An Embarrassment of Riches

Kekayaan yang Sangat Berlimpah

The Bible has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.

Alkitab "telah mengalami sangat banyak penerjemahan, penambahan, dan revisi. Sejarah tak pernah memiliki versi definitif dari buku ini.

Now, we all know that Dan Brown is a novelist, but he raises serious questions. Through his story-telling he subtly attacks the Christian faith. Two of my sons were in college at major universities when his book came out. They each had professors at school who declared, This book proves that Christianity is based on myth! Most Christians, even Christian leaders, are terribly ignorant about the transmission of the NT over the centuries.

Two Attitudes to AvoidTotal DespairAbsolute Certainty

Dua Sikap yang Perlu Dihindari

Keputus-asaan TotalKepastian Mutlak

Bart Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: Not only do we not have the originals, we dont have the first copies of the originals. We dont even have copies of the copies of the originals, or copies of the copies of the copies of the originals.

Kita bukan hanya tidak memiliki naskah asli, kita juga tidak memiliki salinan pertama dari naskah asli. Kita bahkan tidak memiliki salinan dari salinan naskah asli, atau salinan dari salinan dari salinan naskah asli.

Bart Ehrman is a NT scholar at UNC Chapel Hill. Hes a Moody and Wheaton graduate. He earned his doctorate under Dr. Bruce Metzger, a solid evangelical professor. Ehrman lost his faith in the last few years and he has become the #1 media darling for his agnosticism. Hes a bona fide textual critic. He speaks on college campuses all over the country, and spreads the view that we simply cant know what the original NT said since the scribes changed it so badly. His attitude is total despair about recovering the wording of the original text. His 2005 book, Misquoting Jesus, has challenged evangelical Christians. He infers from this that the originals are unknowable, that they were not originally orthodox. MUSLIM APOLOGISTS have picked up on this and have been beating up Christians who dont know the facts. Ehrman is their hero. I have found Muslim apologists better informed about the text of the NT than 95% of Christians. We need to be prepared to articulate reasons for the hope that is within us.

Absolute Certainty

Held to tenaciously by many Christians.Destructive of the Christian faith.

Kepastian Mutlak

Sikap yang gigih dipertahankan oleh banyak orang Kristen.Bersifat merusak bagi iman Kristen.

Many Christians dont know how to respond to KJV Only folks. Further, many Christians have simply never wrestled with the realities of the text of the NT. Do we have a sure word from God? Are there places where we are uncertain about the original wording?

Once you start with a position of dogma, if there are any cracks in your armor, then the whole thing comes crumbling down. One of my missions in teaching at Dallas Seminary is to remind students that faith means faith; it doesnt mean PROOF! More people have abandoned the Christian faith because they held to an unreasonable position in one area. They held to a domino doctrine. And when one falls down, all fall down.

Absolute Certainty

Faith without reason is not a reasonable faith, not a truly Christian faith.And a faith that ignores history is no different than any non-biblical faith.

Kepastian Mutlak

Iman tanpa akal budi bukan iman yang wajar, bukan iman Kristen sesungguhnya.Iman yang mengabaikan sejarah tidak berbeda dengan iman di luar Alkitab.

Many Christians dont know how to respond to KJV Only folks. Further, many Christians have simply never wrestled with the realities of the text of the NT. Do we have a sure word from God? Are there places where we are uncertain about the original wording?

Once you start with a position of dogma, if there are any cracks in your armor, then the whole thing comes crumbling down. One of my missions in teaching at Dallas Seminary is to remind students that faith means faith; it doesnt mean PROOF! More people have abandoned the Christian faith because they held to an unreasonable position in one area. They held to a domino doctrine. And when one falls down, all fall down.

Three Questions to AnswerQuantity: How many scribal alterations are there?Nature: What kinds of textual variations are there?Issues: What theological beliefs depend on textually suspect passages?

