Blog (1) Jessica Sturino

Inconsistency in the wording and content of the New Testament is not a new issue in Christianity. The copies of the New Testament that we own and study have been edited and reedited by countless people over centuries. This information should not be surprising; minute differences between the manuscripts are to be expected. I did not realize, however, the volume and degree of the variances. According to Ehrman, no two of the 5,700 copies of the New Testament are exactly the same.¹ In fact, he submits estimates of the numbers of differences between the texts between 200,000 and 300,000.² The sheer magnitude of this number is astounding. Still, this isn’t earth-shattering. The part of the reading that I find to be the most problematic for many Christians involves the types of differences in the texts. The small inconsistencies like transposed words or a missing letter are generally not going to change the meaning of the text.

In my opinion, the conflict arises when we learn that there are entire passages that have been introduced into the New Testament years later for whatever reason. Editors of the text may have added these passages to further a particular belief, to promote a societal or political concern, or to eliminate perceived discrepancies in the text. If we are aware that the original information has been altered countless times, how can we rely on the message of the text? Ehrman aptly describes this problem, saying “… it is impossible to know what a New Testament author meant if you don’t know what he said.” ³ One passage in particular that the textbook mentions as having been added centuries after the earliest manuscripts is found in John 5:53-8:11. In his article about the passage, F.T. Gench submits that the story may be true but was suppressed by the editors of the New Testament because “the ease with which Jesus extended mercy to an adulterous woman embarrassed the earliest Christian communities and undermined their own more severe penitential practices.” ⁴ This story is only one of dozens of unexplained discrepancies in the text. These inconsistencies can have serious implications for people studying the New Testament and trying to decipher the originally intended meanings therein. My views on the text were certainly challenged as I learned about the instances of variance.

¹B. D. Ehrman, The New Testament (4; New York; Oxford; 2008), 489.

²B. D. Ehrman, The New Testament (4; New York; Oxford; 2008), 490.

 ³B. D. Ehrman, The New Testament (4; New York; Oxford; 2008), 495.

⁴ F.T. Gench, “John 5:53-8:11,” Interpretations (2009), 398.

Bibliography

Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford, 2008.

Gench, Frances T., “John 5:53-8:11.” Interpretations (2009): 398-400.