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Word of the Week: Manuscripts (Inspiration Revisited)

In last week’s post on the doctrine of Inspiration, we focused on the biblical claim that the Scriptures have been inspired by God. In this week’s post, we will go a little deeper into this important topic by highlighting the quality of the manuscripts that we have for the biblical texts.

I’m confident that the Bible we have (66 books with about 40 authors over 1500 years of writing) is God’s inspired Word. But just because I’m confident doesn’t mean everyone else is confident. Textual criticism is that discipline that investigates the content and reliability of ancient texts. It is a discipline used for other manuscripts, but primarily associated with the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. If it is right to hold a high view of the inspiration of Scripture (that God is the author), then it should follow that the manuscripts we have for comparison purposes would not disagree with one another and create uncertainty in the meaning of the text. Can we have confidence in the manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments?

Here are some basic facts about the manuscripts we do have. You can find out more on this subject from Jonathan Morrow’s book, Questioning the Bible: 11 Major Challenges to the Bible’s Authority.

  • There are 5,756 New Testament manuscripts that can be compared and contrasted for quality and consistency purposes. Other ancient writings for a comparable time and place are as follows: Greek historian Herodotus, 109 manuscripts; Greek historian Thucydides, 95 manuscripts; Greek philosopher Plato, 219 manuscripts; Roman historian Livy, 150 manuscripts; Roman historian Tacitus, 31 manuscripts; Roman historian Seutonius, 300 manuscripts; Greek classic Homer’s Iliad, 2300 manuscripts. The sheer number of New Testament manuscripts affords confidence that the documents we are reading today are consistent with the original manuscripts.
  • The NT manuscripts are significantly earlier than other ancient literature, within 35 years in at least one case and all of the NT within 200 years of the events.
  • While there are variations between the manuscripts, they do not distort the consistency or meaning of the New Testament. Bart Ehrman, professor and author of Misquoting Jesus, claims 400,000 variants within the New Testament manuscripts. Ehrman uses this number to undercut the confidence in the New Testament documents. Essentially, he reasons if there are so many variants, how can we be confident in the accuracy of the text? However, Ehrman fails to look into the types of variations carefully. According to Jonathan Morrow, “A variant is any place among the existing NT manuscripts where there is not uniformity of wording” (p. 98). A variant then could be a misspelled word in 1 manuscript different from 2,000 manuscripts. This would count as 2,000 variants. Morrow notes, “the reason we have so many variants is because we have so many manuscripts to work with” (p. 98).
  • Note the types of variation within the New Testament manuscripts:
    1) Spelling=70-80% of all the variants.
    2) Minor differences such as word order or the use of the definite article with a proper name.
    3) Meaningful, but not viable differences such as, “gospel of God” vs. “gospel of Christ.”
    4) Meaningful and viable differences such as “let us have peace with God” vs. “we have peace with God” (less than 1% are meaningful and viable). 
  • The Old Testament manuscripts and the and the Dead Sea Scrolls affirm that the copyists of the OT were careful, and that the OT that we do have is consistent with the earliest manuscripts. According to Douglas Stuart, it is a safe estimate that 99% of original words in NT and 95% of original words in OT are recoverable (quoted by Jonathan Morrow in Questioning the Bible). In essence, we can be confident that we have the Word of God.
  • These basic facts can be found in Questioning the Bible, by Jonathan Morrow pages 96-105.

The Old and New Testaments have been questioned and critiqued for millennia. Particularly, the New Testament has faced textual and source criticism aimed at discounting its claims of the supernatural and the deity of Jesus. This critique should not surprise us. We live in a post-enlightenment age where we question and doubt anything that cannot be tested scientifically.

These facts about the New Testament manuscripts do not force one to believe the stories they relate. But here is what they do. The sheer number of manuscripts dating back so nearly to the occasions of writing provide confidence that the New Testament we are reading today was the same New Testament originally written.

