Resources for Defending the Bible's Accuracy

I responded to an AOMin email that I know some of you would enjoy.

I have a question. Can you please point me to articles that suggest the bible is 99.9% accurate. I am currently in an email conversation with a mormon who claims that this statement is false. He claims apologists and not textual scholars have claimed the bible is 99.9% accurate. I did some research and it seems i find more articles that the bible is not 99.9% accurate. I am an evangelical christian and i do believe the bible is trust worthy and need to convince my mormon friend. Again, please tell me the bible is 99.9% accurate despite the claims of Metzger and his scholar friends. Please help with this. Thanks Dean

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Hello Dean,

You are correct that the Bible has been safely transmitted to us. We also have many accurate and excellent English translations of the Bible: NASB, ESV, NIV, and the NKJV to name a few.

There are relatively few passages in the Bible that we lack complete confidence in, however, we do have all the possibilities of what these passages could be. In fact, in these places where we are left with a few choices, most Bibles have footnotes to provide the Christian with this information.

I’m not aware of any Internet articles, but I would strongly recommend two of Dr. White’s books: The King James Only Controversy and Scripture Alone. Both works contain a discussion of how the Bible was transmitted and translated. You should find them very helpful. Bruce Metzger (who would in fact agree that the Bible is “accurate”) also has some wonderful works on the subject – specifically on the New Testament. If you need even more information, get a copy of the Nestle Aland 27th Edition of the Greek New Testament (NA27), which contains an extensive textual apparatus. The NA27 lists the various choices we have for debated passages, and rates the confidence of each choice. It even lists the major sources containing various renderings of the text. Finally, AOMin's webcast, "The Dividing Line," has started a series on Textual Criticism that you would benefit from.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

In the saving work of Christ,
Casey Ryan
AOMin