Q&A: Veritas 2020 #13 Early Church History (1 of 3)–Manuscripts

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Questions only

  1. How long does the Bible say that the Word of God will endure? 
    1. (forever)
  2. What are two verses that teach that? 
    1. (Psalm 119:89 and Matthew 24:35)
  3. When was the printing press invented in Europe? 
    1. (1440 AD)
  4. Who invented it? 
    1. (Gutenberg)
  5. Before the invention of the printing press, how was written material preserved? 
    1. (handwritten copies)
  6. What are two types of writing materials that were commonly used before paper?  
    1. (parchment and Papyrus)
  7. What is parchment? 
    1. (writing material made from animal skins)
  8. What is papyrus? 
    1. (Paper-like writing material made from reeds)
  9. What is the source of papyrus? 
    1. reeds that grew along the Nile river
  10. How was papyrus made? 
    1. (from criss-crossing and drying the inner layer of reeds that grew along the Nile river
  11. Why was papyrus popular in the middle east?
    1. (plenty of reeds along the Nile river made it affordable)
  12. What usually happens to both papyrus and parchment over time? 
    1. (rot, decay)
  13. What does the word “manuscript” mean? 
    1. (Hand-written)
  14. Who was Plato? 
    1. (Greek Philosopher who lived about 400 years before Jesus was born)
  15. Approximately when did Plato live? 
    1. (400 years before Christ)
  16. How many manuscripts do we have of Plato’s writings? 
    1. (7)
  17. What is the oldest manuscript we have of Plato’s writings? 
    1. (900 AD)
  18. What was the time interval between the time Plato originally wrote his thoughts and the time of the earliest manuscript we have today? 
    1. (1200 years)
  19. Who was Julius Caesar? 
    1. (Roman emperor and author from 100-44 BC–(1st Century) BC)
  20. How many manuscripts do we have of Julius Caesar’s writings? 
    1. (10)
  21. What is the oldest manuscript we have of Julius Caesar’s writings? 
    1. (900 AD)
  22. What was the time interval between the time Caesar originally wrote his thoughts and the time of the earliest manuscript we have today? 
    1. (1000 years)
  23. Who was Aristotle? 
    1. (Plato’s student. He lived 384 to 322 (4th century) BC 
  24. How many manuscripts do we have of Aristotle’s writings? 
    1. (49)
  25. What is the oldest manuscript we have of Aristotle’s writings? 
    1. (1100 AD)
  26. What was the time interval between the time Aristotle originally wrote his thoughts and the time of the earliest manuscript we have today? 
    1. (1400 years)
  27. How many Greek manuscripts do we have of New Testament documents? 
    1. (5000-6000)
  28. How many manuscripts of other languages do we have of the New Testament? 
    1. (~20,000)
  29. What is the oldest manuscript we have of New Testament documents? 
    1. (The John Rylands Papyrus from 130 AD)
  30. What was the time interval between the time John originally wrote his Gospel and the time of the earliest manuscript we have today? 
    1. (only a few decades)
  31. Who was Bruce Metzger? 
    1. (NT MSS Scholar who taught at Princeton for 46 years)
  32. What did Bruce Metzger say about the writings of early church leaders after the New Testament was written?  
    1. (virtually the entire NT could be put together from the quotes of it in their letters)
  33. Who was Frederick Kenyon? 
    1. (director of British Museum and NT MSS scholar)
  34. What did Frederick Kenyon say about the New Testament documents? 
    1. (they are completely trustworthy and the same as we have today)