If we can have confidence in the consistency and accuracy of the Old and New Testaments, then we cannot claim that over time the authors changed stories to build their case for the deity of Jesus or other theological concepts. What they wrote is what we have. You may or may not believe what they wrote. After all, that underscores the importance of faith that permeates Christianity.

But if we are honest with the data we have, we must accept that the biblical documents relate to us an accurate account of the original manuscripts. This becomes foundational to the doctrine of revelation regarding the inerrancy, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture.

A Memorial Day Meditation

As an American, Memorial Day reflects on the sacrifice of so many who won and kept our freedom. The roots of the celebration came after the American Civil War when it was first called “Decoration Day.” Memorial Day was celebrated for nearly 100 years after the Civil War, but it was not until in 1971 that day was standardized as the last Monday in May. As the unofficial beginning of summer, Memorial Day brings trips, travel, and family celebrations.

But as a special holiday in the life of our country, Memorial Day can teach us about more than just taking some time to relax. Here are some lessons we can apply from Memorial Day.

Allegiance. My friend and former teacher, Dr. Cameron Cloud wrote a piece last week entitled, Christians, Patriotism, and Idolatry. Cloud articulated, “Being a good citizen is part of being a good Christian, and being a good Christian makes me a better citizen.” He’s right. While some on the right and left make an idol of politics, politicians, and parties, Christians should be different. Christians should be good citizens who submit to the government because their primary allegiance to Jesus leads them to live out a healthy allegiance to family, church, and nation (see Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17).

Honor. In 1 Peter 2:17, the apostle wrote, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” To honor is to value and give others proper respect. Honor is all too rare these days. Our founders pledged their life, liberty, wealth, and honor in the War for Independence and to the fledgling country. Many military heroes (past and present) have served their country with honor and valor. For an astounding picture of honor, read the stories of Charlie Brown and Franz Stiegler in Adam Makos’ book A Higher Call. Brown was a B-27 bomber pilot whose mission over Germany in WWII resulted in the near destruction of his plane. Some of his crew were killed, two engines were out, his machine guns had frozen, and his rear stabilizing wing was gone. Brown’s B-27 was damaged and defenseless. When Franz Stiegler, a German fighter ace, flew behind the limping B-27, he acted with honor. Instead of finishing the bomber off, Steigler tried to get the bomber to land or fly to neutral Sweden. Eventually, because Stiegler flew in formation next to the bomber, he escorted the bomber over German flack fields and out over the Atlantic where they parted ways. The book details the stories of both men and the honor that permeated the act of chivalry. The ending of the book is fascinating. As followers of Jesus, honoring others is a command and should be part of our character.

Remembrance. This is the primary reason for Memorial Day. When we memorialize something/someone, we remember. Since the days of the War for Independence, those serving in the armed forces have bled and died for the freedoms we experience. Brave men and women have given everything to bring the freedoms we appreciate to other lands. It is right and appropriate that we remember their sacrifices. So as you grill out, enjoy friends, take a day off, or celebrate your freedoms, don’t forget that your freedoms weren’t free. Remember those who pledged their honor, valor, and lives to the cause of freedom.

Repentance. I’ve observed the political and national tensions of the past year. It appears that there are competing and irreconcilable visions for the United States. The political divisions coupled with the racial tensions have been especially difficult to watch. Accusations of anarchy and idolatrous nationalism have been made by members of various sides of the political spectrum. As citizens of a great country with enormous freedoms, the animosity and division is troubling. As citizens of a heavenly kingdom, we must realize that the solutions to our national problems do not ultimately reside in parties or politicians. These tensions (the pandemic, racial divisions, political animosities, international uncertainties, etc.) are all warnings. God is shouting loudly to his people through these events. He’s inviting us to repent. For repentance to precipitate a move of God, it must start with God’s people. Let this Memorial Day remind you to look yourself in the mirror, acknowledge your guilt, and repent of your sins.

I believe that God wants our everyday experiences (even our celebrations) to bring us to Him. Would you give God your attention this Memorial Day and apply these lessons to your life?

Photo by Tanner Ross on Unsplash