Authority Of The Bible
How do I know that the Bible is true?
Use the acronym: MAPS
(Hank Hanegraf, "The Bible Answer Man" Radio Program, from CRI -Christian Research Institute)
- M - Manuscript Evidence
- A - Archaeological Evidence
- P - Predictive Prophecy
- S - Science of Statistical Probability
- Manuscript Evidence Internal Consistency of each book and of the collection of 66 books as a whole. The Masoretes, the Jewish scribes that maintained the Hebrew Scriptures by devising a system for insuring accurate hand-copying. Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest copy of the Old Testament was from the 10th century AD. The Dead Sea scroll pushed that date back at least 1,000 years. When they were compared, they were almost identical except for a few scribal errors. There are more ancient copies of the New Testament letters than almost any other ancient text.
- Archaeological Evidence Scholars have identified most places and peoples mentioned in the Bible.
- Predictive Prophecy The sheer number of prophecies that have been fulfilled, about Christ, and the region of the Middle East are far more than coincidence.
- Science of Statistical Probability The probability that the universe just happened to come into existence and all of the right things happening on a consistent basis to result in life, let alone humans is an inconceivable huge chance. Random chance cannot produce a simple protein molecule. The Laws of thermodynamics and conservation of energy point to increased entropy, not increased order. Macro evolution (the change of one species into another) is based on the belief in increased order over time. Physics proves that is impossible!
©1999 - 2005 Lawrence M. Hamilton, Jr. All Rights Reserved
lmh@hamiltongensociety.org
Last updated February 19, 2005