"How We Got the Bible" Seminar Recap

Last night, the Brookside Institute offered a seminar on "How We Got the Bible."  About 50 people signed up for 90 minutes of overview on origins and preservation of the Bible - good stuff!  The overarching goal of this seminar was to reinforce trust in the Bible (and its message!) by examining its origin and reliable preservation. 

As the Institute seeks to build and reinforce foundations of the Christian faith in the areas of biblical literacy and theological formation, seminars like this play an important role.

Below I've included some things that will give you a taste of the seminar.  Here's the "Table of Contents" for what follows in this post if you keep scrolling:

• ​A basic outline of the material that was covered
• Audio of the seminar
• A filled-in "answer key" of the handout we produced

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​HOW we Got the Bible: BASIC OUTLINE

I.     Introduction

• Reasons the Bible is doubted often have a lot to with the origins and preservation of the Bible.
• If we can help people trust the origins of the Bible and see that it's been reliably preserved, this will invite trust in the message of this book as one to be believed, obeyed, and delighted in.

II.   The Provision of God's Word

• Revelation (2 Tim 3:16-17)
• Inspiration (2 Pet 1:20-21)

III.  The Protection of God's Word

• Canon - the idea explained and the process defended
• Transmission and translation

IV.   Conclusion: If God has provided His Word and protected His Word, He has purpose for it. The question, then, is this: Are we lining our lives up with the purposes of God's Word? (see 2 Tim 3:16-17 and Psalm 119)

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How We Got the Bible: Seminar Audio

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How We Got the Bible: Handout "Answer Key"

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How We Got the Bible: Additional Handouts

Over the course of the seminar, I passed around two additional handouts - one on "early support for the New Testament canon," and a second on confirming the reliability of the New Testament by looking at the dating and number of available New Testament manuscripts. Both of these one page handouts are included below.

Early Support for the NT Canon

The Reliability of the New Testament

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This seminar is part of the Brookside Institute's strategy in 2016 to align with Brookside Church and the 365 Reading Plan, where we're encouraging others to spend time daily reading through the Bible this year.  To find more 365 resources that the Brookside Institute has produced, click here.