Where is the original text of the Bible written by the Apostles?

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Many of us here always debate on subjects that must be found in the Scripture.

A New Age friend of mine who believes partially in Christ and partially in Buddhist says that we don’t have the original Scriptures and therefore how we know it is all true.

So, my question to all of us here, Catholics and Non-Catholics, is how do we answer to my friend that we don’t have the original text penned by the Apostles, thus the Scriptures are not always accurate.
 
water said:
Many of us here always debate on subjects that must be found in the Scripture.

A New Age friend of mine who believes partially in Christ and partially in Buddhist says that we don’t have the original Scriptures and therefore how we know it is all true.

So, my question to all of us here, Catholics and Non-Catholics, is how do we answer to my friend that we don’t have the original text penned by the Apostles, thus the Scriptures are not always accurate.
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They are no longer existent.

But, when archaeologists find Bible manuscripts from various parts of the world, from various different times, and there are very few differences in the text, you can be confident that they are accurate.

Ask him how do they know Socrates wrote anything?
 
Here’s what I found about early manuscripts:

There are:
Fragments of the NT dated circa 114AD.
Entire Books of the NT dated circa 200AD
Most of the NT dated circa 250AD
The entire NT dated circa 325.

All told there are over 5300 early copies of the NT in various forms of completion, coming from all over the known world. There are very, very few differences in the texts of these manuscripts.

Meanwhile, the earliest known manuscript of Plato’s “Surviving Works” is dated 900 AD, 1300 years after Plato wrote it. There are only 7 of these early copies of Plato’s works.

BTW, I got this from Agapebiblestudy.com who used: *Evidence That Demands a Verdict *and Faith of the Early Fathers volume I
 
water said:
A New Age friend of mine…says that we don’t have the original Scriptures and therefore how we know it is all true.
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I think the way to respond to this is that your friend’s is a careless statement. My support is from Keating’s book Catholicism and Fundamentalism where he says of the Sacred Scripture
“…we are able to conclude that we have a text the accuracy of which is more certain than the accuracy of any other ancient work.”
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He explains that though no one disputes we have accurate copies of the works of Virgil, Livy, Horace, Plato, Euripides—yet the earliest manuscripts that we now possess were written from 350–1,600 years after the deaths of these authors.

Keating continues:
Not only are the biblical manuscripts we have older than those for classical authors, we have in absolute numbers far more manuscripts to work from. Some are whole books of the Bible, others fragments of just a few words, but there are thousands of manuscripts in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, and other languages. What this means is that we can be sure we have an accurate text, and we can work from it in confidence."
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I didn’t see any references in the pages to the written foundations of eastern religions like Buddhism, so don’t know if Buddhists say they have writings contemporaneous with the Buddha. Don’t think so.

Hope this helps.
 
water said:
Many of us here always debate on subjects that must be found in the Scripture.

A New Age friend of mine who believes partially in Christ and partially in Buddhist says that we don’t have the original Scriptures and therefore how we know it is all true.

So, my question to all of us here, Catholics and Non-Catholics, is how do we answer to my friend that we don’t have the original text penned by the Apostles, thus the Scriptures are not always accurate.
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What Scripture do New Agers have?
 
toaslan said:
I think the way to respond to this is that your friend’s is a careless statement. My support is from Keating’s book Catholicism and Fundamentalism where he says of the Sacred Scripture He explains that though no one disputes we have accurate copies of the works of Virgil, Livy, Horace, Plato, Euripides—yet the earliest manuscripts that we now possess were written from 350–1,600 years after the deaths of these authors.

Keating continues:

I didn’t see any references in the pages to the written foundations of eastern religions like Buddhism, so don’t know if Buddhists say they have writings contemporaneous with the Buddha. Don’t think so.

Hope this helps.
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Teflon93 said:
What Scripture do New Agers have?
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Thank you all for your answering.

The reason that I chose not to debate with my friend(also co-worker) on differences is that I do not want her to build a brick wall between her and me. At this time, I prefer to focus on what we both have in common. This will keep our conversation alive and more productive.

In times, I will find out what parts in the Bible she believes in and hopefully we both can study on those parts; however, it is better for me to be prepared what to answer when she askes something else. 🙂

Thank you all.
 
water said:
Thank you all for your answering.

The reason that I chose not to debate with my friend(also co-worker) on differences is that I do not want her to build a brick wall between her and me. At this time, I prefer to focus on what we both have in common. This will keep our conversation alive and more productive.

In times, I will find out what parts in the Bible she believes in and hopefully we both can study on those parts; however, it is better for me to be prepared what to answer when she askes something else. 🙂

Thank you all.
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I think that is a good plan.

I wasn’t trying to be snarky with my question, it just throws me when people argue against something when it is by no means clear they have the superior position.

It’s rather like Dr Phil coming out with a diet book, you know? I just don’t really know how to respond to such things except to ask, “What makes Dr Phil a reliable source on dieting?”
 
water said:
Many of us here always debate on subjects that must be found in the Scripture.

A New Age friend of mine who believes partially in Christ and partially in Buddhist says that we don’t have the original Scriptures and therefore how we know it is all true.

So, my question to all of us here, Catholics and Non-Catholics, is how do we answer to my friend that we don’t have the original text penned by the Apostles, thus the Scriptures are not always accurate.
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Your question is answered right here:

carm.org/evidence/textualevidence.htm
carm.org/evidence/textualexample.htm
 
Teflon93 said:
I think that is a good plan.

I wasn’t trying to be snarky with my question, it just throws me when people argue against something when it is by no means clear they have the superior position.
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I understand what you mean.
Thank you.
 
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