My discussion partner in the other thread doubts it is...
He cited one example among others insinuating Bible contradicted itself. According to Matthew, Jairus said his daughter died, see Matthew 9:18-10, whereas Mark 5:21-24 quotes him in a sense that she is dying right the moment when they spoke.
Contradiction, no?
Well yes, Jairus contradicted himself.... doesn't mean Bible is wrong.
This is at least my 5 cents.
In my opinion, the Bible can be trustworhty even if the Canon was established only centuries later and even if the authors were partially unknown.
Thomas
The earliest Christians were persecuted and killed. Any original written records or public worship of Jesus was taboo, and all the original Apostles, except John, were killed, very early on. What was left was word of mouth, passed forward, in an underground fashion, for nearly two centuries.
To give this perspective, consider the censoring by FaceBook and Twitter, the fake news by the media and all the lying by Democrats leadership during the collusion delusion. Take this to the next level with legal torture and laws that allow for prison and killing, as part of an effort to suppress truth and manipulate public opinion and behavior.
The New Testament was written two centuries later, by compiling oral traditions from sources that had passed down, by word of mouth, of the teachings of the original Apostles. Word of mouth was not as reliable as original written documents, but those documents had long been destroyed by the suppression mob. That mob is still alive in spirit in many universities. Free speech poses a problem to manipulative propaganda.
The question becomes why purge and censor, Jesus, if Jesus was just a nobody? Rome was very good at keeping records and very tolerant of religion, since keeping religion open, helped them to control the empire. Censorship had to do with Rome feeling threatened from within, by the religion of slaves. They were dependent on slaves and law and this new religion threatened the status quo.
In the end, the Christians, ofter their New Testament was written, out lasted many more generations of persecutors, to eventually become the official religion of Rome in the 4th century AD. Christianity started at the bottom and worked its way up the ladder to the top, earning respect. Christianity would become a key part of an international empire that would last for centuries; Holy Roman Empire. It would render onto God what was God and render onto Caesar what was Caesar's. It became a paradox of humility and might as well as faith and reason.
The Saints of Christianity are somewhat unique to world religion. Unlike Martyrs who die to become Saints, most of the 10,000 recorded Saints, lived among us, and through their works and deeds expressed the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a living religion. It has been almost 2000 years since the New Testament was written and it may be time to write book three, to honor those who had an impact and helped shape the present. The Church does have good records but not for all 10,000 Saints.