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“Are There Other Gospels the Church Doesn’t Want You to Read?”. Presented by. Eternal Answers Ministry www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org. Why is it important to know where your Bible came from?. The knowledge gives you an apologetic backbone. You can answer questions like:

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  1. “Are There Other Gospels the Church Doesn’t Want You to Read?” Presented by Eternal Answers Ministry www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org

  2. Why is it important to know where your Bible came from? The knowledge gives you an apologetic backbone • You can answer questions like: • › How do you know the Bible is true? • › Didn't men just write the Bible? • ▪ Man/Men contributed the form, not the content • › Why the Bible & not some other book? • › Didn't men with an agenda choose the books of • the Bible?

  3. Why is it important to know where your Bible came from? The knowledge gives you an apologetic backbone • It eliminates/interrupts the standard circular logic most Christians use to authenticate their faith ie • a. Why believe the Bible? Because it's the Word of God. • b. Who says so? The Bible tells me so. • c. Go to step a. !!

  4. The “Canon” The NT (& OT) were not just "chosen," they were "canonized" • "Canon" Gr. meaning "rule" or "standard of measure". • The Biblical Canon is intended to be a collection of verifiably inspired works by which all other work is measured.

  5. The “Canon” The NT (& OT) were not just "chosen," they were "canonized" • A canon is only as good as the standards for the material of which it is made. • › a rubber ruler is of little use • › steel is more preferable • › we must ask, "What were the 'rules' for recognizing (not "choosing") the canon of the NT?

  6. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • Most MSS for other works are in the <10 range: • › Caesar's Gaelic Wars - 9 • › Livy's Roman History - 20-35 • › Annals of Tacitus - 10 • › Homer's Illiad - 643

  7. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • For the NT we have: • › Greek Uncials (large printed MSS) 307 • › Greek Minuscules (sm cursive MSS) 2,860 • › Greek Lectionaries (daily reading) 2,410 • › Papyri (fragments & other copies) 109 • Subtotal of Original Lang MSS 5,686

  8. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • For the NT we have: • › Latin Vulgate 10,000+ • › Ethiopic 2,000+ • › Slavic 4,101 • › Armenian 2,587 • › various other languages 596+ • TOTAL all Lang MSS 24,970+

  9. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • Age of secular MSS often date 300-1000 years from the original • › Thucydides Peloponnesian War - 8 closest is 1300 yrs • › Histories of Herodotus - 8 closest is 1300 yrs • › Homer's Illiad - 643 closest complete MSS is 2,250 yrs • › Virgil's Aeneid - 12 oldest being 300 yrs (best)

  10. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • NT MSS • › Complete MSS (Vaticanus & Sinaticus) ~150 yrs • › Earliest fragment (Oxyrincus Papyri) AD 50 (<20 yrs!)

  11. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • NT MSS • › Complete MSS (Vaticanus & Sinaticus) ~150 yrs • › Earliest fragment (Oxyrincus Papyri) AD 50 (<20 yrs!) • ▪ The 643 copies of the Illiad have 60-65% agreement • ▪ The >5000 Greek NT MSS have 98.5% agreement • ► more than 1/2 are spelling (honor vs honour) • ► 80-90% remaining are inconsequential word changes (an's to a's) or intentional place name updates (Petrograd → St. Petersburg → Stalingrad → St. Petersburg)

  12. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • NT MSS • ► inflated numbers for variations are achieved by sensationalist "scholars" like Bart Ehrman through various tricks: • (1) A passage in an uncial or minuscule may attribute the passage to Jesus then follow on using the pronoun "He" ie "Jesus said" then "He said" then "He said" then "He said"; A daily continuation in a lectionary may start with "Jesus said“ each time to remind the reader day to day who is talking; Ehrman would count the above as 3 "significant" variations

  13. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • NT MSS • ► inflated numbers for variations are achieved by sensationalist "scholars" like Bart Ehrman through various tricks: • (2) If there were 500 copies of this lectionary, He would state that there are 500 "secondary" variations of each of the 3 "significant" or "primary" variations for a total of 1500 variations

  14. The “Canon” Number & Age of Manuscripts (MSS) • Gnostic Texts • › Best is Gospel of Thomas • ▪ 2 Coptic Texts & 1 partial Greek • ▪ Greek text (oldest) dates from cAD300 • › Most texts we have only one Coptic text dating from cAD600-700 thought to be from (absent) Greek originals dating to c.AD400-500

  15. The “Canon” Criteria for recognition of NT canon: • Canonization was a process that took +/- 100 years. • › No one sat down & "decided" the NT • › Constantine did NOT choose the NT

  16. The "Other" Gospels

  17. The Alexandrian Coptic Codices • Startling & shocking differences • › Gone was the resurrection story in the book of Mark (the last 12 vss) • › Gone was Acts 8:37 along with many other similar passages • › All the modern translations are based on the Westcott & Hort Greek text • a. ASV, RSV, NIV, NWT, NKJV

  18. The Alexandrian Coptic Codices • Lack of Agreement • › Not only are Vaticanus & Sinaticus unique in their readings, but the 2 texts do not even agree with each other • › both are heavily corrected (like they were practice texts) • › in most of their variations, they are usually outnumbered 25,000 to 2

  19. The Alexandrian Coptic Codices • Older does not mean "Better" • › Many, if not all of the passages altered or missing from these codices were in fact quoted by the early church fathers as far back as the late 1st century. • ▪ Irenaeus in Against Heresies 3.10.5-6, he states: "Furthermore, near the end of his Gospel, Mark says: 'thus, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven, & sits on the right hand of God.'" quoting Mark 16:19.

  20. The Alexandrian Coptic Codices • Why? • › It turns out these were Gnostic MSS • ▪ The Gnostics were early heretics • › Mysteriously, all the "missing" or altered texts bear directly upon the differences between Gnoticism & Orthodoxy • › when the Gnostics made their own Coptic copies of the Greek originals, they conveniently altered or deleted them to suit their own ideas of what God should say (not unlike the JW in making the NWT)

  21. The Best version/translation John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. • The KJV is more precise • › This is one of the instances where the precision of the KJV outshines all modern English translations. • › In formal, written King James English, if the pronoun begins with a "t," it is singular; if a "y," it is plural.

  22. The Best version/translation John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. • The KJV is more precise • › If this verse were written in modern English, it would read, "Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again." • ▪ Clearly the first "you" means Nicodemus, • ▪ but ask yourself, to whom does the second "you" refer?

  23. The Best version/translation John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. • The KJV is more precise • › If this verse were written in modern English, it would read, "Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.“ • ▪ "You" Nicodemus? • ▪ "You" the Jews? • ▪ "You" all of mankind?

  24. The Best version/translation John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. • The KJV is more precise • › If this verse were written in modern English, it would read, "Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.“ • ▪ The most likely candidate is "you" Nicodemus which would be wrong! That is not what Christ said! • › The King James makes it perfectly clear that He (Christ) is speaking to a singular "thee“ (Nicodemus) about something that the plural "ye“ ie everyone must do.

  25. The Best version/translation • Every version has its value & its flaws • › the NIV is very readable, has lots of study tools made for it, but most serious Bible students find they outgrow it eventually • › The key is to know the weaknesses & flaws of whatever version you choose & to work around them; these are best known for the KJV

  26. Christ is not the question He is the answer!

  27. Eternal Answers Ministry http://www.EternalAnswersMinistry.org questions@EternalAnswersMinistry.org

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