CSNTM.org
CSNTM.org is "The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts." One of their main goals is to create a database including a digital photograph of ever single New Testament manuscript in existence. It's an incredible endeavor! Be sure to click over and check out images of the actual documents that our present day Bibles are made from! (I used a portion of one of these images for the picture in Part 3 of the recent series.)

Part 3: The New Testament: Transmission and Textual Criticism

The Great Bible Photo Credit

Wycliffe and Tyndale
Due to the language that this paper is being written in, the development of the English translations are the ones that will be covered in detail. The first English translation was made by Wycliffe in 1380, and updated in 1388. Wycliffe faced a great deal of persecution during the making of his translation. The church wanted to keep power in the hands of the priests and keep the common people in the dark.

Part 2: The Old Testament: Transmission and Canon

New Testament Manuscript Photo Credit: CSNTM.org Manuscript Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Transmission
The books that make up the Old and New Testament canon were transmitted down to today’s Christians in quite different fashions. The Old Testament was mainly transmitted via professional scribes who copied it. Many of the people of the time were not capable of reading and writing, so there were people specifically trained to copy the scriptures. These people were called scribes. This was their occupation, and as such they did a high quality, professional job. There were very stringent guidelines in place dictating how exactly the scribes were to go about copying the scriptures. For instance, they had to count all of the letters on a completed page, to verify that they had done an acceptable job. If they had more than three errors per page, they were required to start over. This ensured a very, very accurate transmission of the Old Testament down to current times.

Read Part 1: "Errors" and Inerrancy

Photo Credit.

When trying to determine if the Bible can be trusted, the first thing we must do is examine the scriptures and decide for ourselves if they contain any errors. But first, what is the definition of an error?

What Is an Error?

The Bible Photo Credit.

The issue of whether or not the Bible is trustworthy is in its very essence a critical topic. If the Bible is not worthy of having trust put in it, as a Christian, your eternal salvation, and indeed, your foundation and basis for all motivation in life collapses in a pile of rubbish.

You must be pretty sure that the thing in which your faith is put in has a backbone to it, and will be able to stand an objective examination of reliability. If the Bible proves not to have such a backbone, those who count themselves Christians will have to drastically rethink their entire view of life’s meaning and goals.