Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
Codex Sinaiticus (01, א) alone has a complete text of the New Testament. It is dated to c. 330–360 C.E. The codex is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in uncial letters on parchment in the 4th century. Scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of the New Testament, along with the Codex Vaticanus.
Papyrus 1 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) designated by "P1", "ε 01 (von Soden)", is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew dating palaeographically to the middle of the 3rd century (c. 175 - 225 C.E.).
This article may be somewhat controversial because many modern textual scholars are not certain that we can get back to the original text.
Were the Apostles Illiterate? Over the past 150-years, many scholars have said that Jesus’ early disciples could not read and write, and so they did not write down the teachings and deeds of Jesus but that they passed them on by word of mouth. Moreover, these same scholars say that throughout the decades of oral transmission, the historical account of Jesus’ ministry was expanded on, adapted, or elaborated on and exaggerated. Thus, they claim, the Gospels are far from being actual events. What is the truth?
Many students of textual criticism became interested in it because they wondered whether the Bible is trustworthy, in the sense that what we have today is what the original writers wrote; and, whether variations in the ancient manuscripts could affect our theology.
Today there are about two billion people who call themselves Christians, who own or are aware of the Bible. Most are unaware of just how that book came down to them, yet many if not most would acknowledge that it is inspired by God and free of errors and contradictions.