The accuracy of the Christian scriptures have in recent centuries come under increasing scrutiny - at time even facing blatant accusations of fraud as well.

Criticism has arisen not only from secularists, but also from pseudo Christian Cults that seek to diminish the Cross, and shift salvation from the finished work of Christ to the strange altar of human endeavours.

Relatively recent to the assault on the veracity of the Written word, are the Islamic apologists. 

Their charge? 

The Gospel used by Christians today, is not the Gospel that was delivered to Jesus. 

For Muslims, who claim to have the Quran delivered to the prophet Muhammed, they believe that in the same way, the Gospel (what they refer to as the “Injil”),  was a revelation given to Jesus.

Is There Evidence for Another "Injil"?

The historical records tell a different story.

We have a broad collection, not only of the copies of the works of the Apostles, but works of those taught by the Apostles, as well as writing that have been produced by Christian writers right to the first century. We have even found forgeries, false gospels, and Gnostic writings. IF the Injil was a written document that was present at the time of Christ, we would have copies of it, as we do copies of the Apostle’s writings, HOWEVER, for all our archeological discoveries, we have no copies of it. Neither do we have any documentation that an “Injil”, other than the words of Christ and His teachings recorded by the Apostles and those who followed them, ever existed.

The Question of Corruption

The charge leveled at Christians by the Islamic apologists, primarily center on the scriptures themselves. The two big questions that surface are:

1. Who wrote them?
2. Why are there differences between translations?

​
Their concluding hypotheses is of course:  the scriptures we have are corrupted. 

Interesting enough,  when our Gospels or letters from any Apostle deals with the humanity of Christ (such as His weaknesses, His not knowing something, or His submission to the Father), the words are considered as legitimate. Yet, any verse that makes reference to Christ’s deity,  is conveniently dismissed as fraudulent or corrupted.

Responding To Their Allegations

What we should understand when we consider the veracity of our biblical text, is that we have a volume of manuscript evidence that support the accuracy of scripture.   Because we have thousands of copies, we can identify minor differences (textual variants) and determine, with remarkable confidence, what the original authors wrote.

1. We Have A Pile of Manuscript Evidence: Discoveries at Oxyrynchus

Such rich wealth of documentation have been discovered at Oxyrynchus, Egypt.  In fact, over 40 percent of the New Testament have been discovered there, and are some of our earliest known copies. When compared to our present Word-for-word Bible versions, they remain nearly identical.

2. The Manuscripts Reveal Differences Which Helps Us Understand What The Original Would Have Most Likely Been

When the manuscripts are compared minor changes are seen in spelling and punctuation, which does not alter the meaning of the text. These changes in content are the result of what are known as textual variants. It is thanks to the massive quantity of information discovered that we are able to even sort through more complex alterations. 

One example of this is found in the Markan Gospel.  In particular, the ending of Mark’s Gospel.

The Longer Ending of Mark

The KJV contains the longer ending. Contributing to this reading, is that the KJV was produced using 12th century Greek manuscripts which compiled the Textus Receptus. However, with the discovery of earlier Greek manuscripts, we find that this longer ending is not present in most of the ancient manuscripts. 

The longer ending seems to have been known in the fourth century, but strangely, the Codex Sinaticus (325-360 AD.), while containing an empty spacing that would accommodate the longer ending, was not recorded in it.  Neither, was the longer ending recorded in the Codex Vaticanus(300-350AD.). The longer ending does show up a century later in the Codex Alexandrinus in the 5th century. 

So questions remain as to the legitimacy of the longer ending as being original to Mark. 

The question for scholars is: how does this long ending effect the revealed truth contained in the Gospel of Mark?

It does not. 

Therefore, many recent versions still include it in Mark’s Gospel,  yet, they do include parentheses to indicate that this is a variant reading.

So as you can see, such discoveries like the discovery at Oxyrynchus strengthen — not weaken — confidence in the preservation of Scripture.

3. Translation Differences Don't Change the Message of the Author

Another issue that challenges people’s understanding of the veracity of scriptures, is changes brought about by a desire of translators to wrestle with presenting a word-for-word translation, or that of thought-for-thought translation. 

Again, looking at the KJV and others which seem to have distinctly different statements of texts, we see why distinctions exist, but how these distinctions do not contradict as some charge. 

Daniel 3:25 Example

Daniel 3:25 is a good example. 

“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (KVJ)

“He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” (Legacy Standard Bible)

While indeed, these passages are quite different, the distinction come from the source each translating committee chose.  The KJV used the Hebrew to render its translation from the singular word for God; Elohim. The difference between “Son of God” and “a son of the gods, is that more word-for-word translations translate this verse from the original Aramaic, which uses the plural non-descriptive bar elahin.

The KJV desired to interpret the Christophany that the text is revealing, whereas the Legacy Standard, desired to maintain a word-for-word translation. 

In the end, we would understand both the pagan understanding reflected in Nebuchadnezzar’s astonishment, and the revelation of the pre-incarnate Son of God.

In other words, the difference reflects translation approach — not corruption of the text. Both readings preserve the integrity of the narrative.

