HOW RELIABLE IS THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT?

 

The original writings (autographs) of the New Testament cannot be found. And, I am glad. Many would be more fascinated with the documents than the contents. For instance, a Hebrew Bible, considered to be the oldest Bible known, was recently sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York. Significance was placed on the antique value, rather than on the contents of the Bible.

So how do we determine which copies are the more accurate? Among the criteria used, the oldest copies are preferred. The older copies (manuscripts) are closer to the autographs and are less likely to incur human error in re-copying. The scholarly discipline of Textual Criticism has been used for centuries to determine the reliability of manuscripts.

The practice of utilizing older manuscripts is not limited to New Testament documents. The practice is used in all ancient manuscripts. For instance, Homer’s Iliad was written about 900 B.C. The earliest copy found was about 500 years later. With Aristotle, the earliest copies were found 1,400 years after they were written. In both of these popular ancient manuscripts, less than 600 copies have been found. That number limits critical analysis to determine the reliability of the documents.

There are thousands more New Testament Greek manuscripts (copies) than any other ancient writing. To date, more than 5,600 Greek manuscripts have been found. Take note, the approximate time span between the autographs and the manuscript is less than 100 years. Textual critical scholars contend, unlike any other ancient manuscript, “the internal consistency of the New Testament documents is about 99.5% textually pure”. In other words, the manuscripts of the New Testament are more reliable than any other ancient manuscripts.

Some skeptics have attempted to refute the reliability of the New Testament. They keep implying that the documents were written much later than within 100 years. But how could that be? A letter to the church at Corinth in the name of Clement of Rome in 95 A.D., quoted from 10 of the 27 books of the New Testament. In addition, on his way to Rome to be executed in 107 A.D., Ignatius of Antioch quoted from several New Testament books. The disciple John, was the last of the disciples to die. He died before the year 100 A.D. All the New Testament books were written before John died, hence the availability of some books before his death.

In his second letter, Peter commented on one of Paul’s letters. He actually equated Paul’s writings with Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). History confirms that both Paul and Peter were martyred under the cruel hands of Emperor Nero. Nero died on June 09, 68. Paul was killed sometime between 64-65 A.D. In other words, all of Paul’s letters were written within 32 years of the death of Jesus. Many eyewitnesses of the death and resurrection of Jesus would still have been alive. No other ancient manuscript could claim this kind of textual attestation. The late Professor F.F. Bruce was correct when he said, “… there is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament” (The Books and the Parchments).

Attorney and Professor John Warwick Montgomery, considered to be one of the foremost living apologists for classical, biblical Christianity, agrees with F.F. Bruce. In his volume, History and Christianity, Professor Montgomery stated, “In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was written between the forties and eighties of the first century.”

Had Sir Frederic George Kenyon been alive, that English palaeographer (studied ancient writing systems and deciphered and dated historical manuscripts), biblical and classical scholar, would agree with this blog. In his volume, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, he said, “Scholars are satisfied that they possess substantially the true text of the principal Greek and Roman writers whose works have come down to us, yet our knowledge of their writings depends on a mere handful of manuscripts, whereas the manuscripts of the New Testament are counted by hundreds, and even thousands.”

Apart from its ancient literary supremacy, the Bible continues to be supreme. Its supremacy is not because of its literary value, but because it is the Word of God. Long before the Bible was canonized (393 A.D.), the Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).