, A COLLECTION OF SACRED WRITINGS INCLUDING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF THE CHRISTIANS

The Bible is the collection of the sacred writings or Holy Scriptures of the Christians. Its two main divisions, one received by both Jews and Christians, the other by Christians alone, are termed Testaments. The original languages of the Bible are Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew, the latter being the best adapted for the many styles of composition. The Jewish religion being represented as a Covenant between God and the Jews, the Christian religion was regarded as a new Covenant between God and the human race; and the Bible is, therefore, properly divisible into the Writings of the Old and New Covenants. The 24 protocanonical books (relating to, or constituting those books of the Bible accepted early into the without serious controversy) of the received by the Jews were divided by them into three classes: 1, The Law, contained in the Pentateuch. 2, The Prophets, comprising Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the . 3, The (holy writings), containing the , Proverbs, Job, in one division; Ruth, Lamentations, , Esther, the Song of Solomon, in another division; Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, I and II Chronicles, in a third. These books are extant in the Hebrew language; others have been rejected from the canon as apocryphal by Protestants, although for some time those of a pseudepigraphal (falsely or wrongly attributed) nature were inserted as intertestamental works. The 72 books in the Bible canonization according to the Council of Trent, including parts of the (early Christian writings not included in the ), are sacred to Roman Catholics.

The books of Moses, with other sacred writings, were deposited, according to the Bible, in the tabernacle near the ark. They were removed by Solomon to the temple, and on the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar they probably perished. According to Jewish tradition Ezra, with the assistance of the great synagogue, collected and compared as many copies as could be found, and from this collation an edition of the whole was prepared, with the exception of the writings of Ezra, and Nehemiah, added subsequently, and certain obviously later insertions in other books. When Judas Maccabeus repaired the temple, he placed in it a correct copy of the Hebrew scriptures. This copy was carried to Rome by Titus. The exact date of the Hebrew canon is uncertain, but no work known to be written later than about 100 years after the captivity was admitted into it by the Jews of Palestine. The Alexandrian Jews, however, were less strict and admitted many later writings, forming what is now known as the Apocrypha, in which they were followed by the Latin Church. The Protestant churches at the reformation gave their adherence to the restricted Hebrew canon, though the Apocrypha was long included in the various editions of the Bible. The division into chapters and verses, as it now exists, is of comparatively modern origin, though divisions of some kind were early introduced. About the middle of the sixteenth century the verses were for the first time marked by numbers.

The earliest and most famous translation of the Old Testament is the , or Greek translation, executed by Alexandrian Greeks, and completed probably before 130 B.C.E. (before the Christian Era.) This version was adopted by the early Christian church and by the Jews themselves and has always held an important place in the interpretation and history of the Bible. The Syriac version, the Peshito, made early in the second century C.E., is celebrated for its fidelity. The Coptic version was made from the Septuagint, in the third or fourth century. The Gothic version, by Ulphilas, was made from the Septuagint in the fourth century, but mere insignificant fragments of it are extant. The most important Latin version is the , executed by , partly based on the original Hebrew, and completed in 405 AD.

The nearly intact Great Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea discoveries dating from the 2nd century BC is almost identical to the manuscript version of the from the 900's AD. The oldest complete dates from 1009 and resides at the Saltykhov- Shchedrin State Library in Leningrad. This codex is a priceless work of pen and parchment and was ignored for close to a hundred years by a state that shunned religion. The Masorete scribe’s name, that of Schmuel ben Yaacov, is intact, complete with the margin notes or Masora. The printing of the Old Testament between 1450 and 1455 was the first book printed by Gutenberg reproducing the Latin Vulgate text which came to be known as the Mazarin Bible, being found years later in the library of Cardinal Mazarin. The rapid spread of knowledge made possible by Gutenberg's printing press contributed to the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the Protestant Reformation. The printed editions of the ancient Hebrew Bible are very numerous. The first entire edition was printed at Soncino, Italy in 1488.