Why Understanding Matters

What critics of Christianity, count on, is our lack of understanding when it comes to manuscript evidence, textual variants, and translation principles. Sadly, when some Christians are suddenly confronted with an apparent contradiction without understanding how these issues have been addressed, and have no answer, some question the truth of what they have been taught, and are led astray. 

I believe that good pastoral teaching with respect to the existence of the documents we possess, along with dealing with the issues of textual variants, would give confidence to Christians, and prepare them with solid answers to the criticism leveled at the biblical text. 

I would encourage every Christian to become familiar with such discoveries of New Testament manuscripts as those found in Oxyrychus or Old Testament discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran.

An informed Christian need not fear the criticisms. With knowledge comes confidence — and with confidence, clarity in defending the faith once delivered.

Have you considered that we have no real control over our lives?

If we did, we would never catch a cold - let alone have anything bad happen to us. And so...

In whom should we trust?

Trusting The Sovereign God

We should trust in God.

God has the control we crave to have, because God is sovereign. God is all-knowing, and He is in control of all things at all times. He is in all places at all times. He knows the beginning and the end.

God is not limited like we human beings are. God is God - and He is eternal. He transcends time and space. He rules time and space.

Isn’t this comforting?

The perfect and holy God has all control. He uses everything that happens to bring about His purposes. And this is what I want to focus on today.

The Reality of Sin and Suffering

This is in no way meant to diminish the tragedies and horrors that happen in the world today.

The reality is, sin has so corrupted everything in creation. Evil is real. Sorrow is real. Death and disease are real.

Regardless of what people may think of themselves, we are not good, and we do not seek God.  Human nature is so tainted by sin that the only thing we as human beings have been consistent with in our history is hurting one another. 

Sin is the root cause of all the evil and death and horrible things that happen in this world. Since Adam's fall it has been rooted in each of us. It is a disease of the soul that will only result in death - spiritual and physical. 

Grief Is Real - and So Is Hope

Sorrow, grief and tragedy are real, and they leave us staggered.

When we talk about God bringing about His good plan in the midst of tragedy, it is not meant to send the message that we shouldn’t feel the grief. We will, we do, and we absolutely should acknowledge how painful life can be.

But in the midst of pain and tragedy, we who are in Christ can still find peace and comfort in knowing this fact from Romans 8.

Do you ever wonder how God sees you this very moment?

It can be a frightening thought, can’t it? If you aren’t sure how the One who will be your Judge sees you, it can lead to a very uncertain life. Never knowing if you’ll be allowed into heaven can lead one to abject despair. In fact, not knowing your eternal fate can lead to a life of futility - it removes the point of life.

Even we as Christians can fall into this uncertainty.

But I want to give you some good… no, GREAT news.

If you are a believing born-again Christian, your eternal destiny is secure. You don’t have to guess.

Let’s see what our ultimate authority, the Word of God, has to say:

And it makes sense, doesn’t it? There is no questioning that children’s values and beliefs are shaped by their home life and what they learn at school and in church. Most children who grow up in a Christian home are likely to make their parents’ faith their own, and live as born again Christians when they grow up. At one time, it was safe to send our children into the school system. The goal in schools wasn’t to indoctrinate, but to educate in the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Now, the school system is hellbent—literally—on destroying our children’s faith. Within the once sacred hallowed halls of learning, educators are now determined to blend the children’s views of reality. Under the influence of the evil one, they blur the lines between male and female and confuse our precious children. Christianity isn’t allowed in schools any longer…but heaven help anyone who tries to take out the false religions that are now celebrated. They have allowances for Ramadan, Kwanza, Diwali…but Christmas is reduced to “holidays.” Halloween is plastered everywhere, with new age and the occult front and center in our children’s vision.

The mention of Christ is prohibited in public schools unless it is locked behind closed doors in groups that aren’t allowed to have any impact on school life. Shirts adorned with profanity are rarely ever critiqued, but wear a shirt in a public school with a Christian slogan and you’re asked to turn it inside out to avoid offending other students.

Satan knows if he can wipe out the name of Christ among the greatest sphere of influence our children generally has…the school system…there is a strong chance he can influence the children away from Christ. And that’s his goal, isn’t it? He knows his time is short, and he knows that there needs to be a number of elect come to Christ before our Lord Jesus will return. If he can somehow get the children under his grasp, in a futile attempt to stop God’s plan, perhaps the number of elect won’t come to pass.

Over the next several months, as I guest write on Roots & Refuge, we will take a look at the many ways that Satan is hunting our children. But in this first blog, I want to first turn our attention to a passage from Deuteronomy 6:

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

Even as we look at how Satan is attacking our children, in this verse, which will be our anchor, we see the best defense in protecting our children. Speak of Christ to them often and always. It is not the church’s responsibility to educate our children. It starts at home. It has to.

Study this verse from Deuteronomy. While originally written to the nation of Israel in its infancy, it is also directed to us. We must heed the threat against our children. While God’s plan cannot be thwarted, we are still called upon to protect our children. We are not called to throw them to the wolves…we are called to stand between them and the wolves.

Join me as we look over the next several months at the various ways the evil one attacks our children, and how we can Biblically defend our children from the snapping jaws of the wolves that stalk them.

Their very souls are at stake.