The Old
Testament is rejected by a few for various reasons. Some reject it because they
cannot comprehend an angry God - a God of wrath (e.g. Canaanite massacre,
Levitical punishments etc.). Others
reject it because of the miraculous narratives such as the Red Sea parting,
Jonah living in the whale, talking snake etc.
However, scores
of Christians believe in the Old Testament. How do we defend the reliability of
the Old Testament?
CHRISTIANITY IS SECURE
(EVEN IF OLD TESTAMENT IS MYTH)
First
things first; those who reject Christianity (because they reject the Old
Testament) should understand that their skepticism of the Old Testament offers
no valid reason to reject Christianity.
Christianity
cannot go bust even if the Old Testament is a myth. This is not to concede that the
Old Testament is a myth. But this is an assertion that there are no valid
reasons to reject Christianity under the pretext that the Old Testament is
hocus-pocus.
Dr. William
Lane Craig, in response to a question disputing the credibility of the Old
Testament, asserts that the core of Christianity is predicated on the facts of
God’s existence and Christ’s resurrection; hence questions about Old
Testament’s credibility should not impact the integrity of Christianity, “The
unreliability of certain Old Testament narratives would have no impact upon the
truth of theism or the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The
questions you ask are thus “in-house” concerns to be debated among Christians.
Should we accept the Old Testament as inspired throughout by God? To what
extent does inspiration imply scientific or historical reliability? These are,
I think, open questions to be discussed. But they should not be obstacles to
belief in mere Christianity and, hence, faith in Christ.
So I would
encourage you, Jason, simply to bracket these questions until you have made up
your mind about (1) whether or not God exists and (2) whether or not He raised
Jesus from the dead in vindication of his radical personal claims. If you
answer either of these questions in the negative, there’s no reason to be
concerned about your questions. On the other hand, if you do answer these
questions in the affirmative and become a Christian, then you can proceed to
explore your questions further. Don’t get hung up on them now. They’re not
deal-breakers.”1
There are
reasonable evidences corroborating God’s existence and Christ’s resurrection.
Hence, Christianity is secure.
DOUBTS ABOUT OLD
TESTAMENT CANNOT DISCOURAGE AN UNBELIEVER
Do not fail
to comprehend the other significant assertion made by Dr. Craig. He asserts
that the topic of Old Testament’s reliability concerns the Christians and
should be discussed “in-house.”2 The unbeliever need not be concerned
about the reliability of Old Testament.
The
unbeliever should, in principle, be concerned with the facts pertaining to God’s
existence and Christ’s resurrection. The unbeliever should believe in Christ because
God exists and that God raised Christ from the dead. Hence the onus is on the
unbeliever to sincerely study these evidences with a humble and a seeking
heart.
OLD TESTAMENT IS
RELIABLE: AFFIRMATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
It is imperative
that the New Testament (authored after the Old Testament) affirmed the reliability
of the Old Testament. The reliability of the Old Testament would have been
greatly undermined if the New Testament had not affirmed the Old Testament or
if it had not quoted the Old Testament.
“Answers in
Genesis,” a Christian apologetics ministry, highlights the New Testament’s
affirmation of the Old Testament, “The New Testament writers did not doubt that
the Old Testament prophets spoke for God. Peter and John saw the words of David
in Psalm 2, not as the opinion of a king in Israel, but as the Word of God:
“You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father
David” (Acts 4:25, NIV). Similarly, Paul accepted Isaiah’s words as God
speaking to men: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to
our fathers” (Acts 28:25).
The New
Testament writers were so convinced all the words of the Old Testament
Scripture were inspired by God that they even claimed, “Scripture says,” when
the words quoted came directly from God. For example, “The Scripture says to
the Pharaoh” (Romans 9:17).
Clearly,
the Lord Jesus Himself believed the words of the Old Testament were
God-breathed. In John 10:34 (quoting from Psalm 82:6), He based His teaching
upon a single phrase: “I said, ‘You are gods.’” In Matthew 22:43–44 He quoted
from Psalm 110:1 and emphasized a single word, “Lord,” to reveal Himself as the
Son of God.”3
OLD TESTAMENT IS
RELIABLE: TRANSMISSION, ARCHEOLOGY & FULLFILLED PROPHECIES
Christian
apologist J. Warner Wallace, who was once an atheist and a cold case detective,
has adeptly summarized the case for the reliability of the Old Testament by considering
the accurate transmission of the Old Testament text, the availability of
archeological discoveries, and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies:4
“(1) The
Old Testament Has Been Faithfully Transmitted
(a)
Careful Masoretes Subscribed to an Incredibly High Standard
(b)
The Dead Sea Scrolls Confirm the Transmission Process
(c)
Ancient Sources Confirm the Early Canon of the Old Testament
i.
