Wednesday February 12th 2014

Class announcements:

NO CLASS NEXT WEEK for half-term.

Next class February 26th.

March 5th we will have a field trip to the British Museum to see amazing Biblical artifacts!

From today's study:
MORE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE!!

Why do we believe this book, the Bible, is actually the word of God?

If someone asks you that question, how would you respond?  Would you be prepared to respond?  For some weeks our lessons are examining the authority of the Bible.  Jill gave great archaeological evidence 2 weeks ago, last week we considered the gospels as eye witness testimony, and this week we are looking at the actual physical manuscripts - the actual book itself and its history.

To look at the Bible's validity requires a fusion of many different disciplines.

History-Literature-Archaeology-Science-Spirituality-Anthropology-Sociology

Even scholars are overwhelmed by all the unique aspects of the Bible.  So, when you feel lost, or just like it's too much, take heart - even the academics struggle to take it all in.  Luckily, they do the work for us - but it is massive - the volumes and volumes about it all...but it is fascinating.  In gathering the information today, I decided to give some broad essentials and then look at some specific examples of manuscripts - perhaps which you can go and have a look at for yourself.

Have you ever considered whether or not we are reading a Bible that represents what the original writers intended/wrote?  How many of you are reading an original copy in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek?  None of us.

The original scriptures would have been written in Hebrew (the Old Testament in particular) and on papyrus - what we are reading is a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy….etc...how can we trust this version as reliable?

Some vocabulary -

A scroll is a book made of flattened papyrus plant, parchment or animal skins rolled around sticks at both ends.

Papyrus is a tall plant that grows in water, from which paper can be made.  Much of the early biblical material was papyrus.  It was relatively cheap but very fragile and not durable.

Manuscripts - pieces of HAND written text

Codex - manuscript book of an ancient biblical text.  The process was pioneered by Christians to replace the scrolls on which the Scriptures were written, and is considered to be the most important advance in the history of the book prior to the invention of the printing press.

The facts - the facts are that we have a massive, massive amount of manuscripts - they continue to uncover more manuscripts even now. Some 25,000 manuscripts - more than any other ancient text!

Most of the stories would have been orally preserved, originally.  Doesn't that mean that there would have been errors, like in the telephone game? NO!

Not for the Jews - they were commanded by God to Meditate on the law day and night (Joshua 1:8) - most of them would be able to recite the Pentateuch with amazing accuracy.  Just like some kids today could tell you the story of Little Red Riding hood or Jack and the Beanstalk.  If someone told it with error, there would be objections.

The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls proved that the text had not changed over nearly 1000 years.  These oldest fragments of OT that we have date to 200BC.  The story of the Dead Sea scrolls is fascinating.  In 1946, a young Arab shepherd boy was herding his goats. Two of his goats wandered off into a cave.  He threw a rock into the opening and heard pottery breaking, which led him to discover clay jars with scrolls.  That began the unearthing of a massive amount of manuscript in that area - in caves near the Dead Sea. After finding these manuscripts, scholars were able to prove that the text of the Bible had changed very little over the past thousand years.  Not all the manuscripts or fragments are Biblical - some are community scrolls. So it was an amazing find indeed!

"Cave 4" - had over 15,000 fragments

The Isaiah Scroll was found relatively intact and is 1000 years older than any previously know copy of Isaiah, and is almost exactly as the book reads today.

The New Testament was written by 100AD, and we have many many fragments of ancient texts.

One of which you can go and see.

Right here in London.

The Codex Sinaiticus (most of it anyway) is housed in the British Library.  It dates to about 350AD, and is hand written in Greek on parchment (skins of donkeys or antelopes).  It is the oldest complete Bible in the world.  

This book has been examined so scientifically that they can see where the animals (from whose skin the book pages are formed) were bitten by insects.  

Have any of you been to Ireland?  Or will you be going?  If you do, be sure that you go and see the Book of Kells.

The finest medievial book in the world can be found in Dublin, at Trinity College.  The book of Kells is a masterpiece of Western Calligraphy and is considered Ireland’s finest national treasure.  The book was meticulously written by monks in about 800AD, and following a Viking raid was thrown into a ditch, then recovered minus the gold and jeweled cover, and stored in Kells until it was offered to Trinity college in 1661, where it has been housed ever since.  

So we have all these manuscripts, then the stories are true?  If that is our argument, then does that mean, because there are so many copies of Aesop’s fables, that they then are true?  

No - obviously...the PURPOSE of writing is key in all of this.

Well there is the difference in the purpose of the literature.  Why were the stories written?  For pleasure?  Or to make a record?  This is where we connect to last week’s lesson and the importance of understanding that the New Testament was written as Eye Witness Testimony.  History.  Letters depicting what was happening at a certain point in time.  These were records.  Documents.  

From all these manuscripts, we can be certain that the Bible has changed - but not much - over time.  Of course there are a huge number of translations available - variations even between our Bibles - but the overall meaning and intent is the same.

66 books, written by more than 40 authors inspired by God over the course of 1500 years.  And one consistent theme: God’s love for people and his plan for redemption through Jesus.

And it is very much today what is was almost 2000 years ago.

That is unbelievable.  

TIMELESS TRUTH!!

The History of the Bible...it’s absolutely massive, incomprehensible, and it’s fascinating.