The Stones Cry Out

The Bible is the most famous and best-selling book in the history of the world.  While everyone may acknowledge that, not everyone would agree that it is what it claims to be: the very Word of God.  Through history it has faced countless attacks from unbelievers and nay-sayers, while countless others have willingly given their lives just to read it and pass it on to others.  No one can deny that this book has influenced the history of our world, influenced kingdoms and empires and nations, and has influenced the hearts and minds of individuals.  No doubt if this book is what it claims to be, then a response is demanded of everyone who encounters its pages.  To find this out we must embark on a journey to answer a few questions:

1.) Is the Bible the Word of God?

2.) Has the Bible been accurately passed down to us today?

This page seeks to lay out the history of the Bible from its very beginnings to the copies that are in our homes today.  The framework for this study generally follows the one given in Norman Geisler and William Nix's excellent work, "From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible" (2012).  Using the framework as shown to the right, I gather and compose what I believe to be one of the most thorough and comprehensive presentations on this subject available today.  After this journey I genuinely hope that you will  agree with me that the answers to those two questions above are "Yes."

All of the work is fully referenced and available for your consumption and use privately and for teaching.  Please contact me with any questions or comments.

The links below are to PDFs that walk through the detailed history of the Bible in its journey from God to us.

Inspiration - This presentation walks through the definition, evidence, interpretation and implications for the divine inspiration of the Bible

Canonization - This work details the recognition and collection of inspired books to form the complete Bible 

Transmission - This section highlights the process of getting accurate copies of the original writings from the authors to us.  It is broken down into the following sub-sections:

     Materials and Practices - highlights the scribes and their methods

     Old Testament - the transmission of the collection of Old Testament writings

     New Testament - the transmission of the writings of the New Testament

     Reconstructing the Text of the NT - the process of re-learning, finding and building an accurate original Greek New Testament

     Textual Criticism - the history, definitions and practice of the science of textual criticism with a bonus exercise of modern scribes copying the Book of Colossians (a great analogy to ancient scribes copying the Bible text)!

Translation - Detailed history of the translation of the Bible broken into the following two sections:

     Non-English Translations - a comprehensive presentation of the history of non-English translations from the Septuagint to the modern

     English Translations - a comprehensive presentation of the history of the English Bible from the birth of the English language until today

How We Got the Bible

Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Spring, 2022

8-week course

(click links for PDF)

Lesson 1 - Introduction and Inspiration of the Bible

Lesson 2 - Canonization of the Bible

Lesson 3 - Transmission and Witnesses of the Old Testament

Lesson 4 - Reconstructing the New Testament Part I - Historical Backdrop and Early Editions

Lesson 5 - Reconstructing the New Testament Part II - Critical Texts and Manuscript Witnesses

Lesson 6 - Textual Criticism of the Bible

Lesson 7 - Translations of the Bible up to the Printing Press

Lesson 8 - English Translations of the Bible from Tyndale



Alternative 11-week course

(click links for PDF)

Lesson 1 - Introduction and Inspiration of the Bible

Lesson 2 - Canonization of the Bible

Lesson 3 - Transmission of the Old Testament

Lesson 4 - Transmission of the New Testament

Lesson 5 - Reconstructing the NT (up to the printing press)

Lesson 6 - Reconstructing the NT (after the printing press)

Lesson 7 - Textual Criticism

Lesson 8 - Translations in Greek, Syriac & Latin

Lesson 9 - Translations in Coptic and other Early Languages

Lesson 10 - English Translations to the King James Version

Lesson 11 - English Translations from the King James to Present