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I sometimes wonder how often we are influenced to believe things that are actually untrue. Persuasive advertising, political spin, so-called experts, soaps, reality shows, and popular opinion all tend to take away from us the facility to reason and work things out in a rational way. Have you noticed how cars are often given extravagant names, as if the name will describe their true quality? Given the opportunity in this consumer-driven society, I suspect many more companies would use ever-increasing superlatives to get ahead of their competitors. We need to have watchdogs like the Advertising Standards Authority to keep a reign on exorbitant claims. Yet we still believe the spin!

Sometimes I get quite indignant at the amount of misinformation that is generated to discredit the Christian faith and is accepted by those who have limited means to check out the claims. Take, for example, claims about the inaccuracy of the Bible. Of course, if the Bible can be discredited, then doubt is cast on the whole Christian faith, and this becomes a major turn-off for any who might otherwise begin to make serious enquiries. One of the commonest assertions is that the Bible has been distorted in translation down the years and can no longer be trusted, and the many versions existing today show that even the translators cannot agree among themselves. Let me answer these claims, and explain why I believe them to be a denial of logic and truth.

Of course we do not have the original manuscripts, but we do know that the Old Testament documents, written between 1400 and 400 BC, and the New Testament books, dated between 50 and 105 AD, were considered sacred by those who copied them, and therefore great care was exercised in maintaining their accuracy. This was remarkably confirmed by one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, found in 1946, which was of the book of Isaiah and pre-dated the earliest then existing copy by 1000 years. When comparisons were made it was found that there were no significant differences between them!

As time has passed, so scholarship has improved and older manuscripts have been discovered, and therefore the accuracy of the Bible has been constantly under review. Of all the ancient documents, the Bible is the most authenticated in its conformity to the original manuscripts. When compared with other ancient writings, Caesar's Gallic Wars (58-50 BC), Tacitus' Annals (100 AD) for example, the Old Testament has many thousands more copies dating many centuries earlier. No classical scholar is likely to raise major problems over the authenticity of these writings, and yet unqualified critics question the Bible's authenticity! The oldest New Testament portion is the John Ryland manuscript dated 130 AD, kept in the Ryland Library of Manchester, and extensive papyri exist from 200 AD onwards.

If the Bible has been changed, it is up to those who believe it has, to prove their case. Otherwise their claims are little more than unfounded speculation. Are we willing to investigate the truth, or believe a myth?

We are thankful that we don't have to learn an ancient language in order to understand the greatest book in the world! From the beginning of Christian history, translations have been made so that those who were not fluent in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic could read the Bible for themselves. According to the Bible Society, there are presently complete Bibles in 414 languages, New Testaments in 1068 and portions in a further 873 dialects. As far as English is concerned, there are numerous versions, translated at different times in our history. During the past 100 years we have had some translations that are accurate to the original languages, others that are paraphrases, and some in simpler words for children. Although the exact words may be different, the sense remains the same. For example, the best loved verse in the Bible, John 3:16, reads 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,' in the New King James version, and 'For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost, but should have eternal life' in the paraphrase version by J B Philips.

Far from being a sign of the way the Bible has been 'distorted', the different English versions and the many other-language translations simply show the universality of God's word, its application to every culture, and its relevance for today. I have no doubt that if the forty or so human authors were here today, they would testify to the accuracy of the Holy Scriptures, and would be overjoyed that their writings were being read all over the world in the languages of the readers, and that their timeless message had been spread far and wide, to the blessing and salvation of millions.

Let us believe the truth, not a falsehood!