Sunday, September 18, 2016

THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE: Resources for Study

This page is for resources that demonstrate the reliability of the Bible in general terms. For more specific issues related to the Bible's reliability, see "Related Pages on My Blog" below:

RELATED PAGES ON MY BLOG
*Historical Reliability of the Old Testament
*Archaeological Confirmation of the Old Testament
*New Testament Reliability
*Archaeological Confirmation of the New Testament
*Undesigned Coincidences as Evidence for the Historicity of the Bible
*Are the Gospels Based on Eyewitness Accounts?: An Outline of the Evidence & Resources for Study....(This will be a major labor of love....hopefully coming soon)

*Contradictions in the Bible?....Interpreting Scripture

VIDEOS
"Bible on Trial: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" is a 45-minute video by Vision Video produced in a courtroom setting. There is a 4-part Bible study available to go with it. The film features attorney Craig Parton and scholars Dr. Paul Maier of Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Dr. Randall Price of Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va.; Dr. Jeff Kloha of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. and Joel Lampe of The Bible Museum, Goodyear, Ariz. 
Watch it for FREE! here.

ARTICLES (& BOOK CHAPTERS)
*Geisler, Norm and Frank Turek. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Chapter 14: "What Did Jesus Teach About the Bible?" Pages 355-376.
*"Reversals of New Testament Criticism" by Merrill C. Tenney

*"Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible Is the Word of God" (1891) by R.A. Torrey


BOOKS
*In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture edited by Steven Cowan and Terry L. Wilder. A compilation of essays by expert scholars like Paul W. Barnett, Darrell L. Bock, Daniel B. Wallace, Paul Copan,  Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Charles L. Quarles, and others. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
*Evidence That Demands A Verdict (2017 edition) by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell. PART I: "Evidence for the Bible"; PART II: "Evidence for Jesus"; PART III: "Evidence for the Old Testament"
*The Evidence of Prophecy edited by Robert C. Newman. "One of the most powerful evidences for the truth of biblical Christianity is the fulfillment of predictions made in Scripture. Here, nine authors discuss prophecies made centuries in advance about Israel, her neighbors, and her Messiah. Specific attempts to explain these away as vague, misinterpreted, or written after the event are countered." Currently only $2.99HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
*Scripture and Truth edited by Carson and Woodbridge. Essays by a host of expert scholars. "From a biblical, historical, or theological perspective each essay examines a challenge to belief in the integrity and reliability of Scripture." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
*"Fundamentalism" and the Word of God by J.I. Packer. A classic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
*Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought. Carl F.H. Henry, editor
Baker Book House. Grand Rapids, Michigan (1958). FREE! 24 essays by leading evangelicals. (401 pages)

*" Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible": Equipped: Vol. 1, No. 4, The Quarterly Journal of the Christian Apologetics Alliance. FREE!
*Is the Bible Reliable? by John Piper: a FREE! 13-page booklet
*Can I Really Trust The Bible? by Martin De Hann II: a FREE! 33-page booklet published by RBC Ministries
*The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth. A classic. This large collection of essays by leading evangelical scholars was originally published in a series of 12 volumes between 1910 and 1915. These volumes cover several topics but many of the essays are focused on defending the Scriptures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Blue Letter Bible has an introduction and a nicely organized collection of all of the essays ready to read for FREE! online. You can also download the 1917 four-volume edition for FREE! as 4 pdf files: Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4. And it is only 99 cents on Kindle (click on title link).

*Can We Still Believe the Bible?: An Evangelical Engagement with Contemporary Questions by Craig L. Blomberg

ONLINE COURSES (FREE)

*"Why I Trust My Bible" (3 hours) by Bill Mounce
*"Why We Trust Our Bible" (20 hours) by John Piper, Craig Blomberg and Bill Mounce


BOOKS RELATED TO THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE'S CRITICS
*The Word of God and the Mind of Man by Ronald Nash. A Nash classic. "The last two centuries of Christian theology are the record of an evolving attack on the role of knowledge in the Christian faith. The purpose of this book is to challenge the major forms of Christian agnosticism and offer an alternative theory that makes human knowledge about God possible. In other words, is there a relationship between the human mind and the divine mind that is sufficient to ground the communication of truth from God to humans?" HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
*Historical Criticism of the Bible by Eta Linnemann"In Historical Criticism of the Bible Eta Linnemann tells how modern Bible scholarship has drifted far from the truth, and why its assumptions are nonetheless so influential and thereby inherently dangerous. In part 1 she analyzes the ideas that have shaped Western thought through four centuries, explaining how secular humanism, the Enlightenment, and German idealism have influenced Western universities in general and biblical scholarship in particular. In part 2 she argues that historical criticism constitutes an ideological system rather than the objective scientific method scholars say they observe—exposing the presuppositions and dangers of the historical-critical system." 
*Biblical Errancy by Norman Geisler
*The Bible in Modern Culture: Theology and Historical-Critical Method from Spinoza to Kasemann by Roy A. Harrisville and Walter Sundberg. Not a light read but very helpful.
*Theology in Turmoil by Alan P.F. Sell
*The Rise of Biblical Criticism in America, 1800-1870: The New England Scholars by Jerry Wayne Brown
*Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters edited by Donald K. McKim. An indispensable reference volume for researching the history of the Bible's critics and its defenders and faithful exegetes.


STILL LOOKING?.....

*Check out the great resources on the Bible's reliability at bethinking