Evidence for the Canon Are the documents reliable? Are there variant readings? Do these variants make the Bible less reliable?

Introduction We have studied how the canon was assembled. We have studied how the original documents were written Now the focus is on the reliability of the Bible.

Introduction Some questions that need to be answered: Are the books we have reliable? Are they accurate to the original work? Would Peter, Luke or Paul recognize the books that claim their authorship? What about the variant readings? What about number of documents and fragments discovered?

New Testament Scholars testify Philip Schaff – Fewer than 400 out of 150,000 documents have any problem. None of these variants include an “article of faith or precept of duty which is not abundantly sustained by other and undoubted passages.”

New Testament Scholars testify Geisler and Nix – “If one word is misspelled in 3,000 different manuscripts, this is counted as 3,000 variants or readings.” F. F. Bruce – “The wealth of attestation is such that the true reading is almost invariably bound to be preserved by at least one of the thousands of witnesses.”

New Testament Scholars testify Sir Fredric Kenyon – “No fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith rest on a disputed reading.” “It cannot be too strongly asserted that in substance the text of the Bible is certain.”

New Testament Scholars testify Sir Fredric Kenyon – “Especially is this the case with the New Testament. The number of manuscripts of the NT, of early translations from it, and of quotations from it in the oldest writers of the Church, is so large that it is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one or other of these ancient authorities.”

New Testament Scholars testify Howard Vos – “From the standpoint of literary evidence the only logical conclusion is that the case for the reliability of the New Testament is infinitely stronger than for any other record of antiquity.”

Manuscripts of Antiquity

Manuscripts of NT

Manuscript Evidence A. T. Robertson – There are more than 13,000 copies of complete works of the NT. This does not include the 10’s of thousands of fragments and partials This does not include the quotations by early church fathers This does not count the 76 complete papyri of the entire NT.

Manuscript Evidence Sir Fredric Kenyon – “The interval then between the dates of the original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the NT may be regarded as finally established.”

Dating of NT Documents Dating procedures for these documents include: Materials used Letter size and form Punctuation Text divisions Ornamentation Color of ink Texture and color of the parchment

Famous Early Documents John Ryland – a 2.5 X 3.5 inches – contains John 18:31-33 – from 117-138 AD Chester Beatty Papyri – A book of more than 220 pages, 10 X 8 inches – 200 AD Bodmer Papyrus – Earliest known copy of Luke and John – printed in uncials – 175-225 AD

Famous Early Documents Codex Sinaiticus – 350 Codex Vaticanus – 325 – 250 AD Many others – too numerous to list all

Supported by Church Fathers Tertullian – 160 – 220 Origen – 185 – 253 – more than 6,000 writings Ignatius – 70 – 110 Polycarp – 65 – 155 – Student of John Iraneaus – 180 – Student of Polycarp Josephus – 37-100 – Jewish historian

Early Church Fathers Eusebius – 130 – “Mark, having been the interpreter of Peter wrote down accurately all that he (Peter) mentioned, whether saying or doings of Christ, not, however, in order. For he was neither a hearer nor a companion of the Lord; but afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who adapted his teachings as necessity required, not as though he were making a compilation of the sayings of the Lord.”

Early Church Fathers Iraneaus – (180) – He was a student of Polycarp, who was a student of John. Iraneaus became the bishop of Lyons (now part of France). He converted almost the entire population of Lyons and sent other missionaries to other parts of pagan Europe. Polycarp – (70-156) – He was a disciple of John. He was burned at the stake at 86 years of age.

NT Evidence Luke 1:1-3 – Some who followed Christ wrote of his life 2 Peter 1:16 – “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” 1 John 1:3 – “That which we have seen and heard” Acts 2:22 – “Miracles God did in your midst”

NT Evidence John 20:30-31 – Signs done in the presence of his disciples Luke 3:1-2 – All the current leaders are listed by name and title Acts 26:24-26 – Apostles did not do things hidden, “in a corner”

F. F. Bruce “Indeed, the evidence is that the early Christians were careful to distinguish between the saying of Jesus and their own inferences or judgments. Paul, for example, when discussing the vexed questions of marriage and divorce in 1 Corinthians 7, is careful to make this distinction between his own advice on the subject and the Lord’s decisive ruling: ‘I, not the Lord’’ and again, ‘Not I, but the Lord.’”

OT Reliability Not as many manuscripts as the NT The Talmudists – (100-500 AD) Jews who spent time cataloging civil and religious law They had an intricate system for transcribing scrolls for the synagogues

Talmudist Rules Only written on skins of clean animals Fastened together with strings from clean animals Prepared for the use in synagogues only Every skin must contain a certain number of columns, equal throughout the codex Ink should be black – not red, green or other colors

Talmudist Rules Each column must be at least 48 letters Each column should not be more then 60 lines The original must be an authentic copy Space between every consonant – a hairs breadth Name of God must be written with a new pen, newly dipped in ink

Talmudist Rules Never allow an interruption during the writing of a name of God Even if the king speaks to you Write the name of God with washed hands If any rules are broken – the scroll must be burned, destroyed or just used in a school for practice

Massoretic Period (500-990) Massorites – Word means “tradition” They sought to hold on to the tradition of using Hebrew – as it became a dead language They added vowel markings to insure proper pronunciation

Massoretic Period (500-990) They also added the calculations to insure accuracy They counted letters per line They counted words per line They counted lines per page The counted words per page All the totals were checked against the authentic document being copied

Archaeology for OT Walls of Jericho – Garstand – “As to the main fact, the, there remains no doubt; the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers would be able to clamber over their ruins into the city.”

Archaeology for OT Sodom and Gomorrah – W. F. Albright, M. G. Kyle – They found at the southeast corner of the Dead Sea five oases made fresh water streams, and centrally located “high place” for religious festivals. The pottery found in that area dated between 2500 and 2000 BC. Thousands of other examples could be cited.

OT Reliability Robert Dick Wilson – “In 144 cases of transliteration from Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Moabite into Hebrew and in 40 cases of the opposite, or 184 cases in all, the evidence shows that for the 2300 to 3900 years the text of the proper names in the Hebrew Bible has been transmitted with the most minute accuracy.”

The Hebrew Text Cairo Codex – 895 AD – This book is a Massoretic text of the Old Testament. It is kept in the British Museum. Codex Babylonicus – Earliest complete OT – 1008 AD – This codex is at a museum in St. Petersburg, Russia Aleppo Codex – 900 AD – It was discovered in 1958 British Museum Codex – 950 AD – This book contains Genesis through Deuteronomy

Dead Sea Scrolls 40,000 fragments located here 500 complete books Every book in the OT was found here except Esther There are commentaries on almost every OT book Discovered in 1947

Dead Sea Scrolls City of Qumran Occupied by Essenes – strict sect seeking to preserve the Jewish religion Leather scrolls preserved in clay jars, sealed tops Value of the Dead Sea Scrolls Isaiah scroll from around 150 BC 1,000 years older than previously known No significant changes in the text

Conclusions: New Testament Old Testament We have the Word of God. The evidence is overwhelming. The books of the NT are reliable. Old Testament The documents are reliable Archaeology supports the OT We have the Word of God.