Almost every conversation about Christianity eventually reaches the Bible. “It's been translated and changed so many times.” “The church picked the books it liked at Nicaea.” “Where does the Bible even say the Bible is the only authority?” “It's full of contradictions.” This module equips you to answer each of these calmly and accurately.
You will learn the basics of textual criticism, the field of scholars like Wes Huff and Daniel Wallace; how the Old and New Testament canons came to be recognised; the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura as summarised in the Westminster Confession; and principles for working through alleged contradictions, with worked examples.
Our posture is twofold. As Reformed believers, we receive Scripture as God's self-attesting word, not because scholars approve it. Yet because God acted in history and preserved his word through real manuscripts, we can examine the evidence openly and find it remarkably strong.