Question of the Week: How to we know the Gospels are reliable history?
Verses: 1 John 1:1-3, 2 Peter 1:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
There are three things we need to look for when judging ancient history.
1. Early Testimony: The earlier the artifact or writing we have to the original event, the more reason we have to trust it as accurate. When it comes to things older than 1000 years old, centuries after the fact are still generally accepted as long as at least two different sources say the same thing.
2. Eyewitness Testimony: The best accounts in ancient history come from people who were there. This includes the accounts giving details that only people at this time would know first hand. Example: Describing the Temple of God in detail shows it was written before 70AD when it was destroyed.
3. Hostile Testimony: People who wouldn’t want something to be true, (either enemies or indifferent towards the event), admitting it took place gives another layer to the reliability of the historical event.
With this all in mind, understand the biographies of Jesus Christ include overwhelming evidence of all 3. The Gospels were all written within the lifetimes of the authors who saw the events take place. The individuals who wrote the gospel were the eyewitnesses themselves, or in Luke’s case directly interviewed them. And people who didn’t even believe Jesus was the Messiah like James and Saul converted to Christianity after His resurrection.
For more excerpts from A Reason For Hope, visit our page HERE.
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