This provides an excellent illustration for those interested:
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt ...
...snip...
... and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
People are often times in fearful shock with I inform them that the Greek manuscripts that preserve the New Testament have over 400,000 variants. The above paragraph well illustrates what is at stake with variants. Does anyone have a difficult time understanding the above paragraph? If not, you will find the Greek manuscripts a breath of fresh air compared to the above paragraph. At a quick glance, I count 69 words in the above paragraph with 34 variants or errors in spelling. But what is at stake? What can be disputed?
What is comforting with the 400,000 variants in the manuscripts that support the New Testament is this: what are the odds of finding one more manuscript that will alter the meaning of the existing New Testament. That is, we already have over 5,700 Greek manuscripts, and comparing these to each other, there are over 400,000 variants; what would be the odds of finding a new Greek manuscript (written back in the first century) that will significantly alter the meaning of the Bible. In fact, as we find more and more Greek manuscripts, the number of variants goes up and up, and yet despite all this, the ability to piece together what the original New Testament said becomes EASIER AND EASIER.
Assume the jumbled paragraph above is a copy of an original paragraph, and we wanted to determine what the original paragraph actually said. With just this one copy we can get pretty close. But if we were to find another paragraph written with such atrocities, we would at least have another source to compare it to in determining what the original paragraph actually said. If we were to find 5,000 such poorly written paragraphs, we could with relative certainty reproduce the original document.
The next time someone tells you that the Bible is full of mistakes, you better thank your lucky stars that that is indeed the truth, for without that very fact we would be at a loss in reconstructing the original New Testament. It is this unusual fact that gives evidence to a supernatural preservation of the Bible. How? 400,000 errors and not one cardinal doctrine is at stake!
As a side note, I had the opportunity to "talk" (via email) with one of the world's leading critics of our New Testament, Dr. Bart Ehrman of Duke Divinity School. In his own words, although with much reluctance, he conceded that "we can reproduce over 95 percent of what the New Testament originally said." To which Dr. Dan Wallace of Dallas Seminary adds, "...and not one major doctrine of the Christian faith is at stake within HIS disputed 5 percent." (What Dr. Wallace means by "HIS disputed 5 percent" is that most conservative scholars content that the original New Testament can be reconstructed to within 99.6 percent. As more manuscripts are dug up, that percent will approach 100 percent and beyond.)
By the way, Dan contends we have about 103% of the New Testament. We now need to remove the dross.
Just some thoughts,
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt ...
...snip...
... and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
People are often times in fearful shock with I inform them that the Greek manuscripts that preserve the New Testament have over 400,000 variants. The above paragraph well illustrates what is at stake with variants. Does anyone have a difficult time understanding the above paragraph? If not, you will find the Greek manuscripts a breath of fresh air compared to the above paragraph. At a quick glance, I count 69 words in the above paragraph with 34 variants or errors in spelling. But what is at stake? What can be disputed?
What is comforting with the 400,000 variants in the manuscripts that support the New Testament is this: what are the odds of finding one more manuscript that will alter the meaning of the existing New Testament. That is, we already have over 5,700 Greek manuscripts, and comparing these to each other, there are over 400,000 variants; what would be the odds of finding a new Greek manuscript (written back in the first century) that will significantly alter the meaning of the Bible. In fact, as we find more and more Greek manuscripts, the number of variants goes up and up, and yet despite all this, the ability to piece together what the original New Testament said becomes EASIER AND EASIER.
Assume the jumbled paragraph above is a copy of an original paragraph, and we wanted to determine what the original paragraph actually said. With just this one copy we can get pretty close. But if we were to find another paragraph written with such atrocities, we would at least have another source to compare it to in determining what the original paragraph actually said. If we were to find 5,000 such poorly written paragraphs, we could with relative certainty reproduce the original document.
The next time someone tells you that the Bible is full of mistakes, you better thank your lucky stars that that is indeed the truth, for without that very fact we would be at a loss in reconstructing the original New Testament. It is this unusual fact that gives evidence to a supernatural preservation of the Bible. How? 400,000 errors and not one cardinal doctrine is at stake!
As a side note, I had the opportunity to "talk" (via email) with one of the world's leading critics of our New Testament, Dr. Bart Ehrman of Duke Divinity School. In his own words, although with much reluctance, he conceded that "we can reproduce over 95 percent of what the New Testament originally said." To which Dr. Dan Wallace of Dallas Seminary adds, "...and not one major doctrine of the Christian faith is at stake within HIS disputed 5 percent." (What Dr. Wallace means by "HIS disputed 5 percent" is that most conservative scholars content that the original New Testament can be reconstructed to within 99.6 percent. As more manuscripts are dug up, that percent will approach 100 percent and beyond.)
By the way, Dan contends we have about 103% of the New Testament. We now need to remove the dross.
Just some thoughts,
