Can I Trust the Bible? Defending the Bible’s Reliability, Part 1

"How does one approach defending the Bible when many people around you do not regard it as an inspired book? Defending the Bible’s reliability in part assumes someone is interested in that question. What happens if they have no regard at all for the biblical text? Apologetics today needs to give more thought to where people are coming from as we engage them about faith. This seminar not only explores the question of showing the credibility of much of what the Bible claims but also discusses how to bring someone who does not even have a category for inspiration to a place of considering its contents. There is also a short aside on how to discuss the role of miracles in the Bible.

There are a host of issues that get raised when one speaks of the reliability of the New Testament and how it is sometimes challenged. We work through the list of some of the most central topics that come up for discussion and briefly touch on each topic to show the array of challenges people discuss when it comes to the New Testament.

Obviously if one questions miracles, one will question the reliability of the New Testament. So we take  a look at the topic of miracles and how to talk about them to someone who doubts they can exist. The points made draw directly from C. S. Lewis’s treatment in his book on miracles, a work that is still one of the best treatments of the topic. Craig Keener’s two volumes on  Miracles also is a good source about miracles from around the world."