Is the Bible still relevant?

A Cambridge scholar will be presenting his research on the Bible’s relevance next week at the Cathedral Hall on Church Street.

Dr Peter Williams, a biblical scholar and CEO of Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK, a world-leading centre for biblical research, will offer new evidence on the historical reliability of the Gospels.

About the evidence, he says: “It has often been suggested that Gospel stories about Jesus grew up over a long time and changed significantly as they were repeated from person to person. New evidence discovered in the last few years is showing that the Gospels appear to come from much closer to the events they record.”

The event, which is hosted by the Diocesan and Evangelism Committee of the Anglican Church of Bermuda, will take place on Tuesday, December 10.

According to a press release issued by the Diocesan Office, many believe the Bible is just a collection of stories that helped our ancient relatives make sense of the world and has no relevance today. 

Some even believe they are just a collection of fairy stories.

Assumptions

For many believing Christians, the Bible isn’t just a collection of stories or how our forebearers ordered their faith but a means by which God communicated with his people about living in the world as we do today.

Dr Williams will challenge some of the secular assumptions about the Bible that have come to be regarded as truth today.

Bishop Nicholas Dill, the Bishop of Bermuda, welcomed the news of Dr Williams’ visit to Bermuda.

He said: “In a world which is increasingly divided about the truth and relevance of the Bible, it is exciting to have world-renowned Biblical scholar Dr Peter Williams in Bermuda to look at some of the latest evidence that supports the reliability of the Gospels.”

The open meeting will take place at 7pm in the Cathedral Hall and all are welcomed –– skeptic and believer.

The presentation is promised to be informative, engaging and challenging and will involve a variety of media. Dr Williams will also be fielding questions.

The event is free and further information can be obtained from the Diocesan Office by emailing [email protected] or by
calling 292-6987. 

Dr Peter Williams:

• Pete Williams was educated at Cambridge University (UK), where he received his MA, MPhil and PhD, in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible. After his PhD he was on staff in the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University (1997–1998), and thereafter taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Cambridge University while he was a Research Fellow in Old Testament at Tyndale House (1998–2003).
• From 2003 to 2007 he was on the faculty of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Senior Lecturer in New Testament. In July 2007 he became Warden of Tyndale House. He is also a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version of the Bible, chairman of the International Greek New Testament Project, honorary Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Aberdeen, and Affiliated Lecturer in the University of Cambridge, where he teaches Hebrew.
• He has also travelled widely as a speaker on the Bible in the USA and in over a dozen European countries.He is married to Kathryn with two children, Magdalena (2001) and Leo (2005). Every summer Peter also leads an evangelistic outreach team in Belgium, where Kathryn and he first met.