The Process of Transmitting the Bible
By Keith Greer

Bible skeptics often ask the question, "How can we be certain that the Bible was not corrupted during the transmission process?" This is a fair question, which I will endeavor to answer for you, the reader, (as well as the skeptics) to weigh and consider.

Let's begin by defining two terms-genuine and authentic.

A book can be "genuine" (the writer is real) without being "authentic" (its contents are untrue). The reverse is also true. Is it safe to assume that the Bible, having divine authority, and therefore being credible, has been transmitted with integrity? Wouldn't we necessarily conclude that the Bible is genuine? If it contains lies, or if its origin or authorship are in question, why should we believe the Bible's teachings? The evidence proves that this is not the case.

In discussing the Bible, we learn that there is an unbroken chain, from God to us, consisting of the following links.

DEITY is the first link in the chain of God's revelation. God exists, and He wishes to communicate His will to His creation. God did not leave us in the dark regarding what He expects from us. Please read 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; 2:9-13; Ephesians 3:3-5; 5:17.

The second link is APOSTOLICITY. God directed men known as prophets, apostles, and inspired writers to speak authoritatively for Him. The Bible repeatedly makes this claim. Please read 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

The third, link is CANONICITY. Can we, with certainty, know which books are the inspired prophetic and apostolic books that belong in the Bible? Yes we can. The Bible books were written by men of God, confirmed by acts of God (miracles), and given by God's authority. The sacred pages contain the truth about God, man, history, science, and all other areas.

Following are some guidelines to which any book contained in the Bible must conform before it can be accepted as inspired writing. A writing cannot claim to belong in the Bible if it:

  1. Contains manifest and proven contradictions.
  2. Contains any details of history, geography, chronology, or narrative that contradict known and proven history, geography, chronology, or narrative.
  3. Contains things that are bizarre, silly, or do not make sense within the text where they're found.
  4. Mentions things that occurred after the known writer lived, or later than the time and setting of the writing.
  5. Has an entirely different writing style from the known style of the alleged writer.
  6. Uses idioms or dialects that differ from those of the alleged writer's country or the time period during which he wrote.
  7. Contains mere extracts from other inspired books.
  8. Was not referred to as scripture by friends and enemies of Christianity for the first 400 years A.D.
  9. Was expressly rejected and exposed as error by writers during the first 400 years A.D.
  10. Is universally acknowledged to have never had a place in the Hebrew Bible. (As is the case with all of the apocryphal Old Testament books.)
  11. Was never quoted, or approved in any way, by Christ, the apostles, or any other New Testament writer. (As is the case with other apocryphal books.)
  12. Makes no claim to divine inspiration and authority, or definitely disclaims such inspiration. (Some apocryphal books do just that!)
  13. Suggests, by upholding practices and doctrines contrary to known Scriptures, a lower spiritual and moral level. These might include such things as lying, suicide, salvation by meritorious works, magical incantations, and offering prayers for the dead.

The 39 OT books (Genesis-Malachi) in our Bibles do not violate any of these rules.

Some Bibles, especially that used by the Roman Catholic Church, contain additional apocryphal books that claim to be inspired. The word apocrypha came into our English language from the Greek and is basically defined as hidden. Used early on to mean secretive or concealed, the word also came to be used for books of unknown and doubtful origin. Centuries later, non-canonical books were known as the apocryphal books. The list contains either fourteen or fifteen books, depending on the counting method used. Assuming dates from 200 B.C. to 100 A.D., following is a list of the apocryphal books:

  1. Tobias (or Tobit)
  2. Judith
  3. Wisdom
  4. Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus)
  5. Baruch
  6. I Maccabees
  7. II Maccabees
  8. Additional chapters to Daniel and Esther.
  9. First Book of Esdras (also known as Third Esdras)
  10. Second Book of Esdras (also known as 4th Esdras)
  11. The Letter of Jeremiah (sometimes appended to last chapter of Baruch)
  12. The Prayer of Azariah (Song of the Three Young Men)
  13. Susanna
  14. Bel and the Dragon
  15. The Prayer of Manasseh

Three of the fifteen books-I and II Esdras and Prayer of Manasseh--are not considered canonical by the Roman Catholic Church. I and II Esdras are different designations for our books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

In Catholic Bibles, the remaining twelve are interspersed among, and attached to, the 39 undisputed Old Testament books.

The Catholic Bible, instead of 39, has 46 Old Testament books.

These books are classified as:

"These selections were not considered canonical and authoritative for doctrine by any prominent man, set of men, nor church council until the Roman Catholic Council of Trent (1546), by a small majority, declared them to be so, and anathematized anyone who might think differently." {How We Got Our Bible," by Neil R. Lightfoot}

There are also some apocryphal New Testament books; which are referred to as modern apocrypha. All of these books, because they fail to pass the canonicity test, are not accepted as authentic. No group of Bible scholars considers them creditable for inclusion in the Bible with the other 66 books.

  1. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ
  2. The Aquarian Gospel
  3. The Crucifixion of Jesus, by an Eyewitness
  4. The Report of Pilate
  5. The Confession of Pontius Pilate
  6. The Letter of Benan
  7. 29th chapter of Acts
  8. The Letter from Heaven
  9. The Gospel of Josephus
  10. The Book of Asher
  11. The Description of Christ
  12. The Death Warrant of Jesus Christ
  13. The Long-Lost Second Book of Acts
  14. Oahspe
  15. The Lost Books of The Bible
  16. The Nazarene Gospel

All of these additional books fail to pass the scholars test for the marks of inspiration. The six books (and other additional information) in the Roman Catholic Bible are said to contain mainly historical information. To be honest, they might well provide some additional information regarding that period of Bible history. Yet, they bear no marks of divine inspiration. The apostles, prophets, and other inspired writers didn't even quote from any of the extra books.

The one, clear, unmistakable mark of inspiration worthy of consideration is the Bible's prophetic writing, which comprises 31 percent of the entire Bible. Are the prophecies accurate? Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of the more-than 330 prophecies concerning the Messiah! How is it that Moses wrote the same thing as Matthew, and Isaiah wrote the same things as John? These men never met, never conferred, and lived at different times; but each told exactly the same story! The answer is simple. They all received inside information from the same source-GOD! Not one alleged contradiction, in any of the 66 books, has ever been proven! There are a few-less than 1 percent--typos and copy mistakes. None deal with matters that affect our salvation. The Bible is THE WORD OF GOD!


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