The Bible has been accused of having discrepancies. In order to defend the Bible, we need to better understand these objections. So, this is the beginning of a series dedicated to doing just that.
There are supposed contradictions, errors, lies, etc. These “discrepancies” fall into several categories, so I thought it would be good to look at some of the ways the Bible is misunderstood and at some of the accusations made. We’ve touched on a few of these in earlier blogs, but this series will look more deeply at some of these and why they are misunderstood.
The first we’ll look at are additions to the text. But, first we need to look at what a manuscript is versus a text. There are more than 24,000 manuscripts of all or part of the New Testament. A manuscript is simply a handwritten copy of a document. There are variations in these manuscripts, mostly very small errors like misspelled words, change in word order, etc. Scholars compare these manuscripts and try to arrive at what the original actually said. When they think they’ve come as close as possible to the original, they create a text. The text is their representation of what they believe the original looked like.
Though there are 24,000 manuscripts, there are only two major Greek texts, the Received Text (Textus Receptus or “TR”) and the Westcott & Hort (W&H) text. The TR was created in 1516 by Erasmus, a Catholic monk and fine Greek scholar and represents a large number of the 24,000 manuscripts.
The W&H was published in 1881 and represents only a very few, about five, of the earliest manuscripts now available. These early manuscripts had not been discovered at the time the TR was published.
So, the two texts are the TR with the majority of manuscripts represented and the W&H with the very oldest manuscripts represented.
Now on to the two “discrepancies” we’re looking at. If you have a modern Bible, you should see a footnote at Mark 16:9-20 telling you this passage is not in the earliest manuscripts. Many believe the accepted default is to go with the earliest manuscripts since they are the closest to the original autographs. So, a note is added to make the reader aware of this situation.
What is thought to have happened with Mark is early scribes made copies of the New Testament books for their own use. As such, many made personal notes or observations in the margins, at the end of the page, or even included them in the text. It was their own copy for their own use. Why not? The problem came when someone would borrow their copy to make their own copy and included the notes into the text by mistake. W&H scholars believe this is what happened with Mark 16:9-20. We’re not claiming Mark 16 is not Scripture, just that it doesn’t appear in the earliest manuscripts we have.
Now for 1 John 5:7 : (KJV) “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” You can see how valuable this would be in defending the trinity doctrine if the verse were genuine.
How did this make its way into the TR? As the story goes, Erasmus (who compiled the TR), found no Greek manuscript which included 1 John 5:7, so he left it out of the first two editions of his text. The Roman Catholic scholars objected to this verse being “left out” as it did appear in the Latin Vulgate, the official translation of the Roman Catholic Church. Erasmus said something like, “If you can show me a single Greek manuscript of 1 John which includes this verse, I’ll include it in the third edition of my Greek text. The scholars had a manuscript the next day (the ink was still wet). With this and pressure from the Vatican, Erasmus included the verse. Unfortunately, the third edition is the one upon which the TR is based. You will not find this verse in modern translations and usually will find a footnote about it in the KJV and NKJV.
So, over the millennia, errors, additions, and other changes have crept into the various manuscripts of the New Testament. We’ll look at more of these in the blogs to come. But, realize, we are agreed that we have a very accurate representation of the Bible in its original form with better than 98% accuracy. The portions in question have no bearing at all on doctrine, faith, or practice. You can trust the Bible you hold in your hand whether it’s from the TR or from W&H.
You’ll hear everyone from atheists to cultists try to belittle the Bible because it has additions. Just answer back that this is common with old manuscripts with so many copies available. Fortunately, we have plenty of manuscripts to compare in order to find the meaning and wording of the original.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 