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An Introduction to the Bible..
A brief introduction to the Bible
The Bible is the collection of books used by Christians. Christians believe that God speaks to
men through His actions and words as they are written down in the Bible.
The word "Bible" comes from the Greek word "biblia" which means "little books". The Bible is
actually a library of 66 books written by a least 40 different authors over a period of at least 1500
years. The oldest book was written about 1500 B.C. or earlier. The last was written about A.D.
100.
Good News Bible - Today's English Version
The Bible was originally written in the Hebrew and Greek languages. The "Good News Bible -
Today's English Version" is an English translation of the Bible. There are many good English
translations of the Bible. The translators of "Today's English Version" made a special effort to
use standard English that would be easily understood by those who have learned English as a
second language.
Sections of The Bible
See if you can find the "Table of Contents" in your Bible. You will notice in the contents that the
Bible is divided into two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old
Testament has 39 books. The New Testament has 27 books.
A "testament" is another word for covenant, an agreement established by God setting out the
relationship between God and human beings. In the Old Testament (or old covenant), the
relationship was based on law. God chose a people for Himself and gave them His law. The
people he chose was the nation of Israel, named for one of their ancestors. The history books in
the Old Testament show that the relationship based on law failed because people always sin and
disobey God's law.
In the New Testament (the new covenant), the relationship between God and human beings is
based on grace (God's free acceptance of us) and peace. Grace and peace come through Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, God himself come to live among men. Jesus died in our place to pay the
penalty required for breaking God's law. After three days, he rose up from the dead to give us
eternal life.
Books of the Bible
Look at the list of names of the books in the Old and New Testaments. Some of the names will
sound strange to you and be hard to pronounce. That's OK. Some of them are hard for Americans
to say also. Many of the books are named for their authors. Other books are letters named for the
people or groups to whom they were first sent. Other books are named for their subjects.

Old Testament Books
The contents of the books also vary. In the Old Testament there are books of history about the
people that God called, government records, moral and religious law, poetry, songs, and wise
sayings.
There were also books written by prophets. Prophets were men chosen by God to deliver his
message. They asked people to live in ways pleasing to God. They also looked ahead to the
coming of a servant and a king who would save his people. A special word used for this person
was the "Messiah," the one chosen to be king. The last Old Testament prophet wrote his book
about 400 years before Jesus lived.
New Testament Books
The New Testament starts out with the Gospel - four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
named for the men who wrote them. Gospel means "good news." The Gospel describes the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ is the Greek word that means the "Messiah," the
servant king looked for by the prophets of the Old Testament.
The next book in the New Testament, Acts, describes the acts of Jesus' followers following
Jesus' return to heaven. The other New Testament books are all letters from Jesus' followers to
early Christian churches or other Christians. These letters help us understand the good news of
Jesus Christ and how to apply it in our own lives.
Finding Things In The Bible
If you turn to the first page of one of the books in the "Good News Bible" (like the book of
Genesis on page l), you will first see an "Introduction" and an "Outline of Contents." These were
added by the translators to help you understand the book more easily. They were not in the
original book.
The actual book starts just after the "Outline of Contents." If you read the book, you will see that
each book is divided into chapters a page or two long. The chapters are all numbered. Each
chapter is divided into short verses a few lines long. Each verse is also numbered. The books
originally were not divided into chapters and verses. The chapter and verse numbers were added
later to make it easier to find things in the Bible.
When quoting something from the Bible, people will identify the location of the passage by
book, chapter, and verse. You can look up the location of the book in the table of contents to find
a page number for chapter 1. Then you look forward in the book to find the right chapter and
verse. The page numbers start over from 1 in the New Testament, so be sure to notice whether
the book you are looking for is in the Old or the New Testament.
The Message of The Bible

The following verses describe some of the important things that God tells us in the Bible.
Practice what we have just learned about finding passages in the Bible by looking up the verses.
Romans 1:28-31 (page 145 in the New Testament) describes what people are like without God.
Acts 17:24-28 (page 132, NT) describes how God intended things to be.
Isaiah 59:1-2 (page 577, OT) and Romans 6:23 (page 149, NT) talk about the results of man's
disobedience to God.
Isaiah 53:6 (page 574, OT), Romans 5:6-11 (page 148, NT), and Romans 10:9-13 (page 152,
NT) describe God's plan for bringing people back into a close relationship with himself.
History of the Bible: How The Bible Came To
Us
by Wesley Ringer
Introduction
Why should we have some understanding of how the Bible came to us? Young children often
think that milk comes in cartons from the grocery store. As they grow up they learn that milk
comes from cows on the farm. Likewise many Christians have become so used to having Bibles
that they have bought at a book store that they have almost no knowledge of where the present
English translations of the Bible came from.
A. Understanding how the Bible came to us gives us a confident foundation for our faith in
the reliability the Bible. Evidence presented in a criminal case must be shown to have
been protected by a proper chain of custody from being tampered with.
B. We will be able to answer to critics when they claim that the New Testament contains
200,000 errors.
C. We will have some understanding of why the newer translations such as the NIV and
NASV differ from the King James Versions at various points.
Important terms to remember:
Skeptics often claim that the Bible has been changed. However, it is important to define the
terms that apply to the source of our English Bible.
Autographs: The original texts were written either by the author's own hand or by a
scribe under their personal supervision.
Manuscripts: Until Gutenberg first printed the Latin Bible in 1456, all Bibles were hand
copied onto papyrus, parchment, and paper.
Translations: When the Bible is translated into a different language it is usually
translated from the original Hebrew and Greek. However some translations in the past

