Manuscript Evidence for the ! 2006 North Point Ministries, Inc.Reliability of the New TestamentPage 1 of 1

MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE FOR THERELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

When compared to other ancient works of literature, the existing manuscripts of the NewTestament documents in today’s museums date back further, are of higher quality, and exist inmuch greater numbers as the following chart demonstrates.

Author & Work Date ofComposition

EarliestManuscript

CopyYears From

Original Copies

Julius Caesar, TheGallic Wars 50 B.C. A.D. 900 950 10

Tacitus, The Annals A.D. 100 A.D. 850 750 20Josephus, Antiquities of

the Jews A.D. 95 A.D. 1050 1000 Less than 30Josephus, The Jewish

War A.D. 80 A.D. 950 870 Less than 30Pliny the Younger,

History A.D. 110 A.D. 850 740 7Seutonius, The Lives of

the Caesars A.D. 120 A.D. 850 730 8

Herodotus, History 485-425 B.C. A.D. 900 1300 8

Thucydides, History 460-400 B.C. A.D. 900 1300 20

Plato, Tetralogies 427-347 B.C. A.D. 900 1200 7

Aristotle, Ode to Poetics 384-322 B.C. A.D. 1100 1400 49

Homer, The Illiad 800 B.C. A.D. 100 900 643

New Testament A.D. 50-95 A.D. 125 About 50 5,000+(in Greek)

Note: Though these dates are approximate, the vast majority of historians accept them.

Are the Gospel Accounts Reliable? ! 2006 North Point Ministries, Inc. Page 1 of 2

ARE THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS RELIABLE? The majority of information about Christ’s life is found in four documents: the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If we are to believe Jesus is who he said he was, we must first determine the historical trustworthiness of these four documents. Because the gospels are ancient documents, historians often employ three tests to determine reliability (this would be true of any ancient document):

1. Manuscript test: How many manuscript copies do we have today and how far removed are they from the original documents?

2. External test: How do the documents square or align themselves with facts, dates, and persons from other contemporary documents or archeology?

3. Internal test: What do the documents claim for themselves? Are they internally coherent? Are there any contradictions? What is the character of the authors?

Using these tests, we find that the gospel accounts are reliable as historical, factual documents and one can believe that what they say about Christ is true. 1. Manuscript test. Perhaps the most tangible method for evaluating the manuscript evidence is a comparison of the New Testament to other historical documents from the same time period (see article on Manuscript Evidence). One example is The Annals written by Tacitus in A.D. 100; the earliest manuscript is dated about A.D. 850 and a total of 20 copies have been found. One thousand years separate the original document and the oldest manuscripts of this important Roman work, yet historians commonly accept it as reliable. On the other hand, over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of entire books and fragments of the New Testament have been found. One complete copy of the New Testament (Codex Sinaiticus) is only 300 years removed from the originals, and a fragment of John (Rylands Papyrus: P52) found in Egypt has been dated to only 40 years removed from the original. When compared to any other ancient document, the manuscript evidence for the New Testament presents an overwhelming case for reliability. 2. External test. Three external areas of evidence may be briefly mentioned. First, the dates, geography, and description of first century Palestine in the gospels square well with what is known from other ancient documents. Second, archeology continues to confirm the gospel accounts as well, such as the excavation of the synagogue in Capernaum, Jacob’s well at Sychar, the pool of Bethsaida with its five porticos in Jerusalem, and the pool of Siloam, also in Jerusalem. Third, numerous extra-Biblical sources, such as Tacitus, Seutonius, the Jewish Talmud, and Josephus, witness to the person of Christ and basic characteristics of his life. In short, the external evidence corroborates the historicity of the gospels and provides another compelling basis for their reliability.

Why the Bloody Sacrificial System? ! 2006 North Point Ministries, Inc.Page 1 of 2

WHY THE BLOODY SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM?At first glance, there are many things about Christianity that seem impractical, or even

eccentric. One example is the presence of graphic violence and gore, especially in the OldTestament. People wonder, “How could a loving God be involved in such tales?” To makematters worse, God was not only involved in this violence, he prescribed much of it. The bloodysacrificial system outlined in Leviticus contains detailed instructions for slaughtering animals,skinning them, and burning their flesh “as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” Pleasing!? Imagine ifsuch practices were a part of church today. Clearly, the people of that era simply weren’t ascivilized as we are now, right? Has God changed? Did he used to have more of a dark side?

Even though it seems harsh and unsophisticated to our generation, the toughest part toaccept is the fact that God directed it. While people and cultures might have changed over theyears, God hasn’t. There’s no doubt that these practices actually happened. So why would Godapprove them, much less institute them?

Drastic times require drastic measures. And while God created a world that wholly good andperfect, something went terribly wrong. Humans sinned. And that prompted God to takeextreme action. Although he couldn’t compromise his holiness by accepting sin and evil, hecould take steps to destroy sin and free us from its tyranny in the process. The practice ofatoning sacrifice was implemented to deal with the transgressions of sinful people whom Godlonged to restore.

The concept of sacrifice was common in the ancient world. Stories of people offeringsacrifices to their god(s) abound in virtually every culture of the ancient Near East. The Bibleitself presents a long history of the practice going all the way back to Cain and Abel. So therewas nothing strange about people giving gifts of food or animals to the gods they worshipped.But with the emergence of Israel as a nation, God himself established the sacrificial system in anew and profound way. Though God had saved Israel from slavery and given them a Law to liveby, he knew that they would continue to sin against him. Because God is holy and just, he couldnot simply ignore their sin, but needed to judge it (we wouldn’t ask a jury to ignore murder!).Thus, when people disobeyed God, he permitted them to offer sacrifices as a temporary measureto address the penalty of their sin. Sacrifice wasn’t for his benefit, but theirs.

