Textual Integrity Of The Bible

Textual Integrity Of The Bible

Is the Bible that we have in our hands today unchanged? Or has it undergone extensive revisions and alterations? Truth is the first victim in the Christian apologetical literature. This is because if they tell the truth about the Church history and its role in formulating the Bible (or Bibles) as well as the manuscript tradition of the New Testament, belief in the Bible as the "Word" of God would take the beating and the Churches would go absolutely empty. Hence it is not be surprising to find an average Christian's knowledge about his own scriptures is pretty close to zero.
This page is to educate the Muslims about the Bible of the Christians, concerning mainly with its compilation and textual reliability. It is often seen that Christian missionaries dupe less-knowledgeable Muslims about the Bible by saying that the Qur'an confirms the Bible and hence Muslims should believe in the Bible. Muslims should remember that the Qur'an attests Torah, Zabur and Injil as revelations from God given to the Prophet. It does not attest whatever writers of the Old Testament or St. Paul in the New Testament wrote or said.
But what is the textual reliability of the so-called Torah, Zabur and Injil present in the modern Bibles? The aim of this page is to venture into this issue. If one can't establish the 'revealed' books' textual reliability, is there any point calling it as the Word of God?
Lastly, we have made sure that we use the references of Judeo-Christian scholars of repute not the apologetical literature for very obvious reasons.
The Canon Of The Bible

 A detailed discussion about the various canons of the Bible drawn at various times by different Churches can be seen here.

The New Testament Manuscripts

 Click here for New Testament Manuscripts

Was The Bible Same As We have In Our Hands Today?

 Church Tradition and The Textual Integrity Of The Bible

1. Church Tradition and The Bible
   
   1. Protestant Church
   2. Roman Catholic Church
   3. Anglican Church
   4. Greek Orthodox Church
   5. Coptic Church
   6. Ethiopic Church
   7. Syriac Church
2. Church Tradition and Apostolic Fathers
   
   1. Clement Of Rome
   2. Ignatius Of Antioch
   3. The Didache
   4. Papias Of Heirapolis
   5. Barnabas
   6. Polycarp Of Smyrna
   7. Hermas Of Rome
   8. The So-Called Second Epistle Of Clement
3. Church Tradition and The Early Lists Of The Books Of The New Testament
4. Church Tradition and 'Inspiration' Of New Testament Books
   
   1. The Didache
   2. Epistle Of Clement
   3. Epistle Of Barnabas
   4. Shepherd Of Hermas
5. Church Tradition and Manuscripts
6. Church Tradition and The Six 'Disputed' Books

 Extracts From The Book How We Got Our Bible

The Bible and Its 'Inspiration'

 Was Paul Inspired?
 Church Tradition and 'Inspiration' Of New Testament Books

1. The Didache
2. Epistle Of Clement
3. Epistle Of Barnabas
4. Shepherd Of Hermas

 'Accuracy' Of The New Testament

Textual Reliability Of The Bible - Who Is Afraid Of Textual Criticism?

 Criteria Used In Choosing Among Conflicting Readings In New Testament Witnesses

1. Introduction
2. The Criteria
3. Outline Of Criteria
   
   1. External Evidence
   2. Internal Evidence
4. Some Examples

 Textual Reliability / Accuracy Of The New Testament
 Sir David Dalrymple (Lord Hailes), The Patristic Citations Of The Ante-Nicene Church Fathers And The Search For Eleven Missing Verses Of The New Testament
Based on a narrative whose source is alleged to have been the renowned Scottish Judge Sir David Dalrymple (Lord Hailes), it is frequently asserted that the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from the citations of the Church Fathers of the first three centuries, with the exception of only eleven verses. Going back to the original documents, something which none of the authors have attempted to study, it is shown that the data in them clearly disproves this claim – repeated in numerous missionary and apologetical publications for a period of more than 165 years.

• Introduction
• Historical And Theological Antecedents
• An Anecdote
  • A Brief Chronology
  • Oral Source And Printed Transmission
• Dalrymple's Invitation: Some Preliminary Observations
  • MSS. 25396-399 ‘Interleaved Collation’
  • MSS. 25400-408 ‘Supplemental Collation’
  • MSS. 25409-410 ‘Loose Leaf Collation’
  • Results
  • Some Remarks
  • Lost In Transmission?
• Conclusions

 Modern Approaches To New Testament Textual Criticism

1. Radical Eclecticism (G. D. Kilpatrick, J. K. Elliott) 
2. Reasoned Eclecticism (B. M. Metzger, K. Aland) 
3. Reasoned Conservatism (H. A. Sturz) 
4. Radical Conservatism (Z. Hodges, A. Farstad)

 Critical Text Of The New Testament: Methodology and Implications

1. Introduction
2. Formation Of A Critical Text: Methodology and Implications
3. Conclusion
4. Appendix: Other Articles Of Interest

 The Multivalence Of The Term "Original Text" In New Testament Textual Criticism, E. Jay Epp, Harvard Theological Review, 1999, Volume 92, No. 3. pp. 245-281.

1. Introduction
2. The Use of the Term "Original Text" Past and Present and Its Multivalence
3. The Relation of an Elusive, Multivalent "Original Text" to the Concept of "Canon"
4. Conclusion

 Who Is Afraid Of Textual Criticism?

1. Variant Readings In The Qur'an and In The Bible
   
   1. The Qur'an, Its Variant Readings and Islamic Scholarship
   2. The New Testament, Its Problems and The Critical Texts
2. Textual Criticism and The Reaction Of The Church
   
   1. J Mill
   2. R Bentley
   3. J J Wettstein
   4. B F Westcott and J A Hort