Daniel Wallace is a prominent evangelical NT textual critic. He has written about the field in various places, but never in much detail, and never in a book dedicated to the topic. So I was very excited when I heard he was editing a collection of essays on the topic.
Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament is not a general book on the topic of NT textual criticism, but a collection of essays criticizing the analysis and methodology of Bart Ehrman. Indeed, if you have heard any of Wallace and Ehrman’s three debates, you will already be familiar with much of the material Wallace presents in his chapter. But it is nice to have that wealth of information put to print and to have access to all of the details Wallace provides in the footnotes. Here are a few facts about the NT manuscripts that are of note:
- How many manuscripts are there? As of the summer of 2008, the Munster Institute said there were 5555 manuscripts. Wallace’s organization, CSNTM, has discovered more than 75 previously uncatalogued manuscripts, raising the number to more than 6000.
- In addition to the Greek manuscripts, we have thousands of translations. There are at least 10,000 Latin manuscripts and close to 5,000 in other languages.
- In contrast, the average classical Greek work has less than 20 extant manuscripts.
- The average Greek NT manuscript is over 450 pages long.
- Many of our extant manuscripts are early. We have 12 manuscripts from the 2nd century, 64 manuscripts from the 3rd, 48 manuscripts from the 4th = 124 manuscripts within 300 years of the composition of the NT. The average classical Greek work has zero manuscripts during this same period of time.
- The 2nd century manuscripts alone attest to 3 out of 4 gospels, 9 of Paul’s letters, Acts, Hebrews, and Revelation. Amazingly, 43% of all NT verses (often partial) are represented in these manuscripts.
The other essays are very informative as well, probing deep into several textual debates. I particularly enjoyed the final essay which examined the nature of textual variants in our four extant fragments of the Gospel of Thomas.
Revisiting provides the reader with a good foundation of NT textual criticism, good reasons to trust that we have reliably reconstructed the NT text, and a thorough critique of Ehrman’s methodology and hyper-skeptical conclusions.
Thinking to Believe 
August 5, 2015 at 12:02 pm
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1363.cfm
I submitted Dr.Panin’s work to a former Chief Engineer/scientist quantum physics in rocketry who knows all forms of math. He is way beyond a perfectionist in his research. I have had many long detailed discussions in scientific subjects and other various subjects.
He told me he had very carefully checked the math ;probabilities, and the vast number of points for each verse listed as “features” Dr. Panin made. He firmly believes -that his work is astounding accurate; but the average person even believers-have no real interest in math and will ignore it or attempt to disprove it. It is an unusual discovery and this causes many to aver it’s conclusions.
On the other hand many have accepted Panin’s work ,and find it verifies the Biblical Ms. controversies.
I also submitted it to an atheist who was to my surprise very well versed in math to a very high degree. He wanted to test the tenants of Dr. Panin’s work.
After some time he very reluctantly verified Panin’s conclusions; but doesn’t understand how this could be since the Bible is a collection of fables, etc. He said he had ‘no opinion.’
Dr.Panin tested his formula on several other works, including the Apocrypha, and the patterns were not evident.
all so called refutations are based on the authors’ method of math and following the correct methodology and al were soundly refuted while Dr.Panin was alive. Panin took out front page ads (which have been published on the internet ) challenging top authorities of the day to publicly debate him, but no ever came forward.
I have even seen those who say there are mathematical patterns in the Constitution and other works thus rendering Panin’s work false; but their work is not in depth and numbers of legitimate math based features are not produced.
LikeLike
August 5, 2015 at 12:05 pm
Wish there is an edit button to correct our errors. When you are at work and do a post it is more subject to errors.
LikeLike
August 5, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Dr H. Davies:
When posting I find it best to write the post in word (.doc file) Edit it, revise etc… then copy, paste. That usually eliminates the errors sufficiently enough to avoid hitting yourself in the head. However, direct posts with time restraints, inherent with most post writings cause the dilemma you mention.
Now having said that, there is an entire religion based on numbers called Numerology. It has no more validity than any number of conspiracists who think that 666 is about Nero or a microchip under your skin, both ludicrous examples of erroneously lulled people looking for crazy connections by whatever means available. As did the hundreds of end of the world conspiracists from Popes to whomever in their quest to seem relevant. When in fact all religions derive from a person and are irrelevant to the truth of what actually IS!
The year Millennium was popular for several reasons:
the first was because the Millennium only occurs once in one thousand years and the other reason(s) was because of superstition and conspiracy.
