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BIBLE ACCURACY:
Were Bible manuscripts copied accurately?
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SERIES—Part 1
Fortunately, you don't have to climb a telephone pole to make a phone call, or memorize a car manual to operate a vehicle.
Likewise, you needn't be a expert of textual reconstruction to understand the vital concepts of how we got our
modern Bibles:
Specifically, how Biblical books were originally chosen, copied, re-copied, and finally collected to
form a reconstructed "original" from which our modern Bibles are translated into various world languages.
However, the more we can understand about the details of "how we got the Bible," the more factually confident we can be
regarding its truly unparalleled accuracy.
For the introduction to the series, please click here.
Are the original Biblical books gone—and if so, what are the ramifications?
The New Testament was originally written in the first century during the height of the most powerful government
to ever control the civilized world: the Roman empire. The Romans were a surprisingly advanced society, and writing
technology was no exception.
The 1st century writing material in vogue was papyrus (from which our modern term "paper" is derived). Light
and easily transportable, papyrus "paper" was manufactured from the Papyrus reed which grew abundantly in Egypt,
Ethiopia, and the Jordan River valley. (4)
Hence, New Testament authors penned the original New Testament books on papyrus. The earliest books of
the New Testament were composed around A.D. 50 and were completed about A.D. 96.
But papyrus had its drawbacks. Although abundant and light, it was also somewhat fragile. As a result,
it is unlikely any of the original Biblical books have entirely survived. This means it would be extremely difficult
for unprincipled individuals to alter the original text, for to do so would require modification of perhaps thousands
of New Testament copies across the world.
Why were only 27 books selected to be "the New Testament?"
Exactly 27 books, written by 9 men (probably on papyrus), were collected into one document that we now call
"the New Testament." These so-called "books" were actually letters (to individuals and churches), historical documents,
and prophetic writings revealing future events. (5)
But why these—and only these—27 books?
Let's take the Apostle Paul's two letters to the church at Thessalonica as an example. At the end of Paul's first
letter to the Thessalonians, he instructed them to pass his letter on to all Christians to read. 1st Century Christians
apparently obeyed this mandate, since today there exists 5,300 Greek manuscripts (again, these were hand-written copies
containing all or portions of the New Testament—Greek was the original language of the New Testament), and an amazing
19,000 more copies in various other languages—adding up to a remarkable 24,000 New Testament manuscripts worldwide
(all located in museums and libraries dotting the globe).
Obviously, since 1st century Christians considered Paul's writings sacred, they made copies. Original letters
were then passed on to other churches, who made copies of their own. Some Christians—unable to obtain Paul's original
letters—probably made their copies from copies—in essence creating second generation copies of the original. This
process was repeated for all Biblical books, some of which were specifically addressed to multiple churches (such as
the epistles [letters] of Peter, James, and Hebrews) rather than to a single person or church (such as Paul's epistles
to Philemon and Timothy). (6)
This means that the original writings ("books") of these universally-accepted, inspired Christian writers were
copied thousands of times. Each new copy helped ensure the accuracy of the original, since it further eliminated the
probability the original could be modified—either inadvertently by careless copyists, or purposefully by unscrupulous
individuals—because doing this would require locating and modifying numerous manuscripts.
Naturally, as each of these letters and books were circulated, they were compiled into a collection of sacred
writings (called a "canon"). In this manner, early Christians settled on 27 New Testament books written by 9 inspired
writers that became universally accepted as inspired writings which embodied the entirety of God's will. (7)
By 170 A.D., complete sets of the New Testament could be found containing our modern New Testament.
How can we be sure the manuscripts were copied "mistake-free?"
Let's face it: Early Christians—regardless of how well-meaning—were not perfect individuals.
True, they considered the original writings of Paul, Peter, and the other Biblical authors to be accurate according
to God's will. True, they were careful. They doubtless tried to be accurate. But they were human. And humans make mistakes.
Which leads to a question: If early Christians probably made a few slip-ups, why do modern textual experts consider
the Bible to be an essentially accurate document?
Plainly, one reason experts consider the Bible so accurate in its message is simply due to the sheer number of Biblical
manuscripts (24,000 New Testament manuscripts alone). Since there are so many of them, and because their content is so similar
(more on this in a moment), scholars believe beyond reasonable doubt the reconstructed Bibles we have today are essentially
equivalent to the original.
Even if a "bad apple" manuscript existed among the 24,000—perhaps due to a sloppy copyist or unscrupulous person
who tampered with the text—the massive number of copies would make identifying and eliminating the suspicious manuscript
a relatively simple task. And what about all those allegations regarding unscrupulous modifications to Bible manuscripts?
There is no reliable historical evidence suggesting such a conspiracy ever took place except in the imaginations of typically
religiously motivated Biblical opponents.
Phillip Schaff wrote:
"We possess so many MSS [manuscripts] and are aided by so many versions, that we are never left to the need of conjecture as
the means of removing errata [errors]." (Companion to the Greek New Testament and English Version, p. 182)
Another reason scholars have enormous confidence in Biblical accuracy is that early Christians were utterly intolerant
of dishonesty. Christians were commanded—by Christ and Biblical writers—to be absolutely truthful, reliable, and honest in all
situations. And all historical evidence seems to suggest they did just that. (8)
Finally, Christians were strictly forbidden to add or take away from God's word in any manner. They deeply believed in the
importance of preserving every detail of the entire word of God "exactly as it had been delivered to them." (9) (10)
Thus it should come as no surprise that textual experts consider the Bible to easily be the most well-attested book of
antiquity. There are many more surviving manuscripts of the New Testament than there are of any other piece of ancient literature.
Outside of Homer's Iliad which has less than 700 surviving manuscripts, no other ancient Greek or Latin work has more than 200
surviving manuscripts, and very few have more than 20. (11)
Additional recommended reading:
How to interpret the Bible accurately: 12 critical tips
If modernists re-wrote the Bible, how big would it be?
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