Tiga PERTANYAAN untuk dijawabKuantitas: Berapa banyak perubahan karena disalin yang terjadi?Natur: Variasi tekstual jenis apa yang terjadi?Pokok Masalah: Kepercayaan teologis apa yang bergantung pada bagian Alkitab yang teksnya diragukan?

Dont we have the original New Testament any more?Apakah kita tidak lagi memiliki naskah asli Perjanjian Baru?

No. All disappeared within a few decades of being written. Probably wore out from being repeatedly copied, repeatedly examined. There are more than 5000 Greek NT MSS today, yet no two of them agree completely. Thus, the science known as textual criticism is necessary because the originals are gone and the copies are corrupt.

The Quantity of VariantsJumlah Varian

Textual Variants:c.400,000

Varian Tekstual:c. 400.000Greek NT:c. 140,000

PB bahasa Yunani:c. 140.000

The reason we have a lot of textual variants is that we have a lot of manuscripts.Kita memiliki banyak varian tekstual karena kita memiliki banyak naskah.

An Embarassment of RichesGreek manuscripts: 5700+Latin manuscripts: 10,000+Other ancient versions: 500010,000Quotations from the New Testament by church fathers: over 1 million

Kekayaan yang Sangat Berlimpah

Naskah berbahasa Yunani: 5700+Naskah berbahasa Latin: 10.000+Versi kuno lainnya: 500010.000Kutipan PB oleh para bapa gereja: lebih dari 1 juta

HISTORIESOLDEST MSSNUMBER SURVIVINGLivy 59 BC AD 17 Tacitus AD 56 120 Suetonius AD 69 140 Thucydides 460 400 BCHerodotus 484 425 BC4th Century AD9th Century AD9th Century AD1st Century AD1st Century AD273200+2075

LITERATUR SEJARAHNASKAH TERTUAJUMLAH YANG MASIH ADALivy 59 SM 17 MTacitus 56 120 MSuetonius 69 140 MThucydides 460 400 SMHerodotus 484 425 SMAbad ke-4 MAbad ke-9 MAbad ke-9 MAbad ke-1 MAbad ke-1 M273200+2075

Comparison of NT Manuscripts with Other Ancient HistoriesPerbandingan Jumlah Naskah PB dan Literatur Sejarah Kuno

HistoriesOldest MSSNumber SurvivingLivyTacitusSuetoniusThucydidesHerodotus300 years+ after originalsfewer than 400 collectivelyNEW TESTAMENTAD 100-150 (decades after)5700+ in Greek10,000 in Latin + other versionsover 1 million quotations in fathers

Literatur SejarahNaskah TertuaJumlah yang Masih AdaLivyTacitusSuetoniusThucydidesHerodotus300 tahun lebih setelah naskah asliTotal kurang dari 400PERJANJIAN BARU100 150 M (puluhan tahun setelah naskah asli)5700+ dalam bahasa Yunani10.000 bahasa Latin + versi-versi lainLebih 1 juta kutipan oleh bapa gereja

The NT compared to the average classical workThe average classical Greek writer has less than 20 copies of his works still in existence. Stack them up, and theyre 4 feet high.

PB dibandingkan dengan rata-rata karya klasik

Setiap penulis Yunani klasik rata-rata memiliki kurang dari 20 salinan karya yang masih ada saat ini.Jika ditumpuk, tingginya 4 kaki (sekitar 1,2 m).

The NT compared to the average classical work

PB dibandingkan dengan rata-rata karya klasik

Rata-rata Karya Penulis Klasik Salinan PB

The Date of NT MSSTanggal Naskah PBThe Discovery of P52Penemuan P52

An ounce of evidence is worth a pound of presumption!

Satu gram bukti sama nilainya dengan satu kilogram anggapan!

Has the Bible been translated and retranslated so many times that we dont know what it originally said?Apakah Alkitab telah begitu banyak diterjemahkan dan diterjemahkan ulang sehingga kita tidak tahu lagi apa yang dikatakan aslinya?

