The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? [Paperback]

Frederick Fyvie Bruce (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1959

Because Christianity claims to be a historical revelation, says Bruce, the quesion of the reliability of the documents on which it was founded is a crucial one. Here he presents the most convincing evidence for the historical trustworthiness of the canon of the New Testament.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Yes, they are. And it took F. F. Bruce only 120 tiny pages to show it."

"The New Testament Documents ranks as one of the most quoted apologia for the Bible."

"This is a treasury of useful material. . . . There is clearly a need for such a handbook." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Bruce was a tower of strength in the worlds of scholarship and faith, and in particular to those who, like him, were and are determined not to separate the two. . . . We should be profoundly thankful." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080281025X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802810250
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,657,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in England. During his distinguished career, he wrote more than forty bestselling commentaries and books, including several titles published by InterVarsity Press, A Mind for What Matters and Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. He also served as general editor of The New International Commentary on the New Testament.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Argument for the NT's Historicity, January 1, 2001

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"guy-72" - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Testament Documents : Are They Reliable? (Paperback)

This book is a fantastic guide for any person, Christian or otherwise, who would like to understand the level of historical accuracy that can be found in the New Testament documents. In that Christianity is a religion whose truth claims are allegedly rooted in historical fact, it is key that the works through which we read of those "facts" be considered reliable. Bruce does a great job of doing just that. No historical account, regardless of reliability, can prove miraculous events. However, Bruce argues, if a work can be proven to be historically and culturally accurate with respect to most of its content, that document then becomes-on the whole-more compelling. Any historian would then need to take more seriously the author's questionable claims such as the miracles, and Christ as God and savior of humanity. For if an author can be shown to be reliable in all other aspects of his work, why should he lie with respect to the documentation of miracles? This line of reasoning, and many other arguments, make Bruce's short book a compelling read for anybody interested in this topic.

Several sections of this book stand out. Bruce provides an introductory discussion regarding how historians have arrived at different dates for the original writing of the NT books. That particular chapter thus demonstrates how soon after the actual events of the NT that those events were actually captured in written form. Also, he briefly explains how the different NT books came to be "canonized" during the first three centuries the Christian Church. Throughout the rest of this book, Bruce provides internal and external evidence that point to the historical reliability of the NT. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Bruce does not try to convince his readers that Christianity is true; that is not his goal. It is only his aim to demonstrate that the NT documents, which themselves assert Christianity's truth claims, are as historically reliable as any documents of antiquity. In fact, based on the guidelines that historians use to determine historicity, the NT books can be considered much more reliable than ALL other documents of antiquity. That being the case, it then is up to the reader of the NT to determine if they will choose to believe or disbelieve the truth claims that the authors of the NT assert.

The objectivity with which Bruce approaches this book makes it a must read for Christians who want to better understand the historical roots of their faith, and non-Christians who believe that the Bible is mere religious myth. Both groups of readers stand to have their minds opened by Bruce's careful scholarship.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent scholarly work; atrocious published production, January 13, 2010

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Tawa Anderson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The New Testament Documents: Are they Reliable? (Paperback)

Bruce's work on New Testament reliability is concise, incisive, and persuasive. The content of this book is outstanding.

However, Wilder Publications 2009 printing of Bruce's classic work is absolutely appalling. I honestly cannot believe that a publisher sent this copy to press with the number of errors, misprints, spelling mistakes, etc. that are contained. I have not yet read a complete page that was error-free, and ALL of the errors I have come across so far would have been easily identifiable through the use of a proofreader. A couple of examples: page 10, talking about the timeline of Jesus' ministry, Bruce writes that Jesus' public ministry would have commenced in September or October, AD 27.1. The Wilder edition presents it as "September or October, AD a7.1". A few pages later, while discussing the closeness of the NT manuscript tradition to the time of Christ, Bruce compares it to other ancient writings. At the top of page 13, the Wilder edition presents Bruce as writing: "For Caesar's Gallic War (composed between 58 and 50 BC) there are several extant MSS, but only nine or ten are good, and the oldest is some goo years later than Caesar's day." I don't know how many years "goo" is, but I suspect that it is 800. There are a few regularly-recurring errors: the word "in" is presented as "m"; there are random quotation marks that do not belong; words run into one another without a space between them. Occasionally letters are missing from words (e.g. Matta an logia instead of Matthaean logia), and sometimes entire words are missing from sentences.

It appears that Wilder Publications ran an earlier edition of Bruce's work through a digital scanner, and sent the resulting copy directly to the printing press without ever running it by a proofreader. I tried to find an email address for Wilder Publications, or at least a phone number where I could relate my concerns, but came up empty. I will send them a letter to the post office box listed inside the book.

Basically, Bruce's work is excellent; I can't recommend it highly enough. But do NOT buy the 2009 Wilder Publications edition of it. My 4th-grader could have done a better job of proofing it.

67 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much information in a book this small..., June 29, 2000

By 

Timotheus Josephus - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Paperback)

At about 120 pages, this book accomplishes its objective more than adequately. Dr. Bruce demonstrates the fact that the New Testament as we know it today is a very accurate replica of the original first-century writings.

Who should read this book? A Christian struggling with doubts about the truth of their faith. Or if you are someone who isn't experienced at defending your faith against arguments from your skeptical friends or relatives. If you've never been sure how to respond to statements like, "The gospels were written so far after the life of Jesus that they are totally inaccurate" or "Since we don't have the original copies of the New Testament books there is no way we could possibly know how much they've been tampered with", then you need to read this book.

Your faith and intellect will be strengthened after reading this great little book. It's concise and you don't have to be a Greek scholar to understand it.