The books of the New Testament were all written in Greek, unless it be true, as some critics suppose and attested to by Papias, that the of Saint Matthew was originally written in Hebrew (or Aramaic). Most of these writings have always been received as canonical; but the to the Hebrews, commonly ascribed to Saint Paul, that of Saint Jude, the second of Peter, the second and third of John and the Apocalypse, have been doubted. The three oldest manuscripts are: 1, the Sinaitic manuscript, discovered by Tischendorf in a convent on Mount Sinai in 1859, assigned to the middle of the fourth century; 2, the Vaticanus manuscript at Rome, of similar date; 3, the Alexandrian manuscript in the British Museum, assigned to the fifth century. Each manuscript contains also in great part the Septuagint Greek of the Old Testament. The Vulgate of Jerome embraces a Latin translation of the New, as well as of the Old Testament, based on an older Latin version. The division of the text of the New Testament into chapters and verses was introduced later than that of the Old Testament, but it is not precisely known when or by whom. Isaiah: chapter 12 William Tyndale (1534).

Of translations of the Bible into modern languages the English and the German are the most celebrated. Considerable portions of the Holy Book were translated into Anglo-Saxon, including the and the Psalter. Wycliffe's translation of the whole Bible (from the Vulgate), begun about 1356, was completed shortly before his death, 1384. The translation spearheaded by Martin Luther, published in its entirety in 1534, by reason of its widespread circulation facilitated the emergence of the modern German language by standardizing it for the peoples of the Holy Roman Empire that would become Germany in the nineteenth century, and it is considered a landmark in German literature. The first printed version of the Bible in English was the translation of William Tyndale, whose New Testament was printed in quarto at Cologne in 1525, a small octavo edition appearing at the same time at Worms. He also published the Pentateuch in 1530 and translated some of the prophetical books before his public execution. Tyndale's translations from the original languages became the foundation of subsequent English versions. A translation of the entire Bible, undertaken at the instance of Thomas Cromwell, was published by Miles Coverdale in 1535 and, being made from German and Latin versions, was inferior to Tyndale's. The first Bible printed by authority in England was an edition with a preface by Cranmer, hence called Cranmer's Bible. A royal proclamation in 1540 ordered it to be placed in every parish church. This continued, with various revisions, to be the authorized version till 1568. In 1557-1560 an edition appeared at Geneva, based on Tyndale's, the work of Whittingham, Coverdale, Goodman, Gilby, with the influence of John Knox and other exiles, and commonly called the Geneva, or Breeches Bible, from "breeches" standing instead of "aprons" in Genesis 3: 7. This version, the first printed in Roman letters, and also the first to adopt the plan, previously adopted in the Hebrew, of a division into verses, was for sixty years the most popular in England and was allowed to be printed under a patent of monopoly in 1561. It separated the Apocrypha except for the , left the authorship of the open and put words not in the original in italics. The Bishop's Bible, published 1568 to 1572, revised by Archbishop Parker and eight bishops, succeeded Cranmer's as the authorized version, but did not commend itself to scholars or the people. In 1582 an edition of the New Testament, translated from the Latin Vulgate, appeared at Rheims, and in 1609-1610 the Old Testament was published at Douay. This was the English version recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

In the reign of James I, Hugh Broughton, a Hebrew scholar, insisted on the necessity of a new translation, and at the Hampton Court Conference (1604) the suggestion was accepted by the king. The work was undertaken by forty-seven scholars, divided into six companies, two meeting at Westminster, two at Oxford and two at Cambridge, while a general committee meeting in London revised the portions of the translation finished by each. The revision was begun in 1607 and occupied three years, the completed work being published in folio in 1611 and known as King James' Bible. Through the general accuracy of its translation and the purity of its style, it superseded all other versions. In response, however, to a widespread desire for a translation even freer from errors, the Convocation of Canterbury in 1870 appointed a committee to consider the question of revising the English version. Their report being favorable, two companies were formed, one for the Old Testament and one for the New, consisting partly of members of the Convocation and partly of outside scholars. Two similar companies were also organized in America, to work along with the British scholars. The result was that the Revised version of the New Testament was issued in 1881; that of the Old Testament appeared in 1884. The American Standard Version, its variant embodying the preferences of the American scholars associated in the work, was published in 1901.

The holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation was to the spread of in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, including the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 and the addition of several books that were discovered later.

