Understanding the Authority and Authenticity of Scripture

 

Summary

In our discussion today, we delved into the fascinating and often misunderstood topic of how we got our Bible. This journey began with my own experience as a college student under the tutelage of Bart Ehrman, a prominent critic of biblical Christianity. His challenges to the New Testament's authenticity sparked my interest in the field of text and canon, leading me to explore the authority and transmission of Scripture. This exploration is crucial because undermining the authority of Scripture can lead to the collapse of the Christian system.

We also discussed the cultural fascination with the so-called Gnostic Gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas. This interest often stems from a postmodern mindset that multiple perspectives negate the possibility of a single truth. However, these apocryphal texts, when examined, reveal significant differences from the canonical Gospels, both in content and historical authenticity. The canonical Gospels were not arbitrarily chosen but were recognized by the early church as authoritative, a process that was more organic than many assume.

Furthermore, we addressed the issue of textual variants in the New Testament manuscripts. While variations exist, the sheer number of manuscripts allows us to reconstruct the original texts with a high degree of confidence. The notion that God would prevent any scribal errors is a misunderstanding of divine inspiration. Instead, God has preserved His Word through historical processes, ensuring its reliability.

Finally, we touched on the self-authenticating nature of Scripture. The Bible's divine qualities and transformative power testify to its authenticity. When we engage with Scripture, it reads us, revealing its living nature as God's Word. This understanding encourages us to trust in the Bible's authority and to live out its teachings.

Key Takeaways:

- The authority of Scripture is foundational to the Christian faith. Undermining it can lead to a collapse of the entire belief system. Understanding the historical and textual basis of the Bible strengthens our confidence in its divine inspiration. [01:51]

- The fascination with apocryphal gospels often reflects a postmodern skepticism of absolute truth. However, these texts differ significantly from the canonical Gospels in both content and historical credibility. Recognizing this helps us appreciate the unique authority of the canonical texts. [05:34]

- Textual variants in the New Testament manuscripts do not undermine their reliability. The abundance of manuscripts allows us to reconstruct the original texts accurately. This process demonstrates God's preservation of His Word through historical means. [18:02]

- Scripture is self-authenticating, bearing divine qualities that testify to its truth. Engaging with the Bible reveals its transformative power, affirming its status as the living Word of God. This encourages us to trust and apply its teachings in our lives. [23:13]

- The canon of Scripture was not arbitrarily chosen but recognized by the early church as authoritative. This recognition was based on the apostolic origin and divine inspiration of the texts, ensuring their place in the canon. [11:46]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:22] - Introduction to Dr. Kruger
- [00:50] - Encounter with Bart Ehrman
- [01:23] - Importance of Scripture's Authority
- [02:21] - Fascination with Text and Canon
- [03:10] - Surviving Religion 101
- [04:36] - Interest in Gnostic Gospels
- [05:34] - Postmodern Skepticism
- [06:55] - Motivations Behind Gnostic Interest
- [08:03] - Addressing Gospel of Thomas
- [10:02] - Understanding the Canon
- [12:13] - Self-Authenticating Scripture
- [14:00] - Reading Apocryphal Books
- [17:02] - Textual Variants and Reliability
- [22:04] - Scripture's Transformative Power
- [24:30] - Authorship of Hebrews

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
2. John 20:31
3. Hebrews 4:12

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Observation Questions:

1. What was the main challenge that Bart Ehrman presented to the authenticity of the New Testament, and how did it impact Dr. Kruger? [01:23]

2. How does the sermon describe the process by which the canonical Gospels were recognized by the early church? [11:46]

3. What are some of the reasons given in the sermon for the cultural fascination with the Gnostic Gospels? [05:34]

4. According to the sermon, how does the abundance of New Testament manuscripts contribute to the reliability of the biblical text? [18:02]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of Scripture being "self-authenticating" challenge or support your understanding of the Bible's authority? [23:13]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that postmodern skepticism influences the interest in apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Thomas? [06:02]

3. How does the sermon address the issue of textual variants, and what does it suggest about God's role in preserving Scripture? [18:02]

4. What does the sermon imply about the relationship between divine inspiration and the historical process of canon formation? [13:04]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when your faith was challenged by external criticism. How did you respond, and what might you do differently now in light of the sermon? [03:10]

