The Bible tells a story of a man who Jesus healed while he was waiting for healing by the pool of Bethesda. But in the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the story is incomplete.
The Bible tells a story of a man who Jesus healed while he was waiting for healing by the pool of Bethesda. But in the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the story is incomplete.
One of the two primary manuscripts claimed by textual critics to be "oldest and best" is the Codex Sinaiticus. Much evidence clearly points to this "ancient" book actually being a modern fraud. But that story is for another time. In this article, we're instead going to look at the textual critics' version of the story.…
In Ephesians 6, Paul describes "the whole armour of God." Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,…
In Psalm 100 we are called to be thankful: Psalms 100:1 A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep…
People often say that "no major doctrines are affected" by the differences between the received text and the Alexandrian manuscripts. Of course, these are weasel words, since it is impossible to pin down a definition of exactly what "major doctrines" are or what "affecting" them would be. But the fact is that there is one doctrine that is always overlooked: the doctrine…
Are we employing circular reasoning when we use the teaching of extant scripture to argue that the Bible was preserved? After all, if the Bible wasn't preserved perfectly, then we can't trust fully what it says. In that case, even though the Bible teaches preservation now, that doesn't mean that it did so originally. Thus, when we point to verses that say…
In March of this year, the American Culture and Faith Institute conducted a survey to find out how Americans, and particularly born-again Christians, perceive our culture’s effect on children. As I happened to be one of the people selected to participate in this survey, I was especially interested in the results. The survey asks questions to both determine whether a respondent is…
Textual criticism is based on the underlying assumption that the Bible is corrupted. That it contains errors. That it is not inerrant. That it is not the word of God alone. That it suffers an indelible mark placed upon it by man.
The other day I was reading an article by some people whose work I greatly respect, which was encouraging Christians that we can trust that the Bible is the word of God, due to its remarkable preservation. (I’m not going to give the exact reference, because it isn’t really important.) While this might surprise you, I disagreed with most of what the…