CORE Questions: Week 1
“Can I trust the Bible?”
Explore the Question:
Do you trust the Bible? Why?
What doubts have you had about trusting the Bible, and what doubts have you
heard from others?
How do we know what was originally written if we don’t have the originals
writings?
How can I trust that the authors of the Bible were telling the truth?
Big Ideas:
• In order trust the Christian Faith, we have to trust the reliability of the Bible.
• The manuscript evidence in support of the Bible is an overwhelming “embarrassment of
riches.” The sheer volume of manuscripts in our possession allow for strong certainty
about what the Biblical writers originally wrote.
• The accounts of the New Testament writers are trustworthy due to a variety of reasons
including: (source – Frank Turek)
o Early Sources
▪ The document and data within are from very early after Jesus’s death.
o Eyewitness Details
▪ There is information that only an eyewitness could know.
o Embarrassing Stories
▪ The writers are often portrayed in ways that they wouldn’t invent.
o Excruciating Deaths
▪ Many died as a result of maintaining the veracity of their claims.
o Embedded Confirmation
▪ Discrepancies in the recordings of New Testament events between
writers are complimentary.
o Expected Predictions
▪ Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament.
o Extra–Biblical Writers
▪ Authors outside the Bible affirm some historical claims in the New
Testament.
o Explosive Growth
▪ The birth of the church is difficult to explain if the biblical claims were
false.
▪ Authors outside the Bible affirm some historical claims in the New
Testament.
o Explosive Growth
▪ The birth of the church is difficult to explain if the biblical claims were
false.