The history of the Bible makes it unique among 'sacred texts' with its reported style backed by archeology and historians. We know the Bible was written over a span of 1500 years, by 40 identified writers. Unlike other religious writings, the Bible reads as a factual news account of real events, places, people, and dialogue. Historians and archaeologists have repeatedly confirmed its authenticity.

Using the writers' own writing styles and personalities, God shows us who he is and what it's like to know him. There God is one central message consistently carried by all 40 writers of the Bible: that God, who created us all, desires a relationship with us. He calls us to know him and trust him.

The Bible not only inspires us, but it explains life and God to us. It does not answer all the questions we might have, but enough of them. It shows us how to live with purpose and compassion. How to relate to others. It encourages us to rely on God for strength, direction, and enjoy his love for us. The Bible also tells us how we can have eternal life.

The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible, covering the creation of Earth through Noah and the flood, Moses and more, finishing with the Jews being expelled to Babylon. The Bible’s Old Testament is very similar to the Hebrew Bible, which has origins in the ancient religion of Judaism. The exact beginnings of the Jewish religion are unknown, but the first known mention of Israel is an Egyptian inscription from the 13th century B.C.

The earliest known mention of the Jewish god Yahweh is in an inscription relating to the King of Moab in the 9th century B.C. It is speculated that Yahweh was possibly adapted from the mountain god Yhw in ancient Seir or Edom.

It was during the reign of Hezekiah of Judah in the 8th century B.C. that historians believe what would become the Old Testament began to take form, the result of royal scribes recording royal history and heroic legends.

During the reign of Josiah in the 6th century B.C., the books of Deuteronomy and Judges were compiled and added. The final form of the Hebrew Bible developed over the next 200 years when Judah was swallowed up by the expanding Persian Empire.

Following conquest by Alexander the Great, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in the 3rd century B.C.

Known as the Septuagint, this Greek translation was initiated at the request of King Ptolemy of Egypt to be included in the library of Alexandria. The Septuagint was the version of the Bible used by early Christians in Rome.

The was written during this period and included in the Septuagint at the last moment, though the text itself claims to have been written sometime around 586 B.C. The New Testament tells the story of the life of Jesus and the early days of Christianity, most notably Paul’s efforts to spread Jesus’ teaching. It collects 27 books, all originally written in Greek.

The sections of the New Testament concerning Jesus are called the Gospels and were written about 40 years after the earliest written Christian materials, the letters of Paul, known as the .

Paul’s letters were distributed by churches sometime around 50 A.D., possibly just before Paul’s death. Scribes copied the letters and kept them in circulation. As circulation continued, the letters were collected into books.

Some in the church, inspired by Paul, began to write and circulate their own letters, and so historians believe that some books of the New Testament attributed to Paul were in fact written by disciples and imitators.

As Paul’s words were circulated, an oral tradition began in churches telling stories about Jesus, including teachings and accounts of post-resurrection appearances. Sections of the New Testament attributed to Paul talk about Jesus with a firsthand feeling, but Paul never knew Jesus except in visions he had, and the Gospels were not yet written at the time of Paul’s letters.

The oral traditions within the church formed the substance of the Gospels, the earliest book of which is Mark, written around 70 A.D., 40 years after the death of Jesus.

It is theorized there may have been an original document of sayings by Jesus known as the Q source, which was adapted into the narratives of the Gospels. All four Gospels were published anonymously, but historians believe that the books were given the name of Jesus’ disciples to provide direct links to Jesus to lend them greater authority.

This text is still used by Evangelical Christians to interpret current events in expectation of the End Times, and elements of it find frequent use in popular entertainment.

Surviving documents from the 4th century show that different councils within the church released lists to guide how various Christian texts should be treated.

The earliest known attempt to create a canon in the same respect as the New Testament was in 2nd century Rome by Marcion, a Turkish businessman and church leader.

Maricon’s work focused on the and the letters of Paul. Disapproving of the effort, the Roman church expelled Marcion.

Multiple categories of evidence support the historical accuracy of the Bible as well as its claim to divine authorship. Here are a few reasons you can trust the Bible.

