Lecture 19: Understanding the Formation and Preservation of the Bible

Overview

• Focus on why the Bible is considered different.
• Two main questions:
  1. How did the Bible form?
  2. How has it been preserved?

Formation of the Bible

Old Testament Apocrypha

• Catholic Bibles include additional books known as the Apocrypha.
• Apocrypha: Books written between 450 and 100 BC, during the intertestamental period.
• Examples: Esdras 1 & 2, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus.
• Historically, even Roman Catholics did not accept these books until 1546, during debates with Luther.
• Reasons for non-acceptance in Protestant Bibles:
  • Not considered scripture in Jesus’ time.
  • Not accepted by Jesus or early Jews.
  • Not quoted in the New Testament.
  • Early church fathers rejected them.
  • Teach heresy, e.g., salvation by works.
  • Included by Catholics in response to Protestant challenges.

New Testament and Gnostic Gospels

• Critical scholars question why some texts, like Gnostic Gospels, are not included.
• Gnosticism:
  • Originated from Platonic thought; split reality into good spiritual and bad physical.
  • Jesus perceived as a spirit to align with Gnostic beliefs.
  • Secret knowledge exclusive to certain groups.
• New Testament rejects Gnosticism:
  • Focus on physical reality of Jesus.
  • Gospels emphasize that the knowledge of Christ is for all, not secretive.
• Gnostic Gospels:
  • Written much later, not by apostles.
  • Teach fundamentally different views of Jesus.
  • Rejected due to lack of apostolic authority and timeline discrepancies.

Preservation of the Bible

Misconceptions

• Telephone game analogy is inaccurate for scriptural preservation.
• Jewish scribes had meticulous methods for copying texts.
  • Special materials, strict rules, and religious rituals for accuracy.

Evidence of Preservation

Old Testament

• Masoretic Texts vs. Dead Sea Scrolls:
  • Discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran provided older texts.
  • Minimal differences between Masoretic and Qumran texts.
  • Variations are often minor and largely due to human error.

New Testament

• Extensive manuscript evidence:
  • Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts/ fragments.
  • Additional 25,000 in other languages.
  • 99.5% certainty in reconstructing the New Testament.
  • Less than 40 areas of uncertainty, none affecting core doctrines.

Conclusion

• The Bible's formation reflects careful selection and exclusion with good reason.
• Preservation practices ensure high reliability and consistency over millennia.
• Future lectures will explore the relationship between theology and science.