2. The sermon discusses the importance of understanding the historical and textual basis of the Bible. What steps can you take to deepen your understanding of the Bible's origins and authority? [01:51]

3. How can you engage with Scripture in a way that allows it to "read you" and transform your life, as suggested in the sermon? [24:05]

4. Consider the cultural fascination with alternative gospels. How can you effectively communicate the unique authority of the canonical Gospels to someone who is skeptical? [05:34]

5. The sermon mentions the organic recognition of the canon by the early church. How does this understanding affect your view of the Bible's authority and your trust in its teachings? [11:46]

6. How can you address doubts or questions about the reliability of the Bible in your own life or in conversations with others? [18:02]

7. In what ways can you apply the transformative power of Scripture in your daily life, and how can you encourage others to do the same? [23:13]

Devotional

Day 1: The Foundation of Scripture's Authority
Understanding the authority of Scripture is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the Christian faith. The Bible's authority is not just a theological concept but a foundational truth that supports the entire belief system. If the authority of Scripture is undermined, it can lead to a collapse of the Christian worldview. By exploring the historical and textual basis of the Bible, believers can strengthen their confidence in its divine inspiration. This understanding is essential for a robust faith that can withstand challenges and doubts. [01:51]

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you deepen your understanding of the Bible's authority to strengthen your faith today?


Day 2: Distinguishing Canonical and Apocryphal Texts
The fascination with apocryphal gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, often reflects a postmodern skepticism of absolute truth. These texts differ significantly from the canonical Gospels in both content and historical credibility. Recognizing these differences helps believers appreciate the unique authority of the canonical texts. The early church did not arbitrarily choose the canonical Gospels; they were recognized as authoritative due to their apostolic origin and divine inspiration. This recognition was an organic process that affirmed the unique status of these texts. [05:34]

"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: How can you discern and appreciate the unique authority of the canonical Gospels in your daily Bible reading?


Day 3: The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts
Textual variants in the New Testament manuscripts do not undermine their reliability. The abundance of manuscripts allows scholars to reconstruct the original texts with a high degree of accuracy. This process demonstrates God's preservation of His Word through historical means, ensuring its reliability for believers today. Understanding this can help alleviate doubts about the authenticity of the New Testament and encourage a deeper trust in its teachings. [18:02]

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." (Isaiah 40:8, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to explore the historical reliability of the New Testament and strengthen your trust in its teachings?


Day 4: The Self-Authenticating Nature of Scripture
Scripture is self-authenticating, bearing divine qualities that testify to its truth. Engaging with the Bible reveals its transformative power, affirming its status as the living Word of God. This understanding encourages believers to trust in the Bible's authority and to apply its teachings in their lives. The Bible's divine qualities are evident in its ability to convict, comfort, and guide believers in their spiritual journey. [23:13]

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4, ESV)

Reflection: How has the transformative power of Scripture impacted your life, and how can you allow it to guide you more fully today?


Day 5: The Organic Recognition of the Canon
The canon of Scripture was not arbitrarily chosen but recognized by the early church as authoritative. This recognition was based on the apostolic origin and divine inspiration of the texts, ensuring their place in the canon. Understanding this process helps believers appreciate the historical and spiritual significance of the Bible. It also reinforces the trustworthiness of the Scriptures as the foundation for faith and practice. [11:46]

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV)

Reflection: How can you deepen your appreciation for the historical and spiritual significance of the Bible in your daily walk with God?

Quotes


In Ehrman's class he knows that if you can undermine the authority of Scripture, then everything else is going to collapse in the Christian system. And so, his way of undermining Scripture...by the way, there are lots of ways to attack the Scriptures, right? And there are lots of new ways today people are doing it, but Ehrman realized that one way is dealing with which books belong and which books don't and whether those books have been reliably transmitted, so issues of what we call text and canon. [00:01:46]

So, what do postmodern people believe? Not just that there are multiple different views out there, postmodern people believe that because there are multiple different views out there, no one view can be right. And that is what I think is behind the lost gospel phenomenon. If they can show in their mind (this is the non-Christian thinking), if they can show in their mind that there is a bunch of different opinions about Jesus out there, a bunch of different gospels about Jesus, then they can conclude, "Well, then no one gospel must be right. No one gospel could be right. It has to be that truth is relative and gospels are relative." [00:05:39]

