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NO ERRORS, MISTAKES OR CONTRADICTIONS IN THE ORIGINAL BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS

They are Bible Difficulties
40+ authors writing 66 books over 1,600 years in three different ancient languages.
More on Bible Difficulties later.

THE LITERACY LEVEL IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM 33 C.E. to 350 C.E.

Many scholars argue that the literacy rate in ancient Rome was no greater than 10-20 percent. This is a very mistaken notion. Here is why.
The Roman world was overflowing with documents: historical, religious, military, commercial, poetry, and so on.
The Roman citizens had long believed that reading and writing strengthened them. Rulers were not going to take advantage of them if they could read and write.
We cannot take aggregate data and apply it to individuals. The average wage in New York City is $45,000 a year. John Smith lives in NY City, so he makes $45,000 dollars a year.
Christianity grew out of a melting pot of languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Syriac (an Aramaic dialect).
Letter writing was very popular in the Roman Empire. Hundreds of thousands of letters have been discovered over the past century by archaeologists.
40-100 million people were living throughout the Roman Empire and one million of them were Christian by 125-150 C.E., we are only referring to one or two percent of the population. There is no way to arrive at a specific statistical level of literacy for this small selection, in a time when history focused on the prominent.
Public writings in and throughout all of the Roman cities, graffiti, gravestones, and tombs, the ancient Roman libraries, the newspapers.
Pompeii was a prosperous, populace (15,000), economically diverse ancient Roman city near modern Naples. Over 11,000 graffiti samples, etched into the plaster or painted on the walls, in both public and private places, have been uncovered in the excavations.
Beginning in 1778 and continuing to the end of the 19th century, many papyrus texts were accidentally discovered in Egypt that dated from 300 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., almost 500 thousand documents in all.
Culturally, the Israelite people themselves generally could read and write, with few exceptions.
Jesus would have been taught to read and write by his father, Joseph. Jesus would have also received education in the Scriptures from the attendant at the synagogue, starting at the age of five.
Paul wrote 14 letters, Peter wrote 2 letters, John wrote 3 letters, and both Jude and James wrote 1 letter each. Paul exhorted others to copy his letters and read them.
The gift of languages by the Holy Spirit.
It seems that these so-called illiterate Christians were able to grow from 120 in Jerusalem about 33 C.E. to some one million by 125 C.E., a mere 92 years later.

NON-CHRISTIAN WITNESSES THAT REFER TO JESUS

Roman Historian Tacitus (55-120 C.E.)
Jewish Historian Josephus (37-100 C.E.)
Roman satirist and poet, Juvenal (c. 60-140 A.D.)
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, Seneca (c. 4 B.C.- 65 C.E.)
Greek orator, writer, philosopher, and historian Dio Chrysostom (c. 40-115 A.D.)
Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher Arrian (86/89 – c. after 146/160 A.D.)
Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69 – 122 A.D.)
The governor of Bithynia Pliny the Younger (61 – c. 113 A.D.)
An enemy of Christians, a Greek satirist and rhetorician Lucian (c. 125 – after 180 A.D.)
An enemy of Christians, a Greek philosopher named Numenius (mid-2nd century C.E.)
An enemy of Christians, a Greek historian freedman Phlegon (2nd century A.D.)
An enemy of Christians, a Greek philosopher Celsus (2nd-century A.D.)

LOGICAL FALLACIES

Circumstantial ad hominem fallacy is an attack on my being a Christian, so, therefore, I must be biased on all things related to my being a Christian. The truth of a view is independent of one who is a Christian. This is a double-edged sword because the atheist’s view would also be biased simply because he is an atheist.
The genetic fallacy is the belief that a person born in Pakistan is most likely to be a Muslim and a person born in Ireland is most likely to be a Catholic, so their beliefs are culturally relative, so they are not objectively true. This fallacy is trying to invalidate a view by showing how a person came to hold that view. The truth of a view is independent of how a person came to believe it. This is another double-edged sword because is the person is born in Portland, Oregan, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, California, or New York City, they would likely be an atheist, so his belief in no God is just a result of where he was born, so his views are not objectively true.

What Is Evidence as to Ancient History?

