One of the most frequent questions I get is: how do I know the Bible isn’t just some crazy story invented by a lunatic? Or, to put it more politely, how can we know the New Testament faithfully records historical events, and not the exaggerated tales of a new religious movement?
This is a profound question that touches on how we can know anything from the ancient world. There are many reasons why we should have confidence in the writings of the New Testament, among them: the early dating and the eyewitness accounts, but I want to focus on one particular line of evidence – non-Christian sources.
The Bible is actually not the only source of information we have on Jesus from the ancient world. There are about a dozen non-Christian writers who attest to various aspects of the New Testament account. For example, the Roman historian Tacitus, writing within a century of the events, referred to Jesus and his execution by Pontius Pilate. Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor, also writing in the same time, described the early Christians as worshiping Jesus as God. And finally, and most remarkably, the Jewish historian, Josephus, writing within 50 years of Jesus’ lifetime, outlined the basic facts of Jesus’ life – his claim to be the Messiah and his death by Roman crucifixion. Additionally, he wrote at length about other New Testament figures like John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, and James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. It’s important to note that all these writers were hostile to Christianity, and yet they affirm the essential storyline of Christianity. And there are numerous other non-Christian sources that give witness to the historical events of Christianity.
Whether we can trust the Bible is a foundational question. Left unaddressed, Christianity falls apart. However, there are numerous lines of evidence, both within the Bible, and also outside the Bible, that assure us of its historical reliability. This is the subject I hope to tackle for our first adult Sunday school class, once we return to Marshall Elementary School in the coming months. Other subjects I’d like to address in future classes are: Christianity and science; homosexuality and transgenderism; and a survey course on the whole Bible. Christianity is far more than cogent answers to these questions, but it is not less.
Pastor Michael
Image: Papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John, P52, dated to within the first century. John Rylands Library in England.