Prologue to Ecclesiasticus
ii.
Philo
iii.
Jamnia…
(2) The Old
Testament Has Been Verified with Archeology
(a)
Findings from Neighboring Cultures
i.
The Ebla Tablet
ii.
Archaeological digs in the city of Bogazkoy, Turkey
iii.
Archeological Digs in Sargon’s Palace in Khorsabad…
(b)
Extra-Biblical confirmation of Biblical events
i.
The campaign into Israel by Pharaoh Shishak
ii. The revolt of Moab against
Israel
iii.
The fall of Samaria…
(3) The Old
Testament Has Been Confirmed by Prophecy
(a)
Accurate Predictions of Ancient Historical Events
i.
Babylon Will Rule Over Judah for 70 Years
ii.
Babylon’s Gates Will Open for Cyrus
iii.
Babylon’s Kingdom Will Be Permanently Overthrown…
(b)
The Old Testament Accurately Predicts The Coming Messiah…”
OLD TESTAMENT IS
RELIABLE: HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
While studying
the reliability of the Old Testament, the work of Dr. Kenneth A. Kitchen, a preeminent
scholar in defending the historicity and the reliability of the Old Testament,
cannot be ignored. Dr. Kitchen is also an Egyptologist (the study of the
archaeology and language of ancient Egypt).
History
affirms the credibility of the Old Testament. Dr. Kitchen highlights the following
historical aspects to defend the reliability of the Old Testament:
“Primeval
History: Shared memories represent one proof of the reliability of the OT. Far
antiquity saw the passing of countless human generations, but they kept a
living memory of momentous events. For instance, other cultures told stories
that are strikingly similar to Noah's Flood. This is indirect proof for the
reliability of the OT…
Patriarchal
History: With Abraham we enter the era of the patriarchs (ca 2000-1600 b.c.).
Historical records are more plentiful from this point on in history. The
patriarchs herded sheep and cattle, ranging from Ur (modern Iraq) down to
Egypt. Data from Ur during this era record large flocks of sheep, which fits
with OT depictions. Archives from Mari mention Haran, where Abraham once lived.
From the time of Abraham down to Jacob, Canaan was a land of independent
"city-states" like Shechem, (Jeru)salem, and Gerar. These population
centers were sustained by pastures, frequented by local herdsmen and visitors
like Abraham and his descendants (Gn 37:12-13). Egyptian
"execration-texts" provide extrabiblical evidence of this practice…
Historical
Israel: … We have discovered ration-tablets from Babylon for the banished
Judean king Jehoiachin and his family for 594-570 b.c. The well-documented
Persian triumph in 539 b.c. enabled many exiles to return to Judah and rebuild
Jerusalem and its temple, just as the OT says…”5
DO NOT FEAR
Christians need not fear or suspect
the reliability of the Old Testament.
For
instance, the detractors of Christianity claimed, for many years, that the Old
Testament is mythological. Their claim was predicated on their belief that
writing was not existent in the time of Moses (cf. Julius Wellhausen’s
Documentary Hypothesis). However, R. K. Harrison’s work “Introduction to the
Old Testament” and discoveries in archeology proved that writing existed even
before the time of Moses.6 So it was not the Old Testament that was
proved to be a myth, rather the belief that there was no writing in the time of
Moses was proved to be a myth.
Therefore, considering
all the evidences that are in the public domain establishing the reliability of
the Old Testament, Christians can confidently trust the Old Testament.
Endnotes:
Websites cited were last accessed on 24th
November 2016.
1http://www.reasonablefaith.org/problems-with-the-old-testament
2Ibid.
3https://answersingenesis.org/is-the-bible-true/is-the-old-testament-reliable/
4http://christianapologeticsalliance.com/2013/12/10/case-reliability-old-testament-bible-insert/
5http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2012/february/closer-look-historical-reliability-of-old-testament.html
6http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=860
No comments:
Post a Comment