If you've ever played the game of "Telephone" you know how easy it is to make mistakes when a message is passed from one person to another. Could it be we have the same problem with this ancient book? (Hold up Bible) After all, it was hand-copied from one scribe to another over thousands of years before the first Bible was ever printed. Did the scribes who copied the Bible make mistakes? How can we know that this book isn't just another game of "telephone"? I'm Dwight Nelson. Let's look at The Evidence.

In 1947, according to the story, a shepherd boy tossed a stone into a cave. I've seen that cave by the way. He heard something break and climbed in to see what it was. What he found was the first of hundreds of ancient manuscripts that we now call the Dead Sea Scrolls. That one discovery is probably the most significant archeological find of the twentieth century. Everybody's heard of them, but very few people know what they really are. To get the whole story, we talked to the experts.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has given us a new understanding of the people who preserved the Bible for future generations.But what do the scrolls tell us about the accuracy of the Bible? And is there anything in the scrolls, which help us to better, understand the Bible we have today? We'll be back with the answers, right after this.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the earliest known manuscripts of ancient texts sacred to Judaism and Christianity. If these Scrolls contradicted the holy writings common to these religions, that contradiction would potentially threaten the very existence of those religions.

The Dead Sea Scrolls give us powerful evidence for the credibility of the Bible. (turns) When we come back we'll meet Dr. Eugene Ulrich, one of the world's foremost authorities on the Dead Sea Scrolls. So stay with us.

Dr. Eugene Ulrich
> Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame. >Chief Editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible
> World Authority on Dead Sea Scrolls.
MAIN POINT ONE: Establish Ulrich's credibility.
>  He reads and works with the actual manuscripts
>  Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. Tell us about it.
>  Limited number or scholars allowed access to scrolls at first. Why? (GET THIS POINT: access limited until sure Scrolls don't destroy Judaism and Christianity)
MAIN POINT TWO - Scrolls and credibility of Old Testament
>  Scrolls support credibility of Old Testament
>  Examples of how Scrolls help clarify some problem texts
>  Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. Tell us about it.
>  People at Q'umran's understanding of Old Testament
>  Most important thing Dead Sea Scrolls teaches us about Old Testament MAIN POINT THREE - Scrolls and evidence for God
>  Ulrich's personal view -- Dead Sea Scrolls and evidence that God exists
>  Ulrich's personal view - Dead Sea Scrolls teach us about God.
There's lots more to learn about the Dead Sea Scrolls. To find out more, check out our website at www.theevidence.tv. I'll be right back with some concluding thoughts.