In this course, distinguished scholar Dr. Craig A. Evans answers a question commonly asked about the New Testament—can we trust the manuscripts? Because the answer has serious consequences, Dr. Evans clearly outlines the history of these important documents. He discusses the quality, quantity, and age of the manuscripts and how these elements compare to nonbiblical ancient texts. Numerous text examples as well as descriptions of the practices of ancient writers and scribes also contribute to his argument for reliable manuscripts.
“We have 5,800 handwritten manuscripts of the Greek nt. That is, these are manuscripts that predate the Gutenberg press, predate the first printed Greek nt produced by Erasmus in 1516.” (source)
“a fragment of the Gospel of Mark that could even date to the end of the first century, maybe even to the 80s” (source)
“most of these books fell in the 200- to 300-year range before being retired or discarded or thrown out” (source)
“Tertullian, writing around the year 190, in a tractate called Prescription against the Heretics—in chapter 36, he complains of the heretics who mutilate the text, and he says, ‘If you don’t believe me, then check out the autographs of Paul’s Letters,’ and he mentions a few letters by name, ‘which you can find in Hierapolis, in Asia Minor.’” (source)
“the oldest one is 900 years removed from when he wrote the original” (source)