There is a long list of end of the world theories and are too numerous to list here because they have been around since mankind was able to think and speak and raise fear in other people: and almost every year or ten years since then; there are hundreds. Let me start with the millennium in 1000:
1000 January 1st: by Pope Sylvester II
The Millennium Apocalypse at the end of the Christian Millennium. Various Christian clerics predicted the end of the world on this date, including Pope Sylvester II. Riots occurred in Europe and pilgrims headed east to Jerusalem.
1033 CE, Various Christians,
Following the failure of the January 1, 1000 prediction, some theorists proposed that the end would occur 1000 years after Jesus’ death, instead of his birth.
1284 CE, Pope Innocent III,
Pope Innocent III (d. 1216) predicted that the world would end 666 years after the rise of Islam.
1346–1351, Various Europeans,
The black plague spreading across Europe was interpreted by many as the sign of the end of times.
1999 CE,
President of Yale University foresaw Christ’s Millennium starting by 2000.
1999 CE, Nazim Al-Haqqani
Predicted that the Last Judgment would occur before the year 2000.
2000 CE January 1st, Various,
Predictions of a Y2K computer bug that would crash many computers and cause malfunctions leading to major catastrophes worldwide, and that society would cease to function.
An estimated 778 followers of this Ugandan religious movement perished in a devastating fire and a series of poisonings and killings that were either a group suicide or an orchestrated mass murder by group leaders after their predictions of the apocalypse failed to come about.
Falwell foresaw God pouring out his judgement on the world on this day.
Christian authors stated that the Y2K bug would trigger global economic chaos, which the Antichrist would use to rise to power. As the date approached, however, they changed their minds.
The leader of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days predicted the Second Coming of Christ would occur on April 6, 2000
This movement claimed that the planetary lineup would cause a “star holocaust,” pulling the planets toward the sun on this day, May 5 2000.
2012 Dec 21, Various
The so-called Mayan apocalypse at the end of the 13th b’ak’tun. The Earth would be destroyed by an asteroid, Nibiru, or some other interplanetary object; an alien invasion; or a supernova. Mayanist scholars stated that no extant classic Maya accounts forecast impending doom, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresented Maya history and culture.[87][88][89] Scientists from NASA, along with expert archeologists, stated that none of those events were possible.
2014 Apr – 2015 Sep, John Hagee and Mark Biltz,
Mark Biltz in 2008 and John Hagee claim that four “blood moons” in 2014 and 2015 may represent prophecies allegedly given in the Bible relating to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
2015 September, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky,
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky claims that the arrival of the Jewish Messiah is imminent.
2020 CE, Jeane Dixon,
Dixon claimed that Armageddon would take place in 2020 and Jesus would return to defeat the unholy Trinity of the Antichrist, Satan and the False prophet between 2020 and 2037. Dixon previously predicted the world would end on February 4, 1962.
And they continue up until the year 5 Billion and then the year 10 to the 100th power when the sun will scorch the earth beyond ability to support life.
Apocalypse collapse of the end of the world have been predicted since religion was invented by the superstitious mind trying to convince others that they know more than humanity itself. And on and on it goes: Mostly these predictors are religious people or people claiming to have psychic power to foretell the future
If you want to see the entire list of crazies, predictions go to WIKI : there are hundreds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events
LikeLike
August 5, 2015 at 7:25 pm
I think I am repeating myself;b sorry about that!
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Thanks for tip on edit! You do a good job at writing and composition-I don’t!
You are correct for the most part in what you have skillfully defined and delineated above. But, Dr. Panin’s 50 plus years of careful labor is far and away unlike those kinds of numerological calculations and theories. not even close. This number system is based on the fact they used characters in Hebrew and Greek as their numbers. Aleph for 1; Beth- 2 ; in Gk.Alpha for 1, Beta- 2, etc.;and down through the alphabet of both languages. His method based on some 50,000 pages of hand written tabulations is scientific and that’s why it stood up when my rocket Engineer highly perfectionistic friend very carefully over a long period of time tested each and every feature of each and every verse.
This includes those who have computerized his method too.
I have studied it since 1969. I do understand the innate prejudice due to the very good points you made about numbers and Scripture; and the fact utilizing numbers and calculations relative to words in the Scriptures is not very interesting and seems ‘novel,’ which automatically creates suspicion; but if it assiduously examined as I and others even professional scientist who have mastered all forms of high math have done it remains in my considered opinion an amazing discovery!
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 12:24 pm
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/panin3.htm
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 12:40 pm
http://www.caic.org.au/biblebase/rci/pnumber.htm This has the Hebrew and Greek alphabets with each having a numerical equalvent.