The available body of facts or information indicates whether a belief or proposition is true or valid, aiding us to also determine what happened.
Information gathered or drawn from a document or in the form of material objects, which is used to establish facts as to what happened.
Ancient history belongs to the rich and powerful. Common people, generally, received no coverage in ancient history. If I were to ask you what do you know about the modern-day country Montserrat? No one would have a clue. If I asked you to tell me a little about a retired modern-day sailor called John O’Donovan, there would be silence. But this does not mean that the country Montserrat and the person John O’Donovan do not exist. Jesus was neither rich nor powerful. He did not even have a home that he could call his own for 3.5 years. He was a carpenter’s son, lived in a small village called Nazareth. The governor of the region of Judea, whose capital was Jerusalem, that had a population of 600,000 persons in Jesus’ day was Pontius Pilate. We only have two pieces of archaeological evidence that refer to this prominent governor, yet we have twelve different secular pieces of historical evidence for the historicity of Jesus.
The Bible critic discounts the Old Testament manuscripts (both Hebrew and Greek) that date back to 2,300 years ago as archeological evidence. They discount New Testament manuscripts that date back 1,700 – 1,900 years ago as archaeological evidence because they are supposed biased. The manuscripts of the Roman Historians Suetonius (c. 69–a. 122 C.E.) and Tacitus (55-120 C.E.) are not discounted as biased. The manuscripts of the Jewish Historian Josephus (37-100 C.E.) are not discounted as biased. The manuscripts of the Greek historians Herodotus (484-425 B.C.E.) and Thucydides (460-400 B.C.E.) are not discounted as biased.
In other words, the Greek NT Scriptures are worthy of at least as much confidence and reliance as secular histories.
We 5,898 Greek NT manuscripts that have been cataloged, 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and an additional 9,300 other manuscripts in such languages as Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic, and Armenian. The Papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on papyrus. At present, we have 140 cataloged New Testament papyri, many dating between 110-350 C.E.
It is almost impossible to prove by historical arguments the truth of every single detail in ancient writing, whether it be the Bible or secular history. It is enough to have reasonable and rational confidence in an author’s general trustworthiness; if we can establish that, there is an inferred, self-evident likelihood that his details are true. The New Testament is not less likely to be historically true simply because Christians receive it as the Word of God.

RATING THE LEVEL OF THE EVIDENCE

Plausible (40%), The reading may have been original, but it is not probably so.
A Preponderance of Evidence (55%), The reading could have been original in that it is enough to accept as such unless another reading emerges as more probable.
Convincing Evidence (80%), The reading surely was the original in that the evidence is enough to accept it as substantially certain unless proven otherwise.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt (95-99%), The reading must have been original in that there is no reason to doubt it. It must be understood that feeling as though we have no reason to doubt is not the same as one hundred percent absolute certainty.

Is There Historical Truth or Objectivity?

Yes.
The objective of the historian is to determine what happened to the best of his ability and based on the evidence that he has.

Can a Historian Be Objective?

Yes.
He must first be aware of his own potential biases
He must be able to then rise above his biases and value truth more than he values his biases
Generally, and ideally, he must consider all relevant historical material
He must be able to rise above his modern-day situation in life

Is It Possible to Do History at All?

Yes, it is possible if you are objective seeking the truth as best it can be discovered, if you are asking for clarity in definition, if you are consistent in logic, and seeking adequacy of evidence.

How do We Define a Historical Fact?

Something that happened in the past, which can be verified as such by traces in documents that can be used by the historian to reconstruct it in the present.
Shed all prejudices and preconceptions, having a completely open mind
The meaning must be understood in the context of the day that produced it; the present must be kept out of the past.
Ancient documents are there waiting to be discovered are a transparent window into the past, wherein larger truths become visible.

Reader-Response Criticism

In the reader-response criticism position, all meaning is equal to another, and all are correct.
We can have a set of verses, and 20 people may give different interpretations, and many may seem the opposite of others. Those believing in the “reader “response” will say that all are correct.
Under this position, for them, the text allows each reader the right to derive his or her meaning from the text.

