“Not long after the New Testament letters were penned the original autographs perished. Yet God’s word was not hopelessly lost. The different New Testament letters had been received with authority of heaven behind them, which prompted early Christians to make many copies of these precious apostolic messages.
These copies of the New Testament in Greek are known simply as manuscripts.” (Lightfoot, 1998, p. 35)
“The ability of the writer or the witness to tell the truth is helpful to historians in their effort to determine credibility…This ability to tell the truth is closely related to the witness’s nearness both geographically and chronologically to the events recorded.” (McDowell, 2005, c. 1977, p. 40)
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Preservation of the New Testament
“Not long after the New Testament letters were penned the original autographs perished. Yet God’s word was not hopelessly lost. The different New Testament letters had been received with authority of heaven behind them, which prompted early Christians to make many copies of these precious apostolic messages.
These copies of the New Testament in Greek are known simply as manuscripts.”
(Lightfoot, 1998, p. 35)
Is what we have today what was originally recorded?
· The quantity of the NT manuscripts is incomparable.
o Over 5,000 manuscripts of NT have survived!
o An overwhelming amount compared to other ancient historical manuscripts.
§ Illiad - 2nd most abundant at 643 copies
§ Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar – 10 copies
§ Historical Works by Herodotus – 8 copies
§ Historical Works by Thucydides – 8 copies
§ Historical Works by Pliny the Younger – 7 copies
o Not all manuscripts are complete NT, but the vast amounts of documents which remain help us maintain an accurate rendering of the NT. We can cross-check copies for correct translation.
To what extent are the original writings credible?
“The ability of the writer or the witness to tell the truth is helpful to historians in their effort to determine credibility…This ability to tell the truth is closely related to the witness’s nearness both geographically and chronologically to the events recorded.” (McDowell, 2005, c. 1977, p. 40)
· The quality of the manuscripts is incomparable.
o Many copies are dated close to the events recorded. - A shorter gap between when an event occurred and when it was recorded gives credibility because it limits the possibility of alteration or fabrication. Memories are more accurate and eyewitnesses can contest any errors.
§ “The period between New Testament events and the recording of them is not long enough to have allowed the alterations from fact to legend that [some] critics allege.” (McDowell, 2005, c. 1977, p. 40)
§ “We can already say emphatically that there is no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about AD 80.” (Albright, 1963, p. 136)
o Nominal variation between copies throughout almost 2000 years!
· Other sources confirm the contents of NT events and manuscripts
o Lectionaries – copies of NT passages preserved for church services
o Early Versions / Translations – Copies of Greek manuscripts into other languages provide additional sources of comparison.
§ Syriatic versions date back to early 2nd century AD
§ Latin Versions date back to AD 150.
o Writings of Contemporaries
§ 1st century AD - Justin Martyr, Tatian, Iraneus, Clement of Alexandria
§ 2nd century AD – Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian
§ 3rd & 4th centuries AD - Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome
· Historical and Archaeological Discoveries have not contradicted
o Pools with 5 porticos in Jerusalem called Bethesda (John 5:2) discovered in 1871
o Hellenistic and Greek influence on the Jewish community as recorded in the gospels was questioned by some critics, but the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish separatists at Qumran provided evidence of such influence.
