Friday Feature Quote – “Authenticity”- 02/06/2026 – Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

COMMENTS

First, the video (below) that started today’s post asks if the Bible is Corrupped. The assumption they are answering is that there was a wilful attempt to alter the Bible from its original text. I will attempt to answer that assumption with references to Biblical Authenticity and Inerrancy.

Ok, here is where I make some folks totally confused. Is the Bible authentic? YES! Is the Bible we read and use today inerrant? SORT-OF! This is not an oxymoron, I promise. Read a little further, and I will attempt to explain.

Let’s start with the latter, as authenticity hangs in the balance of inerrancy. Only the original manuscript(s) of the Bible are fully inerrant. All other copies that followed are subject to errors by man’s finite capabilities. For example, I do not know about you, but I cannot survive without Grammarly. Or when I cut and paste articles to reference in my posts, I have on many occasions chopped off portions. Does that render the Article corrupt? No, not in the sense of willful corruption or deceit, it just renders it in error with non-malicious intent. So true is our Bible.

When we look into Authenticity, we must consider the overall volume of original parts of the Bible we have and other early church Biblical Manuscripts. Comparing these, there is no sign of corruption. In fact, the opposite is true; there is overwhelming evidence of consistency among these texts. One might question this if all were from the same city or region, but these texts are from a variety of areas.

The bottom line is this: the Bible is not corrupted. In fact, when we speak of Biblical Inerrancy today, we speak not of 100% grammer, spelling, and understanding (infallible/inerrant). God’s Word will not fail us, nor will properly interpreted scripture allow for errors. We speak that 100% of God’s intent without any error is transmitted in His Holy Word. We are getting God’s Holy Word as He intended, for He is Infallible and inerrant. His holy Word can then always be used to defend (Apologetics) itself and to declare the truth of God.

Those who would make false claims of corruption in God’s Word need to be more thoughtful and diligent in their study of His Word and of the lengths to which man has gone to preserve it. The translators of the KJV, NASB, and ESV are good examples of the arduous work put in to insure the truth of Go’s Word would prevail.

There are three main categories of Bible Translations: Formal word-for-word, Functional thought-for-thought, and Paraphrase, in which the text is restated and expanded into modern language. One must be careful, as in all things, we live in a world full of false teachings, and some, like the Passion and New World Translations, have found their way into local bookstores.

STUDY

God has preserved His truth forever. “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:5-6; see also Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:17, 18; Luke 16:17; John 10:35b; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:13-17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Revelation 22:18, 19). Those who cling to the unfounded charge of corruption are rejecting life-giving truth. excerpt from GQM

Biblical authenticity operates on two distinct levels. The biblical books possess human authority derived from their authors, but they also claim a higher authority rooted in divine inspiration—making them God’s authoritative word.1

When scholars evaluate biblical authenticity, they distinguish between two related but separate concepts. Genuineness refers to whether texts were actually composed during their attributed periods by their claimed authors, while authenticity concerns whether the content truthfully represents its subject matter and remains unchanged from the original composition.2 A historical document requires three qualities to be considered reliable: it must be authentic (belonging to its assigned time and author), intact (substantially unaltered in transmission), and veracious (authored by someone well-informed and truthful).3

The search results present multiple lines of evidence supporting biblical authenticity. Early non-Christian writers throughout the Roman Empire—roughly fifty authors from the first four centuries—referenced New Testament events as factual occurrences and recognized Scripture as a unified volume accepted as God’s word.2 Ancient historians including Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny corroborated biblical historical claims, with the Bible possessing more external attestation than virtually any other ancient document.2 The Old Testament’s authenticity is supported by consistent Jewish and Samaritan testimony across centuries, as well as affirmation from Christ and the apostles.3

The internal character of the texts themselves offers additional support. The Old Testament records divine faithfulness alongside Israel’s unfaithfulness—a pattern unlikely to appear in forged documents, which would typically portray the nation favorably.3 Structural consistency across the biblical books—with later prophetic writings referencing earlier legal texts and maintaining coherent theological themes—suggests authentic authorial succession rather than fabrication.3

LOGOS BIBLE SOFTWARE AI, Generated Response 02/06/2026

1Francis X. E. Albert, “Authenticity of the Bible,” in The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, ed. Charles G. Herbermann et al. (New York: The Encyclopedia Press; The Universal Knowledge Foundation, 1907–1913). [See here.]
2Finis Jennings Dake, God’s Plan for Man, n.d, 24–25.
3F. J. Koch, A Manual of Apologetics, ed. Charles Bruehl, trans. A. M. Buchanan (New York: Joseph F. Wagner, 1915), 93–94.

9. The infallible rule for interpreting Scripture is the Scripture itself. Therefore, when there is a question about the true and full meaning^b of any part of Scripture (and each passage has only one meaning, not many), it must be understood in light of other passages that speak more clearly.²⁰

^bsense
²⁰2 Peter 1:20, 21; Acts 15:15, 16.

From Founders Ministry, LBC 1689 In Modern English

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy with Exposition

Has the Bible been corrupted, altered, edited, revised, or tampered with?

Infallibility/Inerrancy, by B. B. Warfield