Women's Bible Study - Bible on Trial

Thursday after Epiphany 2

January 17, 2013

The Lord be with you

Tonight our ladies will begin a new Bible study titled The Bible on Trial: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt. The study is produced by the “Men’s Network” of the Lutheran Hour Ministries (www.lhmmen.com). It has a 4-part video and a discussion guide which will be handed out. Throughout the study are internet links, eight of which seem to no longer be in service. So no one has try to type in all these addresses, the links are provided below.

About the Study (from the back of the video)

Ste in a courtroom, The Bible On Trial: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt examines the contributions of biblical analysis, ancient historical voices, archaeology and the testimony of first-century followers of Jesus Christ in its quest to determine the reliability and accuracy of the Bible’s message.

In this Men’s NewWork Bible study, attoney Craig Parton leads the investigation. Along the way, 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. contribute insights and analysis from their respective fields on the crucial issue of the Bible as a trustworthy work in which to place our faith.

Employing three “Standards of Reliability,” the authenticity of the Bible is evaluated according to the “Biblographical,” “Internal Evidence” and External Evidence” tests. By assessing how the Bible stacks up agains6t other well known manuscripts of ancient literature. The Bible On Trial shows itself to be a remarkable and meticulous achievement when compared to any document from any time period. That this is so should come as no surprise. “The Bible claims to speak for God. It should be held to the highest standard,” Parton says.

But what then of the message? “It’s one thing to agree the text is reliable. It’s quite another to say that it is true,” Parton says. The Bible makes the claim that Jesus is the Son of God, that He came to take away the sins of the world, and that He rose from the dead three days after He was crucified on a hill outside of Jerusalem. The Bible indicates Jesus is the Savior of the world and the central figure in all of human history.

What is your verdict?

Full List Of Links Used In Digging Deeper Boxes

Throughout This Study:

Session 1: Answering The Bible's Critics

Oldest New Testament Manuscripts:

• Codex Sinaiticus: http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/default.aspx
• Codex Vaticanus: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04086a.htm
• Codex Alexandrinus: http://www.bible-researcher.com/codex-a.html

o Catholic Encyclopedia Article: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04080c.htm

• Partial New Testament papyri: http://www.biblefacts.org/history/oldtext.html

(The above link takes you to Biblefacts.org, but the specific fill was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• The history of Modern Greek editions: http://www.gotquestions.org/Textus-Receptus.html
• A History of Human Writing: http://www.safde.org/hwhistory.pdf
• Evolution of Uncial Text in Greek: http://www.skypoint.com/members/waltzmn/UncialScript.html

Dating the Gospels

• William R. Bragstad: http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/bragstadoriginofthegospels.pdf

Textual Criticism

• Differences and Variations between manuscripts: http://www.bible-researcher.com/causes.html
• Textual Criticism: http://www.irr.org/Bible-Reliable.html
• Historical-Grammatical Method: http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/surburghistoricalgrammaticalmethod.pdf
• Gospel of Mark: http://www.bible-researcher.com/endmark.html
• John 8: http://www.bible-researcher.com/adult.html

Session 2: Hard Evidence From The Ancient World

External Evidence: Historians

• The Burning of Rome: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/rome.htm
• Nero's Persecution: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christians.htm
• What To Do with the Christians: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christianproblem.htm

The Original Autographs

• How papyrus is made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= FNtqAkzpuU

(The above video was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• 2 Timothy 4:13: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%204:13;&version=NIV;
• Dirty Jobs: Making Vellum & Parchment: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3965726/10762482

(The above video was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• Difference between Paper, Parchment & Vellum: http://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/paper-vellum.html
• How Sumerians started writing: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/video/ancient sumerians.html

(The above video was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• Writing before the alphabet: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/3 history writing.html

(The above video was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• Was the alphabet invented on Mt. Sinai? http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c5/bigbang.htm
• How the Christian church kept literacy alive in the Middle Ages: http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c5/viral.htm
• Scriptoria: http://christdesert.org/Monastic Studies/Scriptoria/index.html

The Writing of Jeremiah

• Jeremiah 36: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2036:1-2,%204-6.%2014-26&version=ESV

The Sopherim

• Sopherim: http://www.grmi.org/renewal/Richard Riss/evidences/16trans.html

            (The above link was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

The Dead Sea Scrolls

• Essenes: http://www.ahafhandwriting.org/deadseascrolls
• Rylands' collection: http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/greek/johnpap.html
• Daniel predates 155 BC: http://www.harvardhouse.com/Daniel date-written.htm

(The above link was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• Daniel prophetic—not historic: http://christianthinktank.com/qwhendan3x.html
• DNA on scroll fragments: http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=61490

Religions That Depend on a Corrupt Bible

• Muslim View: http://www.answering-christianity.com/contra.htm
• Muslim Text: http://www.qivingananswer.org/articles/muslimviewofbible.html

(The above link was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

• Joseph Smith: http://wri.leaderu.com/mormonism/bible.html

Session 3: Archaeology's Contribution

Contributions Of Biblical Archaeology

• Top Ten Biblical Archaeological Finds: http://biblicalstudies.info/top10/schoville.htm
• Archaeology and the Bible: http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/
• Dr. Randall Price searches Mt. Ararat for Noah's Ark. http://www.worldofthebible.com/news.htm
• Dr. Randall Price asks the question, "What if We Find Noah's Ark?" http://www.worldofthebible.com/Arch update.html

(The above link was missing when I checked 1/17/13.)

Session 4: Eyewitness Testimony

Bible Images

• Old Bible images: http://www.bibles-online.net/

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor John Rickewrt