 The Da Vinci Code quote:  (p.341)  “Sophie, every faith in the world is based on fabrication. That is the definition of faith—acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove. Every religion, describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school. Metaphors are a way to help our minds process the unprocessible. The problems arise when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors…Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.”

The Historicity of Scripture

 Written over a 1,500 year span  Written over 40 generations  Written by more than 40 authors, from every walk of life  Written in different styles  Written in different places  Written in peace and war  Written on 3 continents  Written in 3 languages  Hundreds of controversial topics  Most translated  Number one bestseller…ever…always  Claims to be inspired

 Hand copied  Bibliographical Test  Eyewitness Test (internal)  External Test

 Textual transmission of documents  Quality  Number  Interval of time

“Of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, there are only seventeen letters in question. Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense. Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions. The remaining three letters comprise the word “light” which is added in verse 11, and does not affect the meaning greatly….Thus, in one chapter of 166 word, there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission—and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage.”F.F. Bruce Dead Sea Scrolls

 Is it the record credible.  Analyze the claims  Check for fraud  Check for errors

 Do other sources confirm?  History sources  Scientific sources Tacitus: Roman Josephus: Jewish

 Sir William Ramsay— one of the greatest archeologists ever— tried to disprove the Bible—became a Christian due to evidence.  Over 20,000 archeological finds— none disprove the Bible.

 60 major Messianic prophecies  Prophecies of cities— Tyre, Sidon, Babylon

 To fulfill even 8 of the Messianic prophecies in one person  1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

 Manuscripts  Archeology  Prophecy  Statistics