Scientific-Skepticism

Briefly stated, a skeptic is one who is willing to question any claim to truth, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic, and adequacy of evidence. The use of skepticism is thus an essential part of objective scientific inquiry and the search for reliable knowledge. — Paul Kurtz in The New Skepticism, 1992, p. 9
The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It’s the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion.— Brian Dunning

Pseudo-Skepticism (Fake Skepticism)

Richard Cameron Wilson, in an article in New Statesman, wrote that “the bogus skeptic is, in reality, a disguised dogmatist, made all the more dangerous for his success in appropriating the mantle of the unbiased and open-minded inquirer.”
in his 2008 book Don’t Get Fooled Again, the characteristic feature of false skepticism is that it “centers not on an impartial search for the truth, but on the defense of a preconceived ideological position.”
The Pseudo-Skeptic has never personally taken the time or shown any interest in weighing alternatives, investigating Bible difficulties or textual variants, or trying to honestly understand rational, reasonable, logical explanations, but the Pseudo-Skeptic only wants to promote their particular belief structure and conclusion.

Selective Skepticism

If someone were to view all history skeptically, then they would at least be consistent in their attitude, but I can’t think of anyone who does this. Rather, we see people who will blanket reject (let’s say) the whole of the Bible, a Creator and Creation, and Christianity. What they like, they keep, and what they don’t like, they find a way to reject. Selective skepticism at work.
The Skeptic says that he tries to treat everything skeptically but he is really applying selective skepticism. When he comes across what the Roman historian Tacitus said based on 33 manuscripts 750-900 years or more removed, or what Plato said 1,300 years removed in some 210 manuscripts, they do not even pause and it is accepted without question. However, the moment it is about anything that comes from the 27 books of the New Testament by eight authors that is but decades removed in a number of manuscripts, and having 5,898 manuscripts to support the New Testament, now selective skepticism is applied.

Skepticism and Miracles

We live in a world today where skepticism is prevalent in the extreme. Skeptics usually feel that for miracles to be credible and believable, scientists today have to be able to repeat them or have a scientific explanation for them.
Why does the Bible excite so much skepticism? It contains miracles. According to Hume, a miracle is “a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent” (Hume, 123n). Hume’s greatest argument against belief in miracles was, miracles contradict common sense.
Many skeptics approach miracles with a resolute preconception: miracles things are impossible. However is that mindset truly rational and reasonable? It sounds like pseudo-skepticism. Ponder, ‘Is it reasonable to believe the first sentence of the Bible?’ It says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Many hundreds of millions of reasonable, rational people, a number of them being scientists, some even being astronomers and physicists, around the world, who wisely accept that simple truth, even if some are simply focused on there is design, so there is a designer. That first statement alone from Genesis 1:1 contains far more miraculous than any of the miracles reported later in the Bible.

Double Standards

When we are looking at secular history, historians come across balanced, fair, reasonable but when it comes to the Bible, there is a tremendous double standard.

Raising the Bar or Standards – Moving the Goal Post

Raising the Bar or Standards is creating higher standards that nobody else has to meet.
Moving the Goal Post is demanding from an opponent that he or she addresses more and more points after the initial counter-argument has been satisfied, refusing to concede or accept the opponent’s argument.

Feeding Skepticism Instead of Faith

Postmodern Culture

Postmodern philosophy argues that there is no certainty to a historical event, person, or place, or an original reading in a document, as it is unattainable. They argue that there is no objective entity called “history” but only the “eyes” of individuals who left behind their impressions of what happened in the surviving sources.

In a supposed postmodern culture everything is relative, there is no absolute objective truth.
Supposedly postmodernists reject the canons of logic, rational arguments for truth.
However, this is a myth and such a culture is not even possible, unlivable.
Do postmodernists set aside logic, rationale, truth when they determine the ingredients in a bottle of medicine and a box of rat poison when they have a headache? In this case, they know that text has an objective meaning.
People are not relativistic when it comes to matters of science, engineering, and technology. Rather, people are relativistic and pluralistic when it comes to religion and ethics. This is actually modernism, not postmodernism.

Beware as Most Skeptics are Seeking to Feed their Doubt Not Their Faith

Christians why should we not give the Word of God to all skeptics equally? Why should we not always correct the skeptical ridiculer? In what ways has Satan blinded the minds of the skeptics? Why should we get answers now? If insidious doubts ever begin to creep into our minds, spiritual shipwreck is on the horizon. “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith.” (1 Tim. 4:1) Why? How? Why should it trouble us? See here!

