The Bible is a remarkable library of 66 books, spanning from the creation of the world, the birth of Abraham in approximately 2166 BC, to Revelation written by St John around 95 AD. The Canon for the Old Testament was fixed before 143 BC, and the New Testament 110-200 AD (Origen lists all 27 books in 240 AD). There are 5,700 Greek manuscripts of portions of the New Testament, which verify its reliability.
“Because Scripture is the word of God, we read it like no other book, humbly, on our knees, crying to the Holy Spirit for illumination. Because Scripture is also the word of men, we read it like every other book, paying attention to its historical and geographical background, its cultural context, its literary genre, its grammar, syntax and vocabulary. We study it diligently.” (John Stott)
“I soon learned that I must take the Scriptures with the simplicity of a little child, and be content to receive on God’s testimony, what he has revealed, whether I can unravel all the difficulties that attend it or not; and from that day to this I have never had a doubt respecting the truth of that doctrine, nor a wish (as far as I know) to be wise above what is written. I feel that I cannot even explain how it is that I move my finger, and therefore I am content to be ignorant of innumerable things which exceed, not only my wisdom, but the most learned men in the universe.” (Charles Simeon)
Can we trust that the Gospels accurately report what Christ said and did? They are eye-witness accounts which were written down, but many doubt their authenticity. The most radical critics (such as Bart Erhman of UNC) have treated the historical contexts in which the various Gospel incidents or teachings are set as entirely unreliable, having been supplied by the church or teacher using them, and have even argued that much of the material itself was freely invented by the Christian community in the interests of evangelism, apologetics, or catechism. As a Rabbi Jesus would have trained his apostles by constant repetition and perhaps by singing, to learn his teaching by heart until they had it word perfect. Phenomenal feats of Jewish memory are claimed (including the memorization of the whole Old Testament, together with the chief commentaries on it), and why should not similar feats have been performed by the apostles.
Christians accept the authority of the Old Testament because Christ did. He regarded it as the Word of God and quoted it freely. He fulfilled the Old Testament Law and therefore we do not have to follow the ritual, ceremonial and civil laws but we are called to follow the moral laws. He commissioned and inspired the apostles to teach what the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance in his name. Their teaching comprises the New Testament. We maintain the perspicuity of Scripture, that is, that the essential teaching of Scripture is plain and self-evident. Submission to Scripture, and Scripture only, is the only Christian solution to the problem of authority, because it is included in and required by our submission to Christ.
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