Are New Testament Copies Reliable?
The original New Testament manuscripts were handwritten on papyrus, a paper-like material which deteriorated rapidly as they were used to make hundreds of copies for dozens of churches and thousands of believers in the 1st century. Although none of the originals exist today, the same is true for all ancient historical documents—Christian or secular.
As the church spread throughout the Roman world, hundreds of copies of the originals were made by various scribes, who meticulously attempted to duplicate the original document. Yet, because slight copying errors occasionally occurred, how do we know whether copies, and copies of copies we have today are reliable, faithfully representing writings of the original authors of the New Testament?
Scholars studying ancient literature have devised the science of textual criticism, using three tests to determine the accuracy of manuscripts, and their faithfulness to the original writings:9
- Bibliographical test
- Internal evidence test
- External evidence test
Let’s see what happens when we apply these essential tests to the New Testament manuscript copies in existence today.
Click here to read page 6 of 10 about “Are the Gospel Accounts of Jesus True?”