See Articles

Paleography – Dating Manuscripts

Paleography has been around since 1680. This is both an art and a science. Through their knowledge of the writing of ancient texts, the forms, and styles, we get a reasonably close idea of when a manuscript was copied. Through painstaking comparison of hundreds of small features within an ancient manuscript, a paleographer can provide us with a date that is usually correct to plus or minus 25 to 50 years. Such features can distinguish certain periods based on the number of punctuations within a manuscript, abbreviations, and the amount of spacing between words. Paleographers divide ancient Greek handwriting into different hands, that is, styles of handwriting. Generally speaking, they first take an overall look at the script—a wide-angle view, as it were—and then they examine it more closely, analyzing individual letters. Dating the introduction of certain handwriting practices. For instance, in Greek texts after a certain time, scribes began to increase the use of ligatures (two or more characters joined together). Scribes also began to use infralinear writing (the writing of certain Greek letters below the line) as well as pronunciation aids called breathing marks. The dating debate with P52 and P. Egerton 2 is based on the practice of using an apostrophe between two consonants suddenly becomes extremely common in the 3rd century and then persists.

Bible Difficulties

False or Mistaken Interpretations of the Bible: The Bible is filled with different genres, author intentions, among other things; therefore, imperfect humans are coming to the Bible with their 21st-century mindset and are going to go away with widely different interpretations frequently.
Intended Meaning of Bible Author: First, most Christians and especially Bible critics expect something different from Bible authors than other humans. How we do things. They were moved along by the Holy Spirit but they did not give up their humanity and their style of expression. They would express themselves in the same way, such as the four corners of the earth, the sun setting and rising, and rounded numbers. Even today with our high technology, when Trump has a rally, they will guestimate 10,000 for example, when there might have been exactly 11,204. We have to look at the level that the Bible or the Bible author intends to be exact in what is written. If Jim told a friend that 800 graduated with him from high school in 1984, it is not challenged, because it is all too clear that he is using rounded numbers and is not meaning to be exactly precise.
Unexplained Does Not Mean Unexplainable: Considering that there are 31,173 verses in the Bible, encompassing 66 books written by about 40 writers, ranging from shepherds to kings, an army general, fishermen, tax collector, a physician and on and on, and being penned over 1,600 years, one does find a few hundred Bible difficulties (about one percent). However, 99 percent of those are explainable. Yet no one wants to be so arrogant to say that he can explain them all.
Unrealistic Expectations are Unhelpful Expectations: Even though it’s challenging to set aside what we expect, hope, or desire a particular Bible book to tell us, work on relinquishing them unrealistic expectations because they can lead to doubt.
Different Points of View: At times, you may have two different writers who are writing from two different points of view.
A Careful Reading: At times, it may simply be a case of needing to slow down and carefully read the account, considering exactly what is being said.
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: This is exactly the perception that the critic has of God’s Word. The legal principle of being “innocent until proven guilty” afforded mankind in courts of justice is withheld from the very Word of God.
Ignoring Literary Styles: The Bible is a diverse book when it comes to literary styles: narrative, poetic, prophetic, and apocalyptic; also containing parables, metaphors, similes, hyperbole, and other figures of speech. Too often, these alleged errors are the result of a reader taking a figure of speech as literal, or reading a parable as though it is a narrative.
Two Accounts of the Same Incident: If you were to speak to officers that take accident reports for their police department, you would find that there is cohesion in the accounts, but each person has merely witnessed aspects that have stood out to them.
Man’s Fallible Interpretations: Imperfect man and his interpretations over the centuries, as bad as many of them have been, should not cast a shadow over God’s inspired Word. The entire Word of God has one meaning and one meaning only for every penned word, which is what God willed to be conveyed by the human writer he chose to use.
Should Statements: Self-Projecting Our Thinking. This is simply projecting ourselves on the Word of God. The Apostle Paul should have done this. The Apostle Peter should have said that. Mark should not have done this. The Bible should … God should have …

THE Q DOCUMENT

If there was a Q document and Mark was written first, with Matthew and Luke merely copying from Mark and Q, why had Matthew become the most popular among the congregations?
Moreover, why were the early congregations united in Matthew’s Gospel as being written first, giving him first place in the canon?
If the Q document was so influential, why had Paul never heard of it and why did he not bother to mention it?
If the Q document was the foundation for the synoptic Gospels, why do we not have one copy of this so-called Q document? Why does not one Church Father mention it?

Literary Dependence Found Within the Synoptic Gospels