Updated American Standard Version
Giving Bible readers what God said not what translators think God meant
As we have noted elsewhere in other articles, the textual scholar looks at two forms of evidence: external (manuscripts) and internal (what the author or scribe wrote). Internal evidence concerns what might have led to scribal errors. Therefore, we will discuss scribal practices and tendencies, to get an image of how the Word of God came down to us by way of the copyist.
Within just a few short decades after the death of the apostle John, divisions were already evident among the early Christians. About 187 AD Irenaeus listed twenty varieties of Christianity; about 384 AD Epiphanius counted eighty.
This article may be somewhat controversial because many modern textual scholars are not certain (sure or confident) that we can get back to the original text.
Today there are about two billion people who call themselves Christians, who own or are aware of the Bible. Most are unaware of just how that book came down to them, yet many if not most would acknowledge that it is inspired by God and free of errors and contradictions.
Paul was the author of fourteen letters within the Greek New Testament.[1] Paul’s earliest letters were 1 Thessalonians (50 C.E.), 2 Thessalonians (51 C.E.), Galatians (50-52 C.E.), 1&2 Corinthians (55 C.E.), Romans (56 C.E.), Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (60-61 C.E.), Hebrews (61 C.E.), 1 Timothy, and Titus (61-64 C.E.). 2 Timothy was penned last, about 65 C.E. This means that the apostle Peter could have been aware of at least thirteen out of fourteen Pauline letters at the time of his penning 2 Peter in 64 C.E., in which he writes,
Many modern-day historians and textual scholars claim that the early Christians did not view the New Testament books as inspired. Was the canonicity, authenticity, and integrity of the 27 New Testament Bible Books built into Christianity right from the very start? What is the truth?
Rome was a complex society. Levels of literacy were fluid because of the conditions of the day being as culturally and ethnically diverse as it was. The Roman Empire from the first century to the fourth century was as culturally and ethnically diverse as New York City and its five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. "Jesus was born in such a literate, well-documented period." - Paul Barnett, Is the New Testament Reliable? (2003, 20).
Below is a short overview of the copying process of the Greek text of the New Testament. We will cover its transmission in the Greek of the time, as well as other languages that it has been translated into; not to mention the trustworthiness of the critical text that we have today.
What is inspiration? What is involved in being moved along by the Holy Spirit? What is inerrancy? Was Tertius, Paul’s scribe capable in his human imperfection to go without making one single scribal error for 7,000+ words? Did Tertius take Paul’s exact dictation, word for word? Were both Paul and Tertius inspired, or just Paul? Was Tertius more of a co-author with Paul, Silvanus with Peter, Baruch with Jeremiah? If Paul alone was inspired, how does the imperfection of Tertius affect inerrancy? What about Phoebe; what role did the carrier have in the process? These and many other questions are answered herein.
One of the greatest tragedies in the modern-day history of Christianity [1880 - present] is that churchgoers have not been educated about the history of the New Testament text.