We begin our look at "the integrity or uncorruptedness of the Scriptures," this week. We are going to look at the first 12 questions from Lesson II, Part VI in Henry Clay Fish's Baptist Scriptural Catechism. They focus on the Old Testament. It is important to remember that this document was written in 1850. Since then, there have been several more discoveries that further demonstrate the integrity of Scriptures.
Have we conclusive evidence that the books of the Bible have been preserved free from material errors or alterations, since they justify the hands of their respective authors?
We have.
Were not the Jews extremely sedulous (diligent) in their efforts to preserve the manuscripts of the Old Testament in their original integrity?
They were.
Did they exercise the utmost care in transcribing them?
They did, comparing the transcriptions with the original, and even numbering the words and the letters.
What is the testimony of Josephus on this point?
He asserts that there was such a veneration of the Jews for the sacred Scripture that no one down to his time dared to add or take away from them, or even to make the least alteration. (See Josephus Against Apion, b. 1, 8).
You know that Christ, and the later prophets before him brought many serious charges against the Jews; but did they ever charge them with mutilating the Scriptures?
They did not.
Did they even intimate that they were guilty in this respect?
They did not.
Had they been guilty of it, would so great a sin passed unrebuked?
It would not.
Do the different versions and manuscripts of the Old Testament, now extant, agree, in all essential particulars?
They do. (Of these manuscripts there are now extant about 1200).
Is it supposeable that good men, since the time of Christ should have altered the Old Testament?
It is not.
Have Christians ever charged the Jews with doing it?
They have not.
Is it possible that it should have been done by any individual or company of individuals, and not detected by either Christians or Jews; especially since copies have been so numerous and so widely scattered?
It is not.
Is not all this satisfactory evidence to the purity and integrity of the Old Testament?
It is.
The Baptist Scriptural Catechism was written at a time when the Bible was coming under attack. The author moves his students to consider the evidence and the logical implications of that evidence. The first question concerning "conclusive evidence" of the lack of errors in the Bible anticipates the following questions. The remaining questions are the evidences.
A lot of accusations are thrown around. Believers are expected to doubt the accuracy of the biblical text, but as these questions demonstrate the opposition can show no real proof that Bible contains errors. Those who disbelieve the Bible operate from their own belief systems. Disbelievers are no less biased than believers. They are just biased in a different direction.
This catechism encourages believers to question the assumptions of their opposition. Next week, we will look at the questions concerning the integrity of the New Testament. Feel free to leave a comment.
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