While difficulties in the Bible were observed by the Church fathers and included such luminaries as Augustine (~16 centuries ago), the list of problematic passages seems to have grown especially since the times of the Enlightenment and the rise of modern science.
To some extent we have discussed this issue in our introduction to the two previous questions. That’s because the issue of reliability can be construed broadly or more narrowly. For instance, most of the time when the reliability of the Scripture is discussed, we’re discussing whether it is historically reliable or not.
But you could ask the same questions about the reliability of the Bible--perhaps using variety of criteria and methods for investigation--regarding its textual reliability, its scientific reliability (when and if it is seeking to teach science), doctrinal reliability and so forth. This broadens the investigation beyond historical reliability and in this sub-section of our site we wish to take a look at the broader scope of the question of reliability and we want to bring resources to bear on how to answer it.
An important question is whether this particular investigation seems to point us toward trying to find a legitimate strategy for dealing with reliability difficulties generally and then towards handling specifics, or should we treat each instance idiosyncratically? Also, do we form that opinion by looking at cases building from the ground up or do we enter investigation with some insight that allows us to work from the top down?
These are the the kinds of questions we think you should entertain as you review the resources we’re compiling for you on this section of the site.