Twitter is not exactly famous for nuance, but at least it reminds you from time to time of the value of writing books. Today was one such day. Here are two tweets, from different ends of the spectrum that repeat unhelpful myths about the text of the NT.
Q: How can we be certain that the New Testament we have today hasn't undergone any edits over the years?
— Wendell (@wendelltalks) May 30, 2023
A: With over 5000 manuscripts containing parts or the entirety of the New Testament, we can confidently analyze and compare these texts to establish, without a doubt, that…
What’s being left out:
— Dan McClellan (@maklelan) May 30, 2023
- Vast majority are from after the 9th century.
- The earlier the manuscripts, the less they contain.
- The earlier the manuscripts, the more variants there are.
- For almost all NT texts, we can’t cannot account for the first century+ of transmission. https://t.co/tcWrq5nn6G
If only someone had edited a bookcorrectingsuch commonmyths.