WHY THE BIBLE IS RELIABLE

Among the dangers of Mormonism are its teachings that leave people in confusion about the reliability of the Bible. The Mormon Church in its general public statements about the Bible today usually cites its own Articles of Faith.

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly;... (Articles of Faith, #8, in the Pearl of Great Price).

Christians should not have any difficulty with this statement, as there are indeed some truly poor and bad translations. The Jehovah's Witness's New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is one example. But is this what the Mormons really have in mind? In examining this question we will let top LDS leaders speak for themselves. Speaking more frankly to their own members recent Mormon leaders have expressed themselves this way:

The most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations. (Church News, June 20, 1992, page 3, a letter from the First Presidency (Presidents Benson, Hinckley, and Monson) dated May 22, 1992, to all members of the Church)

Thus, instead of using the Bible to evaluate Mormonism they would reverse this and use Mormonism to judge the Bible. When speaking frankly, Mormon leaders view the Book of Mormon as significantly more reliable than the Bible:

Unlike the Bible, which passed through generations of copyists, translators, and corrupt religionists who tampered with the text, the Book of Mormon came from writer to reader in just one inspired step of translation. ("The Keystone of Our Religion", Ensign, by President Ezra Taft Benson, January 1992, page 5).

Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie said:

The Bible of the Old World has come to us from the manuscripts of antiquity - manuscripts which passed through the hands of uninspired men who changed many parts to suit their own doctrinal ideas. Deletions were common, and, as it now stands, many plain and precious portions and many covenants of the Lord have been lost. As a consequence, those who rely upon it alone stumble and are confused... ("Come: Hear the Voice of the Lord," The Ensign, December 1985, p 55)

The Book of Mormon itself claims important parts of the Bible have been removed.

And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away....because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen...because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb... (1 Nephi 13:26, 32, 34; also see 2 Nephi 29:2-3, 6-8)

Those interested in Mormonism need to be assured that the Bible is reliable. One of the first things I (John Farkas) did after I realized Mormonism was false was to examine the reliability of the Bible by studying books on its history and how we received it. Covering this subject could be a book in itself, so I will just summarize my findings. The following are reasons why I now consider that the Bible is from God and should be used as a rule for faith, salvation and action:

1. It is logical that God would give us something written.

2. The Bible is inspirational and intrinsically correct and good, and if followed leads to a quality life.

3. There is good evidence that it was transmitted and handed down to us with only very minor errors, none of which significantly affect meaning. Mormonism's position that significant parts are missing, and distorted, conflicts with the Bible's own statements, some of which are:

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

...I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (Mark 13:31.)

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)

Neither pray I for these [the apostles] alone, but for them [us] also which shall believe on me through their word;" John 17:20.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Ephesians 6:17)

4. Unlike the Book of Mormon, Many parts of the Bible are historically and archaeologically verifiable.

5. It is a record of prophecy (Old Testament) and its fulfillment (New Testament).

6. The personal witness and testimony of some of its writers, along with what Jesus' followers did after he died, rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven, speaks clearly of its divine source.

Note in Item 3 above, Mark 13:31 and Matthew 16:18 consists of Jesus' words. If Mormonism is correct in saying parts are missing from the Bible and are mistranslated, and there was a complete apostasy, then Jesus lied to us, and I reject that idea! In 1 Peter 1:23 the Apostle Peter tells us that the word of God lives and is with us forever! Did he lie? Mormonism seems to say he did.(The Church As Organized by Jesus Christ, 1982; The Falling Away and Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Foretold, 1972; Which Church Is Right, 1982, pages 9-18. All three booklets (tracts) were published by "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.").

In John 17:20 we find Jesus, in his great intercessory prayer, asking the Father to bless those in the future who believe in him through the "word" of the apostles. It is illogical to believe that the Lord's special prayer for the future faithful was honored for a short period and then was ignored for about 1800 years until Joseph Smith came along. The Lord and his apostles frequently illustrated their confidence in what we now call the Old Testament by their use of it and by not speaking of its alleged errors and missing text, as the Mormon Church does. It is clear that our Lord Jesus Christ respect the Old Testament as authoritative and reliable.

When the Apostle Paul told us to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, was he telling us to take up a defective sword? If Mormonism were correct we would have to believe this and that our Lord's prayer for us was ignored. We would also have to believe that the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 16:13, Acts 1:8) was a failure and the apostles the Lord appointed, and then their disciples and their disciples and so on were also complete and dismal failures. These ideas are also illogical!

A good question to ask is, "If the Mormon Church has had a prophet in touch with God since 1830 why do they not have a corrected edition of the Bible that has been made a part of their standard works to replace the King James version now used and until this is done why do they continue to use a Bible they know and say is faulty?"

Other evidence of the Bible's reliability comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book of Isaiah has been full vindicated. The book of Isaiah found with the Dead Sea Scrolls dates to about 1,000 years earlier (about 150 B.C.) than the manuscripts we have been using, which dates to about A.D. 980. Yet the differences are very minor. They are word for word identical in more than 95% of the text, and the difference do not change doctrine, teachings or history. They are chiefly scribal errors and variations in spelling.

The manuscript support for the New Testament is huge and overpowering. While there are variants between some of the manuscripts the differences do not change basic doctrinal teachings. Another support come from the early church fathers. We could reconstruct the entire New Testament, with the exception of 11 verses, just based on their writings alone, which were written within 150-200 years from the Lord's time.

Should you have confidence in the Bible? Yes, for me it is clear that it is God's reliable word and direction for our lives. It is a book we can have confidence in.

For more on the reliability of the Bible see Evidence That Demands A Verdict and More Evidence That Demands A Verdict, both by Josh McDowell.

John Farkas

Berean Christian Ministries; P.O. Box 1091; Webster, NY 14580

E-mail: bcmmin@frontiernet.net

Web page: http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin