Has the Bible Been Changed?

by Greg Gwin

We are frequently asked about the reliability of our Bibles. Specifically, how can we be sure that the Bibles we are reading today are true to the original messages delivered so long ago? In particular, can we be sure that the New Testament has not been altered and changed in the almost 2000 years since it was written?

The answer to these questions is a resounding yes, we can be absolutely certain that we have good, reliable copies of the messages as they were originally written. To illustrate how we can have this confidence, consider this illustration:

• At a potluck dinner, Sally has a delicious dish and several other ladies ask for her recipe.
• Sally makes three handwritten copies of her recipe and gives them to Anna, Betty, and Clara.
• A good while later, Anna pulls out that recipe and is preparing to fix the dish. She calls Sally to confirm the ingredients, but Sally has lost her original copy of the recipe.
• Is there any way for Anna to confirm the accuracy of her copy?
• Yes, although the original has been lost, Anna can compare her copy to those of Betty and Clara. If all three agree, she can have good confidence that her copy is exactly like the original.

Now, take this illustration and apply the same principle to the New Testament. Admittedly, the original ‘autograph’ copies of these documents are all lost and unavailable. But, there are literally thousands of copies of those originals, many dating back to the immediate time frame in which the originals were written. By comparing these thousands of copies, and by observing their nearly perfect similarities, we can conclude that our Bibles today are true to the originals. In fact, there is no book of antiquity that comes even close to the Bible in being able to provide this sort of documentary evidence for authenticity and accuracy.

Yes, you can trust your Bible!