This is important because it means there were plenty of people around when the New Testament documents were penned–people who could have contested the writings. 30., then that means the entire New Testament was completed within 70 years. The total supporting New Testament manuscript base is over 24,000.Īlmost all biblical scholars agree that the New Testament documents were all written before the close of the First Century. In addition, there are over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages. The internal consistency of the New Testament documents is about 99.5% textually pure. 45.Īpproximate Time Span between original & copyĪs you can see, there are thousands more New Testament Greek manuscripts than any other ancient writing. 163 and 3) A Ready Defense, by Josh Mcdowell, 1993, p. Fales, Ph.D., in The Evidence Bible, Compiled by Ray Comfort, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Gainesville, FL, 2001, p. 307 2) the article “Archaeology and History attest to the Reliability of the Bible,” by Richard M. 2 The above chart was adapted from three sources: 1) Christian Apologetics, by Norman Geisler, 1976, p.
If we were to compare the number of New Testament manuscripts to other ancient writings, we find that the New Testament manuscripts far outweigh the others in quantity. 1 Norman Geisler & Peter Bocchino, Unshakeable Foundations, (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2001) p. There are presently 5,686 Greek manuscripts in existence today for the New Testament. Because they are so numerous, they can be cross-checked for accuracy. This is because the New Testament documents are better preserved and more numerous than any other ancient writings. If the critics want to disregard the New Testament, then they must also disregard other ancient writings by Plato, Aristotle, and Homer.
But, there is ample manuscript evidence for superior New Testament reliability over all other ancient documents. The New Testament is constantly under attack, and its reliability and accuracy are often contested by critics.
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