The New Testament is a little bit like “Act 2”. In the Old Testament, Christ is pictured and promised, and in the New Testament He is present and fulfilled. The New Testament writings were complete by about 100 A.D., and had been used throughout the church for another 3oo years when they were confirmed at the Third Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. (NOT “voted on” at the Council of Nicaea, like the DaVinci Code and so many other pseudo-scholars claim).
Writings were evaluated carefully: were they written by an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, or by someone who had an eyewitness as their source? Was it “backed up” by an Apostle, or in agreement with writings that were?
So how do we know those guys didn’t just get together and make it all up? The fact is that there were too many people around that could debunk any false claims or embellishment. To the contrary, the writers had to make sure that they were accurate in their accounts, or their credibility would have been lost. Had they created fictional tales, even though perhaps related to real people and events, their writings would have survived only as stories, and not historically accurate accounts.
We have thousands of fragments and manuscripts, some dating as far back as 130 A.D., which attest to the accuracy of today’s copies; other ancient writings do not have nearly this many (Homer’s Iliad is next in line, with only around 650).
The fact is that no archaeological discovery has ever disproved the Bible. It is not just a collection of ancient myths and moral writings. It is not about God’s plan for the nation of Israel. It is certainly not about me or you – a “handbook for life”, as so many regard it today. It is the Word of God, inerrant and complete, and shows us the only way to life, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
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