Archaeology confirms the Bible’s historical accuracy with Bible Archaeologists having consistently discovered the names of government officials, kings, cities, and festivals mentioned in the Bible, often when historians did not think such people or places existed. For example, the tells of Jesus healing a cripple next to the Pool of Bethesda. The text even describes the five porticoes (walkways) leading to the pool. Scholars didn't think the pool existed, until archaeologists found it forty feet below ground, complete with the five porticoes. Although the Bible has a tremendous amount of historical detail, not everything mentioned in it has yet been found through archaeology. However, not one archaeological find has conflicted with what the Bible records.

Many of the ancient locations mentioned by Luke, in the Book of Acts in the New Testament, have been identified through archaeology. "In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities and nine islands without an error."

Archaeology has also refuted many ill-founded theories about the Bible. For example, a theory still taught in some colleges today asserts that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), because writing had not been invented in his day. Then archaeologists discovered the Black Stele. "It had wedge-shaped characters on it and contained the detailed laws of Hammurabi. Was it post-Moses? No! It was pre-Mosaic; not only that, but it was pre-Abraham (2,000 B.C.). It preceded Moses' writings by at least three centuries." Archaeology consistently confirms the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Syrian writer Tatian attempted to create a canon by weaving the four gospels together as the Diatessaron.

The Muratorian Canon, which is believed to date to 200 A.D., is the earliest compilation of canonical texts resembling the New Testament.

It was not until the 5th century that all the different Christian churches came to a basic agreement on Biblical canon. The books that eventually were considered canon reflect the times they were embraced as much the times of the events they portray.

During the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, books not originally written in Hebrew but Greek, such as Judith and Maccabees, were excluded from the Old Testament. These are known the Apocrypha and are still included in the .

Additional Biblical texts have been discovered, such as the Gospel of Mary, which was part of the larger Berlin Gnostic Codex found in Egypt in 1896.

Fifty further unused Biblical texts were discovered in Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945, known as the Gnostic Gospels. The original texts are believed to date back to around 120 A.D.

The Book of Judas was found in Egypt in the 1970s. Dated to around 280 A.D., it is believed by some to contain secret conversations between Jesus and his betrayer Judas.

These have never become part of the official Biblical canon, but stem from the same traditions and can be read as alternative views of the same stories and lessons. These texts are taken as indications of the diversity of early Christianity.

The King James Bible is possibly the most widely known edition of the Bible, though in England it is known as the “Authorized Version.” King James eventually agreed and decreed the new translation should speak in contemporary language, using common, recognizable terms. James’ purpose was to unite the warring religious factions through a uniform holy text.

This version of the Bible was not altered for 250 years and is credited as one of the biggest influences on the English language, alongside the works of Shakespeare. The King James Bible introduced a multitude of words and phrases now common in the English language, including “eye for an eye,” “bottomless pit,” “two-edged sword,” “God forbid,” “scapegoat” and “turned the world upside down,” among many others.

First printed in 1611, this edition of the Bible was commissioned in 1604 by King James I after feeling political pressure from Puritans and Calvinists demanding church reform and calling for a complete restructuring of church hierarchy.

In response, James called for a conference at Hampton Court Palace, during which it was suggested to him that there should be a new translation of the Bible since versions commissioned by earlier monarchs were felt to be corrupt.

Among the Gnostic Gospels were the Gospel of Thomas—which purports to be previously hidden sayings by Jesus presented in collaboration with his twin brother—and The Gospel of Philip, which implies a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magda

The Bible today is the same as what was originally written. Some people believe the Bible has been translated "so many times" that it has become corrupted through stages of translating. That would probably be true if the translations were being made from other translations. But translations are actually made directly from original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic source texts based on thousands of ancient manuscripts.

The accuracy of today’s Old Testament was confirmed in 1947 when archaeologists found “The ” along today's West Bank in Israel. "The Dead Sea Scrolls" contained Old Testament scripture dating 1,000 years older than any manuscripts we had. When comparing the manuscripts at hand with these, from 1,000 years earlier, we find agreement 99.5% of the time. And the .5% differences are minor spelling variances and sentence structure that does not change the meaning of the message.

Regarding the New Testament, it is humanity's most reliable ancient document. All ancient manuscripts were written on papyrus, which didn’t have much of a shelf life. So, people hand copied originals, to maintain the message and circulate it to others.

