Blog: Debunking Deconstruction – Is the Bible Actually Reliable? Part 4: Grammar and When It/How Was Written.

If you’re like me, you too probably look at the word “grammar” and cringe so hard you see the back of your skull. None of us like grammar. However, grammar is very, very important to understanding how the Bible is reliable and how you should be reading it (a lot of division within the church could be fixed if people would read the Bible in its grammatical context). The quality of the grammar in different manuscripts of the Old/New Testament also show how well it was copied down and preserved over the years, adding to its reliability. Let’s get into it.

#1: Different Types of Narratives

One of the big things that a lot of people do with the Bible that can lead to a lot of people deconstructing is they take it way too literally. Now, while we are supposed to take the Bible at its word, the way that these types of people take it is wrong because they seem to ignore that the authors of the books in the Bible sometimes spoke in hyperbole to make a broader point, used metaphors, spoke to the time and place where the book was written, etc. Some books are purely historical accounts of how God worked for his people. Others are prophetic. Others are poetry. Understanding this can help Christians read the Bible the way it’s intended so they aren’t screwing up what it actually says and can help them tell if someone else is screwing it up.

#2: How it Was Copied Down

One of the complaints that come from people doubting the validity of the Bible is that there are so many translations that how could it possibly be accurate. How do we know that what one Bible says is true compared to another Bible? Surely, people must have twisted it over the years to say what they wanted it to say.

Luckily for us, we can debunk this with the thousands of manuscripts and fragments of the Old Testament the staggering 25,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament that we have, as well as our knowledge of how texts were written and copied during that time period. Thanks to this knowledge, we are aware of the painstakingly tedious task that scribes had of making near perfect copies of the original text they had been given to write down and because of the sheer number of documents that we have, we can compare them to see if anything was changed and if there are a few typos here and there, we can figure out what they were meant to say. Even with today’s translations, unless you are using a wildly heretical translation (such as the Watchtower Bible, the Passion Translation, etc.), you’ll find the same thing over and over again in slightly different language.

#3: When it was written

The Bible was written over thousands of years, but most notably, the New Testament was written in the hundred years following Jesus’ death, making it reliable because the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ live and ministry would still have been alive. Thus, we can trust that what they say about Jesus is accurate.

#4: The Council of Nicaea

Another thing that people like to claim about the Bible is that it was botched at the Council of Nicaea, that they cut out certain books that weren’t convenient to their plans of world domination. This dumpster fire of a theory can quickly be debunked when you look at how the Bible was compiled at the Council. They worked hard to make sure that these books that now make up our Bibles were consistent with Christian doctrine, had apostolic origin (were written by someone who had actually seen Jesus), and were from texts that were widely known, not from some obscure cult. Furthermore, figures such as Irenaeus, Origen, and Athanasius were crucial in figuring out which books to use and other councils and synods affirmed the canon of Scripture.