Sisällys
Understanding God's word is of great importance to all who call on God's name. Study of the Bible is one of the primary ways that we learn to communicate with God.
The Bible stands alone in many ways. It is unique in:
popularity. Bible sales in North America: more than $500 million per year. The Bible is both the all-time and year-to-year best seller!
authorship. It was written over a period of 1600 years by 40 different authors from different backgrounds, yet reads as if written by one.
preservation. F. F. Bruce in Are New Testament Documents Reliable? compares New Testament manuscripts with other ancient texts:
Taulu 1.1. Uuden Testamentin käsikirjoituksen ja muiden muinaisten tekstien vertailu.
| Työ | Milloin kirjoitettu | Varhaisin kopio | Aikaväli | Kopioiden lukumäärä |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herodotus | 448-428 eKr. | 900 jKr. | 1300 vuotta | 8 |
| Tacitus | 100 jKr. | 1100 jKr. | 1000 vuotta | 20 |
| Caesarin Gallialainen sota | 50-58 eKr. | 900 jKr. | 950 vuotta | 10 |
| Livyn Rooman historia | 59 eKr. - 17 jKr. | 900 jKr. | 900 vuotta | 20 |
| Uusi Testamentti | 40 jKr. - 100 jKr. | 130 jKr. osittaiset käsikirjoitukset 350 jKr. täydet käsikirjoitukset | 30 - 310 vuotta | 5000 kreikkaa & 10,000 latinaa |
Ten copies of Caesar's Gallic War exist, the earliest of which was copied 900 years after Caesar wrote the original, etc. For the New Testament we have full manuscripts dating to 350 A. D., papyri containing most of the New Testament from the 200s, and a fragment of John's gospel from 130 A. D. How many manuscripts do we have to compare to each other? 5,000 in Greek and 10,000 in Latin!
"Todisteiden totuudellisuuteen ja täydellisyyteen nojaten Uuden Testamentin tekstit ovat abosluuttisesti ja kansantajuissesti yksin muiden muinaisten proosatekstien joukossa." | ||
| --Textual critic F. J. A. Hort, "The New Testament in the Original Greek", vol. 1 p561, Macmillan Co., quoted in Questions of Lifep. 25-26 | ||