The Bible is one of the world's most influential books, but is it true? We debate the claim that the Bible is no more than ancient fiction, explore objections to it being truth and uncover what the Bible originally said. A fascinating conversation sure to stimulate your thinking.
Our guest: Dr. James White. James is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, an organisation defending the Christian faith based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of more than twenty books, and an accomplished debater having participated in over one hundred and fifty moderated debates.
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Bigger Questions asked in this conversation
Introduction to James’s passion for debates
Over 150 debates - that’s a lot of debates. Did you like arguing a lot as a child?
What made you start debating - are you a naturally argumentative person?
But are debates worth it?
So James, you defend the Christian message. But what makes you believe that the Christian message is true? Did you grow up in a Christian home - was that why?
Bible - why believe Bible to be true?
How much does your assumptions and presuppositions impact your reflection on this question?
What’s the toughest objection to believing that to be true?
Textual transmission
Many point to the work of textual critic Bart Ehrman Hitchens claims that Ehrman exposed the “huge uncertainty befogging the New Testament texts”. So is there uncertainty befogging the texts?
Your latest doctoral studies focus on textual transmission - so what have you been looking at?
The Bible
So how much do you think the Biblical authors were consciously writing what they thought was the truth? So for example in John 19:35 - reacting to the appearance of blood and water coming out of Jesus side at his crucifixion:
The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
So do you think he was consciously writing the truth, or was he just really bad at this, or was this a later invention to trick people into believing it as the truth?
The Big Question
So James, Is the Bible true?
