How the Bible Text in the Original Language was Reliably Reconstructed Using Textual Criticism

Reconstruction of the Bible Text Using Textual Criticism

When textual critics have lots of manuscripts by which to make comparisons of variant readings, and those manuscripts come from various places and times, are able to reconstruct the autographs of ancient texts with a high degree of confidence. So, how does the Bible measure up? Quite well as it turns out. For considerations of time and space, I will limit my remarks here to the New Testament, though similar conclusions can be reached regarding the Old Testament. 

The truth of the matter is that the text of no ancient book can be authenticated more contently than the New Testament. It is well-known that we have over 5000 manuscript copies of the Greek New Testament or parts thereof. That is much more than enough to make accurate comparisons of variant readings. And many of these copies are very close to the originals in time. 

By way of comparison, we may note that the next best attested ancient document, Homer’s Iliad, only has 643 surviving copies. Yet the Iliad is considered to have been transmitted through history with over 95% accuracy. 

In addition, we have copies of parts of the New Testament that are dated as early as the second or third centuries, and some fragments that are as early A.D. 125, no more than a generation after the original writing. Again, comparison with the Iliad is illuminating. The earliest copy of the Iliad is dated 400 B.C., 500 years after Homer wrote it. But, again, no one seriously doubts that we have the Iliad today essentially in the form Homer composed it. 

Scholars agree that, with regard to the New Testament, 99% of its text is beyond a reasonable doubt. And the small percentage that might be questionable touches on no doctrinal or ethical matters. For all intents and purposes, we have what the New Testament writers actually wrote. So, the critics have no basis whatsoever for claiming that the biblical text is corrupted beyond repair.

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