Genesis 1:1- as do each and every verse- has over 30 features! Only a few are listed. It’s all math you can’t cheat! but, boring and not flashy to many I know.
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 2:08 pm
Dr H Davis:
PANIN REALIZED “There was a mathematical precision inherent to the entire Bible that no mere mortal could have devised………”.
I just don’t get it. The fact that letters were used for numbers and numbers interpreted from letters to mean something doesn’t make sense to anybody except conspiracists and psychics and these systems of writings were only unique to the generations at the time and there have been evolutions of these ever since.
To divine a concordance to prove a divine hand at work is a belief; well, people have done that since religion’s inventions including but not limited to miracles and unusual weather patterns, volcanoes erupting and the like.
EXAMPLE: KOINE GREEK
This alphabetic system operates on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to obtain the total. For example, 241 was represented as (200 + 40 + 1). (It was not always the case that the numbers ran from highest to lowest: a 4th-century BC inscription at Athens placed the units to the left of the tens. This practice continued in Asia Minor well into the Roman period.) In ancient and medieval manuscripts, these numerals were eventually distinguished from letters using overbars: α, β, γ, etc. In medieval manuscripts of the Book of Revelation, the number of the Beast 666 is written as χξϛ (600 + 60 + 6). (Numbers larger than 1,000 reused the same letters but included various marks to note the change.)
And how was 666 written in Kings that described the amount of money that came into King Solomon’s vaults besides what he collected in State and Merchant taxes; it is merely the symbol for Money, Currency, Dollars, Gold whatever but the amount that came in was 666. 666 is not any name of any person; it represents money and Revelation uses that symbol to describe the lust for it terms of the beast, the Mark of the Beast and Name of the beast and revelation further explains why it is the beast by saying that if you don’t have the Mark of the beast the name of the beast or the beast itself you cannot buy or sell or trade or do anything whther you are rich or poor slave or free, big tall short or none of the above.
To try and formulate a name out of the alphabet makes no sense whatsoever because Revelation itself explains the meaning so definitively that makes a mockery of all the codes and symbles and microchips and whatever else Chrsitians and other conspiracists come up with seem ludicrous by comparison. The beast is the money: The Number 666 and the Mark is (see below)
Revelation 13:16-18
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand, metaphorically speaking, (right hand is symbolic of power) or on their foreheads(symbolic of one’s mindset), 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark ($–£–¢–€–₱–¥–etc) or the name of the beast(money, currency, dollars, cash, plastic, etc), or the number of his name.( $1.00 £200.00, ¥5,000.00, etc)
People can talk about a world descending into the abyss of crime, debauchery, gun play, drugs, school truancy, car-jacking, gangs and human depravity. But this is all extraneous and superfluous to the meaning and form only talking points for preachers who want to make you think they know more than they know, when in reality all they are doing is skirting around the meaning and never really talking about the meaning in all its simplicity because they do not know or understand. They try to bring everything but the kitchen sink into the conversation in the hope they will be heard for their much speaking. Classic Yappers, Circus Barkers, Snake Oil Salesmen pitching their wares of miracle water in ketchup packages.
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Click to access 777%20design.pdf
Many ‘don’t get it ‘ true as they have not focused on this subject free of mental background’ noise.’ We all have filters and information on a given subject must go these censors of: prejudice ,mental slothfulness concerning newly introduced ideas, biased,ignorance; preconceived ideas,and conceptions, etc.
This 50 year research study is not how YOU conceive it to be! You are DEAD WRONG!!!You example are not correctly related to this subject that I studied since 1969.You take one minute as it were and fire off loads of meaningless statements that are to me shockingly ignorant very biased and irrelevant to a subject. In all actuality concepts and historical subjects related somewhat to this subject that don’t really apply-just slightly peripheral to seem like you understand enough to reject- to me, the real subject at hand.
You seem to be on a track or mental rut where you instantly categorize something from your mental files that doesn’t jibe with your preconceived ideas and notions. That is not the mind of a real thinker.
LikeLike
August 7, 2015 at 4:56 pm
I am very comfortable in my skin; you are not comfortable in your skin. If Jesus had said or indicated in any way that there was some kind of special code needed to decipher, understand or interpret; yeah maybe, but he did not. All you are left with are conspiracists. If you cannot understand the simplicity of 666, the Mark and the Beast as stated in Revelation without some numeric code you are a loser, and not only a loser but someone advocating falsehoods as though they were true and THEY ARE NOT.
LikeLike