Quick Review
- Remember we are concentrating on the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
- As we continue an Apologist approach to our study and talk less on the faith aspect of Christianity, don't lose focus on how important faith is for a Christian (I keep reminding you this for a reason).
Chapter 3- Interview with Dr. Bruce Metzger
- I encourage each of you to check out the Wiki bio for Dr. Metzger. He is considered a very authoritative source on the New Testament on the canonization of the Bible.
- The question is posed that if no original copies of the Gospels still exist, have the original text been derogated from being copied numerous times?
- Dr. Metzger argues that the multiplicity of available manuscripts, some dating as far back as the 3rd Century, greatly deters the potential for derogation of the original text over time. The Gospels have been copied from an archive of over 5,000 Greek manuscripts and close to 20,000 manuscripts translated into other languages.
- The version of the New Testament that became canon and we use today has been reconciled from these numerous sources virtually eliminating any margin for error in the context of the writings.
- If a single source were used to copy, the chance of error would be greatly increased, but the size of the archives pertaining to sequential copies of the Bible being translated make scholars confident in the Books historical accuracy.
Other works from the period
- Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus (entry Tacitus on Christ) carried from a single manuscript
- The Jewish War by Josephus from 9 Greek manuscripts
- The Iliad by Homer from 650 Greek manuscripts (think the movie Troy for you anti-literary types....tsk, tsk)
- The Bible is by far the most prolific ancient writing known today
Next week we will finish Chapter 3 and focus on the canonization process of the Bible.
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