The primary purpose of a sacrifice was atonement, which means, “to cover.” Accordingly,the blood of a sacrifice covered the sin of a sinner such that God accepted the death of an animalas the penalty, rather than exacting it from the sinner. A sacrificial animal needed to be perfect,and the sinner laid hands upon the animal symbolizing a confession of sin and transfer of guilt.Repentance and the disposition of one’s heart were crucial. A sacrifice made with insincerity wasdetestable to God (Proverbs 21:27).

What About the Apocrypha? ! 2006 North Point Ministries, Inc. Page 1 of 2

WHY DOES GOD APPROVE OF WAR AND VIOLENCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?

Frankly, parts of the Old Testament are sometimes difficult to accept, especially as they relate to God’s character. Take his command to King Saul of Israel: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (1 Samuel 15:3, TNIV). Camels and donkeys? Children and infants? Or how about this statement regarding Israel’s destruction of Jericho at God’s prompting: “They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” (Joshua 6:21, TNIV)? Is the God of the Old Testament a lover of war and destruction? Is God a warmonger who arbitrarily takes out his frustration? Reading certain passages, one could get this impression. This issue presents quite a challenge for Christians who have come to believe that love is the defining attribute of God. Even more so, these passages often propagate the doubts of non-Christians who are skeptical of God in the first place. But perhaps the issue of God and war in the Old Testament is more complex than we realize. Could there be other factors that we need to take into consideration? Before we judge God’s character based on a few verses, let’s examine the matter a little closer. For starters, God often used warfare as an instrument of justice. The people that God commanded Israel to fight against had often committed extremely wicked acts. For example, the aforementioned Amalekites had attacked the Israelites in an especially atrocious way. Moses later reminded them: “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God” (Deuteronomy 25:17-18). Rather than waging war against the army of Israel, the Amalekites attacked the women, children, sick, and elderly after the soldiers and healthy men had passed by. Other nations that Israel fought practiced child sacrifice, tortured prisoners of war, and engaged in rampant prostitution and perverse sexual acts. Therefore, it’s important to recognize that God did not randomly “pick on” innocent nations. Rather, he often used Israel to execute justice upon people who were thoroughly sinful. And lest God be accused of favoritism, he also used other nations to conquer and judge Israel itself for its sins. Second, while God sometimes used warfare to bring justice upon entire societies, political structures, and nations, it does not mean he judged every specific person who was part of that nation. Rather, the societal values that produced these detestable acts were the target of God’s actions. Unfortunately, some “innocent” people faced the consequences, but such are the ramifications of living in a world entirely stained by human sin. A modern day example of this phenomenon is World War II. Most would agree that the nations of Germany and Japan needed

How Was the Bible Formed? ! 2006 North Point Ministries, Inc.Page 1 of 2

HOW WAS THE BIBLE FORMED?The Bible is an assorted collection of ancient writings. Christians believe there is something

special about these works because God orchestrated their formation. Of course, ordinary peoplelike you and me wrote the various poems and letters and historical accounts that became books ofthe Bible. But somehow God inspired these writings, unlike any other works of literature, sothat they provide us with a unique and accurate picture of life, history, reality, and God himself.

This raises a question—if so much is riding on this collection of books, how do we know wehave the “right” books? What if God inspired someone, but their book didn’t make the cut? Orwhat if we got the wrong books and, consequently, our whole view of God is wrong?Fortunately, there’s ample historical documentation about the formation of the Bible that can beof great help as we tackle these challenging questions.

To begin with, little debate exist about the Old Testament. Early in their history, the Jewishpeople began to collect writings that were important to their history and faith. These includedthe Ten Commandments and the Law, originally given by God to Moses; historical documentsthat traced God’s relationship with humanity and Israel; poems, songs, and wisdom literaturethat Israel used for worship and character formation; and the messages of great prophets whomGod called to guide and correct the people.

By the time of Jesus, most Jews considered this collection of works authoritative. ThisHebrew Bible included thirty-nine different books (the same books Christians call the OldTestament, though in different order) and described events from the creation of the world untilroughly 400 B.C. Various other Jewish books, later called the Apocrypha, were written between400 B.C. and the time of Jesus, but Jews did not consider them as part of the authoritativecanon. Jesus himself only quoted from Old Testament books and never referenced theapocryphal writings. There remain some Christians today (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church)that include the Apocrypha in their Bibles, but neither Jews nor early Christians believed in theirauthority and we should follow their lead.

The development of the New Testament took place over the first few centuries of the earlychurch. Shortly after Jesus’ death, writings began to appear from a growing group of both Jewsand non-Jews who believed he was not only Israel’s messiah, but also a savior for the world.First, there were letters between these early Christians, mostly from a preacher named Paul to hisconverts. But as the movement grew and the stories of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection weretold over and over, some individuals accepted the responsibility to accurately record the greatevents that had unfolded around them. Thus, what emerged from the first century A.D. was anassortment of writings that included “gospel” accounts of Jesus’ life, teachings, and climacticdeath and resurrection; letters from church leaders to specific individuals or churches regarding

37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.

Numbers 15:37-41

Kanaf = borders of the prayer shawl

Tzitzit = tassles on end of prayer shawl

2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Malachi 4:2

Wings = Kanaf

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, Who was it that touched me? When all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you! 46 But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.

Luke 8:42-48

kra¿spedon, = kraspedon, n. edge, border, hem; tassel

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:38-42