Thursday, November 2, 2006

Are the New Testament Gospels reliable?

There are a great many good resources for Christians available online. One that I found recently is Mark Roberts' Are the New Testament Gospels Reliable? For the non-scholar, like me, this sort of thing is very helpful:

I am reminded of F.F. Bruce's The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, first printed in 1942, and still in print. It continues to make a good case.

Christians are not immune from doubt, and non-Christians need to be convinced. The events which are central to the Christian faith occurred at particular places and times and the historical evidence for them is not insignificant. In fact it is quite a bit better than the evidence for many events which go unquestioned.

The arguments use the normal historical methods of examining documents, comparing accounts, utilizing the discoveries of archeology, and placing events in their historical and religious context. Roberts is especially good at working with the documents. None of the arguments will convince someone determined not to be convinced, but the probabilities begin to build up and many objections can be overcome.

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