The Gospel of Thomas is probably the most famous apocryphal gospel out there. And I get that question a lot, you know, "What's wrong with the Gospel of Thomas?" I would have several responses to a person who said that. First of all, I would ask, "Have you ever read the Gospel of Thomas?" Chances are they haven't or even read the whole thing. If they have, they'll realize if they're so in love with the Gospel of Thomas, do they know what the last line in the Gospel of Thomas is? Logion 114 in the Gospel of Thomas says, "Every woman that makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven." [00:08:39]

Yeah, that's a common misconception out there, which is that the twenty-seven books we have in our New Testament were the arbitrary choice of those in power, usually in the fourth century, usually linked to Constantine. And the whole narrative is that, well, Constantine basically picked the books himself and forced them on the church and then banished all others, sort of a "Da Vinci code-esque" narrative. Okay, that all sounds really interesting and good. The problem is that it just doesn't fit with the facts of history. [00:10:31]

If someone thinks the canon was arbitrarily chosen by some committee in the fourth century, they just don't understand the history of the canon, because we have those books received much, much earlier than that. By the middle of the second century, we have a core group of books, say, twenty-two out of twenty-seven books already functioning as Scripture in the early church. In other words, they weren't picked by a committee. They weren't picked by some, you know, smoke-filled room discussion. They were there sort of organically growing up from the beginning. [00:11:03]

Here's one of the ideas out there that the people have is that books become canon. Okay, so imagine...this is what people think what happens in the canon. They think that Paul wrote some letters in the first century. They were just occasional documents giving his friendly advice. And then it wasn't until the second or third century that Christians said, "Wow! Have you read these letters? These are really great. In fact they're so great, I think, we should make these Scripture. What do you think? Okay, all in favor say, 'Aye'." And there is a vote and they sort of make them Scripture. [00:12:14]

What if the authority was there from the beginning? What if it's not so much that the church made them authoritative, but simply recognized them as authoritative? And so, one of things that you said there that I think is so important that I've said repeatedly, which is that we have to remember books aren't just simply recognized by the church or chosen by the church; they're given by God. And if they're given by God through divine inspiration that means these books are authoritative the moment they're given. [00:12:56]

There are scribal variations, okay. We do know that scribes when they copied sometimes made errors, just like anytime you copied a book would make errors. But we have so many copies of the New Testament across the board that have been preserved that we have a lot of confidence in what was originally written and Ehrman takes the posture here of like super-skeptic. If there's any variance at all, therefore, the whole thing is shot. It's kind of like an all or nothing deal. [00:17:23]

God obviously inspired the original authors. But are we really to believe that God promises that no scribe ever at any point in all of human history whenever someone writes down a passage of Scripture they always get it exactly right? I mean, is that really our view? I mean, it would be really kind of insane and ridiculous to think that God would just, you know, take every scribe that ever decided to write the words down and never let them make a mistake ever. No, God delivered His Word through normal historical channels, and normal historical channels do have variants, yes, but He preserves so many manuscripts that we can know what it said in the end. [00:18:22]

Self-authentication is a word that we need to recover more in the church. I've written effectively a whole book on this called Canon Revisited, which is a whole book on why the Bible is self-authenticating. Now, that's a big word. What do we mean by self-authenticating? What it means is the real way you know that God's Word is God's Word is because God demonstrates the validity of His Word through His Word. In other words, the Word bears God's own divine attributes and qualities. [00:23:13]

People need to realize that the Word of God is powerful and if you use it, you read it, you expose yourself to it, you'll soon realize that you're not reading God's Word; God's Word is reading you. It's not so much that you're doing something to God's Word; God's Word is doing something to you. In other words, it's not a dead book; it's a living book. What kind of book could be a living book? Only a book given by God and that's how we know it is God's Word. [00:24:22]

The book of Hebrews is in our Bibles, but the book of Hebrews is anonymous. We don't know the author. It's not in the text anywhere. And so, the early church was divided over this. Some thought Paul may have still been the author and a lot of other people said Paul is probably not the author. My answer is Origen's answer. Origen, who was a third century church father. His answer is, "Only God knows." So, I think I'm going to stick with that answer. I think it's a pretty good one. [00:24:30]

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Transcript
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