These are standard tests to evaluate any document for authenticity and accuracy.

Bibliographical Test

How accurately was it recorded and passed on over time? (Based on proximity of extant manuscripts to original autograph and quantity)

• Original work = autograph
• Hand written copy = manuscript evidence (MSS)
• The New Testament has over 3x the MSS of the 2nd most recorded work in history. Homer's Iliad: 400 year gap & 1,757 MSS | NT: 5,795 MSS (Greek only; if we include Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, Slavic, Latin, Ethiopian, Syriac, & Georgian there's 23,000+ MSS.)
• New Testament also has a significantly shorter gap between the original autographs and MSS than other non-disputed historical documents. There is a 100-200 year gap for Sophocles' plays; 200 year gap for Thucydides' History; 400 years for Livy's History of Rome. The earliest NT MSS have only a 40 year gap.

Internal Evidence Test

Does it contradict itself internally & from copy to copy?

• Many commonly targeted ‘inconsistencies’ all circle back to the “accurate but incomplete” explanation: (The sign on the cross, the number of angels at the tomb, blind men at Jericho, or demon possessed men.)
• Just because one gospel mentions partial information and another mentions overlapping but slightly different info, does not mean they disagree.
• “There is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they all were independent narrators of the same great transaction.” - Simon Greenleaf, one of the principle founders of Harvard Law School, legal expert who sought to cross-examine the Bible from an unbelieving viewpoint

External Evidence Test

Do other works support or refute it?

• Josephus confirmed the Old Testament content (as we have it today) in 90 AD.
• Athanasius confirmed the New Testament content (as we have it today) in 296-373 AD
• 39 non-Biblical works confirm the life, teachings, death, crucifixion of Jesus (The Historical Jesus, Habermas)
• “Luke is a historian of the first rank. This author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” - Sir William Mitchell Ramsay
• “Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact details historical statements in the Bible.” Nelson Glueck

This is meant to be a quick introduction to these tests and questions. Even a cursory study reveals the Bible surpasses all 3 standard academic tests of the authenticity, accuracy, & validity of a document! We cannot recommend enough deeper examination of these questions so you can see for yourself how reliable and accurate the Bible is!