Why should anyone believe what the Bible says? Is it historically reliable? Does the Bible conflict with science? Did Jesus actually live?
Bible Gateway interviewed William D. Mounce (@billmounce) about his book, Why I Trust the Bible: Answers to Real Questions and Doubts People Have about the Bible (Zondervan, 2021).
Why is this book needed now?
Dr. William D. Mounce: When culture decides to attack Christianity, historically it has started with the authority and uniqueness of the Bible. The same is true now. From The New York Times bestsellers to fictional novels that many treat as historically accurate, YouTube debates, late night talk show hosts, and liberal teachers and atheists teaching freshman Bible classes in the universities, a war is raging on the Bible, perhaps in ways never before experienced. Thousands of people are losing their trust in the Bible and hence in Jesus.
Why do you start the book by examining whether Jesus was an historical figure?
Dr. William D. Mounce: I arranged the passages chronologically, so the historical existence of Jesus is ground zero. It was a bit frustrating to start with this topic since it’s the weakest of the arguments against the Bible, but I did write each section as independent of the other sections, so the first chapter can be skipped.
How do you answer the skeptic who says the Gospels were written much later than Jesus and therefore cannot be reliable?
Dr. William D. Mounce: I’d start by asking them why they think they’re later? Has the person actually studied the issue, or are they just repeating something they heard? How they respond tells you how serious the question really is. By almost any account, the Gospels are all first century documents, which places them much closer to the events they describe compared to other historical documents. And there would have been no reason for the Gospels to be written earlier since the apostles lived for several decades.
Is the teaching of the apostle Paul that he communicates in his New Testament books compatible with the Jesus of the Gospels?
Dr. William D. Mounce: Absolutely. Jesus and Paul address significantly different situations with significantly different goals, but they’re fully compatible. Jesus was ushering in the kingdom of God and teaching how to live within that kingdom. Paul was addressing specific questions that were different from Jesus’ situation.
People say the Bible is filled with contradictions. How do you respond to that?
Dr. William D. Mounce: Ask them for one. As before, if they don’t know of a problem passage, then this is not their real issue with the Bible. There are many differences among the Gospels, just as there are differences when two people tell the same story about the same event. The core is usually the same and some of the details vary, but the details are compatible, not contradictory. The Gospel writers tell us they can’t tell us everything (Luke 1:1–4; John 20:30-31), but they have themes that control what stories they tell, what details they include, and how they arrange their material. Harmonization asks the question: “Can you conceive of an historical situation in which both accounts are accurate?” The answer is always, yes.
Why are there 27 books in the New Testament; no more and no less?
Dr. William D. Mounce: The early church looked at issues of authorship, agreement in theology, and if other churches agreed as to which books should be included. But the fundamental question was, do we hear God’s authoritative voice? Twenty-one of the 27 books were recognized as being from God as soon as they were written, mostly based on apostolic authorship (Matthew, John, Paul’s 13, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation), or the author’s relationship to an apostle (Mark, Luke, Acts). These books became the core against which the other books were measured, and within a few decades were all either accepted or rejected.
Since only copied manuscripts of the original texts have survived, how can we trust that they haven’t been corrupted?
Dr. William D. Mounce: We’re blessed to have about 5,600 Greek manuscripts (starting from the second century), 10,000 Latin manuscripts, many other ancient translations, lectionaries, and about a million biblical citations from the early church leaders. As we compare all these texts, we’ve come to the conclusion that we have at least 99% of the original text. The remaining 1% contain no significant biblical doctrine.
The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek over centuries. Today we have multiple English translations of the Bible. What are the different methods of translation used in producing English Bibles and can they be trusted?
Dr. William D. Mounce: Translations fall on a spectrum from those trying to reproduce the Greek and Hebrew words into English, to those trying to reproduce the author’s meaning. All translations are interpretive, and the only literal Bibles are in Hebrew and Greek. But all translations have a philosophy they try to follow and which gives them a consistent interpretation. Some translations are more comfortable approximating the words and leaving more of the interpretation up to the reader. Others place more emphasis on conveying the original author’s meaning. So when John says, “Everyone who has been born of God does not sin” (1 John 3:9 CSB), do we simply repeat the words and give the mistaken impression that Christians don’t and can’t sin? Or do we understand that John is talking about living in constant, unrepentant sin, and translate “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning” (ESV)? What you’ll find is that the translations rarely disagree with each other; rather, one is more general and the other is more specific, but they are compatible. All major translations will lead you to the cross; none will lead you to heresy. They can be trusted.
[Read the Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament on Bible Gateway]
Why do you love the Bible?
Dr. William D. Mounce: I love the Bible because I love its author.
What is a favorite Bible passage of yours and why?
Dr. William D. Mounce: Matthew 6:33—“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This verse gives me direction in all things.
My second favorite is Luke 10:27—“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your life, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Why I Trust the Bible is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.
Bio: Bill (linktree) is the founder and president of BiblicalTraining.org, serves on the Committee for Bible Translation (which is responsible for the NIV translation of the Bible), and has written the bestselling biblical Greek textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek, and many other Greek resources. He was the New Testament chair for the English Standard Version. He speaks and blogs regularly on issues relating to trusting the Bible, the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus), Greek, and issues of spiritual growth. Bill was also a preaching pastor, a professor of New Testament, and director of the Greek Language Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a professor at Azusa Pacific University. See Bill’s YouTube channel.
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The post Why Should I Trust the Bible?: An Interview with William D. Mounce appeared first on Bible Gateway Blog.