time on the internet, is that the Bible can’t be trusted because it has been changed numerous times over the centuries. The fact is this couldn’t be further from the truth.
When it comes to verifying the originality or reliability of a work of antiquity there are two very important factors to consider:
1- The number of copies in existence of the work of antiquity in question
2- How close, in years, the copies are to the original work of antiquity in question
When it comes to verifying the originality or reliability of a work of antiquity there are two very important factors to consider:
1- The number of copies in existence of the work of antiquity in question
2- How close, in years, the copies are to the original work of antiquity in question
Q-2 Though we can be reasonably certain of the authenticity (or originality) of the Bible, it does not necessarily follow that it is the actual word of God. With this in mind how would you make an argument for its divine authorship?
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
Lord, Liar, Lunatic...
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (Mere Christianity, 55-56)
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (Mere Christianity, 55-56)
As Christians two of the most crucial lynchpins to the validity of our faith are the divinity of Jesus and the truth of His resurrection…
Q-3 Of the evidence we have for the resurrection of Christ which do you find the most compelling? Why?
Which piece of evidence would you be most comfortable sharing with others? Why?
Which piece of evidence would you be most comfortable sharing with others? Why?