Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible Lesson 1 “How We Got the Bible”

Rationale: This section will familiarize you with how we got the bible, as well as its writing and construction. This section is only a familiarization and not intended to be an exhaustive study of the compilation of the cannon, thus one should possess a great appreciation of how the cannon was compiled.

Materials Used 1.Papyrus: Papyrus came from the papyrus plant. 2.Parchment: Parchment is the name given for animal skins that have been prepared for writing materials. 3.Vellum: Vellum was the name given to calf skin.

Additional materials used for other forms of writing: 4.Ostraca: unglazed pottery used primarily by the common people. 5.Stones: stones inscribed with Iron pen have been unearthed by Archaeologists. 6.Clay tablets. 7.Wax tablets.

Primary writing Instruments: 1.Chisel: an iron tool used to engrave stone. 2.Metal Stylus: a three sided instrument used to make incursions into clay and wax tablets. 3.Pens: 4.Ink:

Forms of Ancient Books 1.Rolls or Scrolls. 2.Codex: Wittings in the form of a book. 3.Autographs: Autographs are original texts which were written either by the actual author or by a scribe under the author’s personal direction. 4.Manuscripts: copies of the autographs.

Some facts about the manuscripts: The evidence in the copies of the original autographs we have now, helps support the claim of the reliability of the Bible as a historical account of human and world events, as well as a revelation from God.

The Old Testament Manuscripts 1.The Jewish Religion Was The Gatekeeper Of the Old Testament. 2.The Jewish Masorets Were Diligent Scholars, That’s Good News! 3.The Essenes Confirm The Precise Reliability of The Old Testament. 4.The Jewish Scribes practiced profound reverence for the text.

The New Testament Manuscripts 1.The New Testament champions overwhelming evidence of manuscript purity and trustworthiness.

The New Testament Manuscripts 2.One Must Understand The Difference Between a Mistake And a Variant.

The New Testament Manuscripts 3.Patristics, Is the writings of the early church fathers, confirm reliability and consistency of the N.T. we are indebted to them.

The New Testament Manuscripts 4.The Inerrancy Of The Bible Is Not Only True, It Is Believable.

Print Print additions of all Bibles occurred after the very first printed Bible by Johannes Gutenberg and his Gutenberg press in

How did the sixty six come about? Canonicity is the word that determined which books would be in what we call the Bible. Canon: The third century Church Father Origen used the word Canon to denote what we call the rule of faith, the standard by which we are to measure and evaluate. Latter the term would also mean list or index. Applied to the scripture canon means an officially accepted list of books. The church did not create the canon!

Please note the contrasting truth regarding the canon: The Incorrect View: 1.The Church is Determiner of Canon 2.The Church is Mother of Canon 3.The Church is Magistrate of Canon 4.The Church is Regulator of Canon 5.The Church is Judge of Canon 6.The Church is Master of Canon

Please note the contrasting truth regarding the canon: The Correct View 1.The Church is Discoverer of the Canon 2.The Church is Child of the Canon 3.The Church is Minister of the Canon 4.The Church is Recognizer of the Canon 5.The Church is Witness of the Canon 6.The Church is Servant of the Canon

Tests for Inclusion in the Canon 1. Was the book written by a prophet of God? 2.Was the writer confirmed by acts of God? 3.Did the message tell the truth about God? 4.Did the message come with the power of God? 5.Was the message accepted by the people of God?

Tests for New Testament Canonicity 1.Was it written by the apostles or dictated by the apostles?

Reasons for Their Collections (the books to canonize them) 1.They were prophetic. 2.The needs of the early Church. 3.The rise of Heretics. 4.Missions. 5.Persecution.

The Canon Recognized 450 B.C. Ezra collects and arranges the books, according to Jewish tradition. These books make up the Hebrew Scriptures also called the Old Testament. A.D. 350 the early Church fathers accept the writings of the Gospels and Paul’s letters as canonical. The council of Carthage lists 27 books as authentic. These 27 books make up the New Testament today.