Few people doubt Plato’s writing of “The Republic.” It’s a classic, written by Plato around 380 B.C. The earliest copies we have of it are dated 900 A.D., which is a 1,300-year time lag from when he wrote it. There are only seven copies in existence. Caesar’s “Gallic Wars” were written around 100-44 B.C. The copies we have today are dated 1,000 years after he wrote it. We have ten copies. The New Testament, written between 50-100 A.D, there are more than 5,000 copies. All are within 50-225 years of their original writing. Further, when it came to Scripture, scribes (monks) were meticulous in their copying of original manuscripts. They checked and rechecked their work, to make sure it perfectly matched. What the New Testament writers originally wrote is preserved better than any other ancient manuscript. We can be more certain of what we read about Jesus’ life and words, than we are certain of the writings of Caesar, Plato, Aristotle and Homer.

More reasons to trust the gospel accounts of Jesus. Four of the writers of the New Testament each wrote their own biography on the life of Jesus. These are called the four gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. When historians try to determine if a biography is reliable, they ask, "How many other sources report the same details about this person?"

Here's how this works. Imagine you are collecting biographies of President John F. Kennedy. You find many biographies describing his family, his presidency, his goal of putting a man on the moon, and his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regarding Jesus, do we find multiple biographies reporting similar facts about his life? Yes. Here is a sampling of facts about Jesus, and where you would find that fact reported in each of their biographies.

Matthew Mark Luke John

Jesus was born 1:18-25 1.27:34 of a virgin

He was born in 2.1 2.4 Bethlehem

He lived in 2.23 1:9.24 2.51:4- 1.45:46 Nazareth 16

Jesus was 3:1-15 1:4-9 3:1-22 baptized by John the Baptist

He performed 4:24-etc 1:34- 4:40- miracles of etc etc healing He walked on 14:25 6:48 - 6.19 water

He fed 5000 14:7 6:38 9:13 6:9 people with 5- loaves and 2-fish Jesus taught the 5:1 4:25.7- 9:11 18:20 common people 28 He spent time 9:10.21- 2:15.16 5:29.7- 8:3 with social 31 29 outcasts He argued with 15:7 7.6 12:56 8:1-58 the religious elite

The religious elite 12:14 3.6 19:47 11:45- plotted to kill Him 57

They handed 27:1.2 15:1 23:1 18:28 Jesus over to the Romans Jesus was 27:26 15:15 - 19:1 flogged

He was crucified 27:26-50 15:22- 22.33- 19:16- 37 46 30

He was buried in 27:57-61 15:43- 23:50- 19:38- a tomb 47 55 42

Jesus rose from 28:1-20 16:1-20 24:1-53 20:1-31 he dead and appeared to His followers

Two of the gospel biographies were written by the apostles Matthew and John, men who knew Jesus personally and traveled with him more than three years. The other two books were written by Mark and Luke, close associates of the apostles. These writers had direct access to the facts they were recording. At the time of their writing, there were still people alive who had heard Jesus speak, watched him heal people and perform miracles. So, the early church readily accepted the four gospels because they agreed with what was already common knowledge about Jesus' life.

Each of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, read like news reports, a factual accounting of the day’s events, each from their own perspective. The descriptions are unique to each writer, but the facts agree.

In the early years after Jesus' death and resurrection there was no apparent need for written biographies about Jesus. Those living in the Jerusalem region were witnesses of Jesus and aware of his ministry. However, when news of Jesus spread beyond Jerusalem, and the eyewitnesses were no longer readily accessible, there was a need for written accounts to educate others about Jesus' life and ministry which led to the written Gospels. The New Testament books were accepted by the early church almost as soon as they were written as the writers were recognized friends of Jesus or his immediate followers, men to whom Jesus had entrusted the leadership of the early church. The Gospel writers Matthew and John were some of Jesus' closest followers. Mark and Luke were companions of the apostles, having access to the apostles' account of Jesus' life. Other New Testament writers had immediate access to Jesus as well: James and Jude were half-brothers of Jesus who initially did not believe in him. Peter was one of the 12 apostles. Paul started out as a violent opponent of Christianity and a member of the religious ruling class, but he became an ardent follower of Jesus, convinced that Jesus rose from the dead. Further, reports in the New Testament books lined up with what thousands of eyewitnesses had seen for themselves.

