A very different book

1. A very DifferentBook – 15th
July2016
“Jesuswent throughoutGalilee,teachingintheir synagogues,proclaimingthegoodnews ofthe
kingdom,andhealingevery disease andsickness amongthe people”( Matthew 4:23().
Evenas a Christianoras a on Christian,one maywantto know:“Why shouldwe trustthis"holybook"
any more than anyotherspiritual,religiousorphilosophical treatise?Let'stake alook!The Bible is
unquestionablythe world'sall-time bestsellerwithanestimated2billioncopiesinprint.The Bible was
completedinitsentiretynearly2,000 yearsago and standstodayas the best-preservedliteraryworkof
all antiquity,withover24,000 ancientNew Testamentmanuscriptsdiscoveredsofar(compare thiswith
the secondbest-preservedliteraryworkof all antiquity,Homer's Iliad,withonly643 preserved
manuscriptsdiscoveredthusfar).The printingpresswasn'tinventeduntilthe 1450's, but we have hand-
writtencopiesof the OldTestamentdatingbacktothe 200's BC. Remarkably,these ancientmanuscripts
are nearlyidentical tothe Bible we readtoday.
As faras the NewTestament,the BodmerPapyrusIIcontainsmostof the Gospel of Johnand datesfrom
around150-200 AD.The ChesterBeattyPapyri containsmajorportionsof the New Testamentanddates
back to about200 AD.The Codex Vaticanus,the oldestcompleteNew Testamentmanuscriptwe've
discoveredsofar,datesfrom325-350 AD. The apostle John,wholivedwithJesusandlearnedfrom
Jesus,pennedfive New Testamentbooks anddiedin100 AD.We have fragmentsof John'sGospel that
date from 110-130 AD, within30 yearsof hisdeath.Whencomparedto otherancientworkssuchas
Plato,Homeror Tacitus,that short time periodbetweenthe original andthe mostrecentcopyis
dramatic!
Clementof Rome wasmartyredin100 AD.In hiswritings,he quotedfromMatthew,Mark,Luke,Acts,1
Corinthians,1Peter,Hebrews,andTitus.Clement'squotestotallycorrespondwiththe Biblewe read
today.In fact,evenif we lostall of the 5,300 earlyGreekmanuscripts,all of the 10,000 Latin vulgates,
and all of the 9,300 otherancientmanuscripts,we wouldbe able toreconstructall but11 versesof the
NewTestamentfromthe writingsof the earlyChurchleaderswhoquotedfromthemextensively.We
have over36,000 preservedquotesfromthe New Testament.Inanutshell,the Bible standstodayasthe
best-preservedliteraryworkof all antiquity anditsoverall reliabilityiswithoutquestion!
Whenit comesto Bible truth,manycriticsargue that the earlyChurch deliberatelycorruptedthe Bible's
textforits ownagenda.Asfor thisargument,askyourself one question:wouldagroupof menwho
were willingtosuffer‘terrible persecution’anddie horribledeathsindefenseof the Scripturesbe guilty
of corruptingthose verysame Scriptures?That'slunacy!If theycorruptedthe Scriptures,orknowingly
allowedthemtobe corrupted,thatwouldmeantheyknowinglysufferedanddiedforalie!Noone
suffersanddiesfora lie!