YearNumber of Greek manuscriptsEarliest manuscripts1611 (KJV)612th century20105700+2nd century

TahunJumlah Naskah Bahasa YunaniNaskah Tertua1611 (KJV)6Abad ke 1220105700+Abad ke 2

Number of early copies of the NTJumlah salinan-salinan tua PB

2nd century: 10 papyrus fragmentsm, perhaps a dozen.3rd century: 51confirmed; as many as 71.4th century: 101 confirmed; as many as 121. The entire NT is found in these MSS.Meanwhile, the average classical author has ZERO manuscript copies of his works through the first four centuries. Based on the manuscript evidence, if we have to express doubt about what the Gospel writers actually wrote about Jesus, that doubt needs to increase 1000-fold when it comes to most other ancient historians.

The bottom line As time goes on, we are getting closer and closer to the original wording.

Yang Terpenting

Seiring waktu, kita terus semakin dekat dengan naskah asli.

Now, we all know that Dan Brown is a novelist, but he raises serious questions. Through his story-telling he subtly attacks the Christian faith. Two of my sons were in college at major universities when his book came out. They each had professors at school who declared, This book proves that Christianity is based on myth! Most Christians, even Christian leaders, are terribly ignorant about the transmission of the NT over the centuries.

Bart Ehrman is a NT scholar at UNC Chapel Hill. Hes a Moody and Wheaton graduate. He earned his doctorate under Dr. Bruce Metzger, a solid evangelical professor. Ehrman lost his faith in the last few years and he has become the #1 media darling for his agnosticism. Hes a bona fide textual critic. He speaks on college campuses all over the country, and spreads the view that we simply cant know what the original NT said since the scribes changed it so badly. His attitude is total despair about recovering the wording of the original text. His 2005 book, Misquoting Jesus, has challenged evangelical Christians. He infers from this that the originals are unknowable, that they were not originally orthodox. MUSLIM APOLOGISTS have picked up on this and have been beating up Christians who dont know the facts. Ehrman is their hero. I have found Muslim apologists better informed about the text of the NT than 95% of Christians. We need to be prepared to articulate reasons for the hope that is within us. Many Christians dont know how to respond to KJV Only folks. Further, many Christians have simply never wrestled with the realities of the text of the NT. Do we have a sure word from God? Are there places where we are uncertain about the original wording?

Once you start with a position of dogma, if there are any cracks in your armor, then the whole thing comes crumbling down. One of my missions in teaching at Dallas Seminary is to remind students that faith means faith; it doesnt mean PROOF! More people have abandoned the Christian faith because they held to an unreasonable position in one area. They held to a domino doctrine. And when one falls down, all fall down. Many Christians dont know how to respond to KJV Only folks. Further, many Christians have simply never wrestled with the realities of the text of the NT. Do we have a sure word from God? Are there places where we are uncertain about the original wording?

Once you start with a position of dogma, if there are any cracks in your armor, then the whole thing comes crumbling down. One of my missions in teaching at Dallas Seminary is to remind students that faith means faith; it doesnt mean PROOF! More people have abandoned the Christian faith because they held to an unreasonable position in one area. They held to a domino doctrine. And when one falls down, all fall down.

No. All disappeared within a few decades of being written. Probably wore out from being repeatedly copied, repeatedly examined. There are more than 5000 Greek NT MSS today, yet no two of them agree completely. Thus, the science known as textual criticism is necessary because the originals are gone and the copies are corrupt.

2nd century: 10 papyrus fragmentsm, perhaps a dozen.3rd century: 51confirmed; as many as 71.4th century: 101 confirmed; as many as 121. The entire NT is found in these MSS.Meanwhile, the average classical author has ZERO manuscript copies of his works through the first four centuries. Based on the manuscript evidence, if we have to express doubt about what the Gospel writers actually wrote about Jesus, that doubt needs to increase 1000-fold when it comes to most other ancient historians.