When other books were written hundreds of years later, it was not difficult for the church to spot them as forgeries. For example, the Gospel of Judas was written by the Gnostic sect, around 130-170 A.D., long after Judas' death. The Gospel of Thomas, written around 140 A.D., is another example of a counterfeit writing erroneously bearing an apostles' name. These and other Gnostic gospels conflicted with the known teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament, and often contained numerous historical and geographical errors.

As the church grew beyond the Greek-speaking lands there was a need to translate the Scriptures, and as splinter sects continued to pop up with their own competing holy books, it became more important to have a definitive list. In A.D. 367, Athanasius formally listed the 27 New Testament books (the same list that we have today). Soon after, Jerome and Augustine circulated this same list. These lists, however, were not necessary for most Christians. By and large the whole church had recognized and used the same list of books since the first century after Christ. Supporting Athanasius' formally list, historians confirm what the Bible says about Jesus so, not only do we have well-preserved copies of the original manuscripts, but we also have testimony from both Jewish and Roman historians.

The gospels report that Jesus of Nazareth performed many miracles, was executed by the Romans, and rose from the dead. Numerous ancient historians back the Bible's account of the life of Jesus and his followers:

Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 55-120), an historian of first-century Rome, is considered one of the most accurate historians of the ancient world. An excerpt from Tacitus tells us that the Roman emperor Nero "inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class called Christians. Christus [Christ], from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus."

Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian (A.D. 38-100), wrote about Jesus in his Jewish Antiquities. From Josephus, "we learn that Jesus was a wise man who did surprising feats, taught many, won over followers from among Jews and Greeks, was believed to be the Messiah, was accused by the Jewish leaders, was condemned to be crucified by Pilate, and was considered to be resurrected."

Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and Thallus also wrote about Christian worship and persecution that is consistent with New Testament accounts. Even the Jewish Talmud, certainly not biased toward Jesus, concurs about the major events of his life. From the Talmud, "we learn that Jesus was conceived out of wedlock, gathered disciples, made blasphemous claims about himself, and worked miracles, but these miracles are attributed to sorcery and not to God."

This is remarkable information considering that most ancient historians focused on political and military leaders, not on obscure rabbis from distant provinces of the Roman Empire. Yet ancient historians (Jews, Greeks and Romans) confirm the major events that are presented in the New Testament, even though they were not believers themselves.

Does it matter if Jesus really did and said what is in the Gospels? Yes. For faith to really be of any value, it must be based on facts, on reality. Here is why. If you were taking a flight to London, you would probably have faith that the jet is fueled and mechanically reliable, the pilot trained, and no terrorists on board. Your faith, however, is not what gets you to London. Your faith is useful in that it got you on the plane. But what gets you to London is the integrity of the plane, pilot, etc. You could rely on your positive experience of past flights. But your positive experience would not be enough to get that plane to London. What matters is the object of your faith, is it reliable?

Is the New Testament an accurate, reliable presentation of Jesus? Yes. We can trust the New Testament because there is enormous factual support for it. This article touched on the following points: historians concur, archaeology concurs, the four Gospel biographies agree, the preservation of document copies is remarkable, there is superior accuracy in the translations. All of this gives a solid foundation for believing that what we read today is what the original writers wrote and experienced in real life, in real places.

John, one of the writers sums it up well, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Bible, the collection of sacred writings or Holy Scriptures of the Christians

Acknowledged References:

(1) Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ (Zondervan Publishing House, 1998) (2) Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert: History of Negev. (Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1969) (3) Strobel, (4) Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998) (5) McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict (1972) (6) Acts 2:22, 3:13, 4:13, 5:30, 5:42, 6:14, etc. (7) Bruce, F.F. The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible (Fleming H. Revell Co., 1950) (8) McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) (9) Tacitus, A. (10) Wilkins, Michael J. & Moreland, J.P. Jesus Under Fire (Zondervan Publishing House, 1995) (11) John 20:30,31