were derived from an earlier translation. For example the first English translation by John
Wycliffe in 1380 was prepared from the Latin Vulgate.
Old Testament
The Bible comes from two main sources - Old and New Testaments - written in different
languages. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, with some books written in
Aramaic. The following are brief snap shots of the beginning and ending of the Old Testament
and the reasons for the first two translations of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Aramaic
and Greek
1875 B.C. Abraham was called by God to the land of Canaan.
1450 B.C. The exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt.
Autographs
There are no known autographs of any books of the Old Testament. Below is a list of the
languages in which the Old Testament books were written.
1450-1400 B.C. The traditional date for Moses' writing of Genesis-Deuteronomy written
in Hebrew.
586 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The Jews
were taken into captivity to Babylon. They remained in Babylon under the Medo-Persian
Empire and there began to speak Aramaic.
555-545 B.C. The Book of Daniel Chapters. 2:4 to 7:28 were written in Aramaic.
425 B.C. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, was written in Hebrew.
400 B.C. Ezra Chapters. 4:8 to 6:18; and 7:12-26 were written in Aramaic.
Manuscripts
The following is a list of the oldest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament that are still in
existence.
The Dead Sea Scrolls: date from 200 B.C. - 70 A.D. and contain the entire book of Isaiah
and portions of every other Old Testament book but Esther.
Geniza Fragments: portions the Old Testament in Hebrew and Aramaic, discovered in
1947 in an old synagogue in Cairo, Egypt, which date from about 400 A.D.
Ben Asher Manuscripts: five or six generations of this family made copies of the Old
Testament using the Masoretic Hebrew text, from 700-950 A.D. The following are
examples of the Hebrew Masoretic text-type.
o Aleppo Codex: contains the complete Old Testament and is dated around 950
A.D. Unfortunately over one quarter of this Codex was destroyed in anti-Jewish
riots in 1947.
o Codex Leningradensis: The complete Old Testament in Hebrew copied by the
last member of the Ben Asher family in A.D. 1008.

Translations
The Old Testament was translated very early into Aramaic and Greek.
400 B.C. The Old Testament began to be translated into Aramaic. This translation is
called the Aramaic Targums. This translation helped the Jewish people, who began to
speak Aramaic from the time of their captivity in Babylon, to understand the Old
Testament in the language that they commonly spoke. In the first century Palestine of
Jesus' day, Aramaic was still the commonly spoken language. For example maranatha:
"Our Lord has come," 1 Corinthians 16:22 is an example of an Aramaic word that is used
in the New Testament.
250 B.C. The Old Testament was translated into Greek. This translation is known as the
Septuagint. It is sometimes designated "LXX" (which is Roman numeral for "70")
because it was believed that 70 to 72 translators worked to translate the Hebrew Old
Testament in Greek. The Septuagint was often used by New Testament writers when they
quoted from the Old Testament. The LXX was translation of the Old Testament that was
used by the early Church.
1. The following is a list of the oldest Greek LXX translations of the Old Testament that
are still in existence.
o Chester Beatty Papyri: Contains nine Old Testament Books in the Greek
Septuagint and dates between 100-400 A.D.
o Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus each contain almost the entire Old
Testament of the Greek Septuagint and they both date around 350 A.D.
The New Testament
Autographs
45- 95 A.D. The New Testament was written in Greek. The Pauline Epistles, the Gospel of
Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the book of Acts are all dated from 45-63 A.D. The Gospel of
John and the Revelation may have been written as late as 95 A.D.
Manuscripts
There are over 5,600 early Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament that are still in existence.
The oldest manuscripts were written on papyrus and the later manuscripts were written on
leather called parchment.
125 A.D. The New Testament manuscript which dates most closely to the original
autograph was copied around 125 A.D, within 35 years of the original. It is designated "p
52" and contains a small portion of John 18. (The "p" stands for papyrus.)
200 A.D. Bodmer p 66 a papyrus manuscript which contains a large part of the Gospel of
John.

200 A.D. Chester Beatty Biblical papyrus p 46 contains the Pauline Epistles and
Hebrews.
225 A.D. Bodmer Papyrus p 75 contains the Gospels of Luke and John.
250-300 A.D. Chester Beatty Biblical papyrus p 45 contains portions of the four Gospels
and Acts.
350 A.D. Codex Sinaiticus contains the entire New Testament and almost the entire Old
Testament in Greek. It was discovered by a German scholar Tisendorf in 1856 at an
Orthodox monastery at Mt. Sinai.
350 A.D. Codex Vaticanus: {B} is an almost complete New Testament. It was cataloged
as being in the Vatican Library since 1475.
Translations
Early translations of the New Testament can give important insight into the underlying Greek
manuscripts from which they were translated.
180 A.D. Early translations of the New Testament from Greek into Latin, Syriac, and
Coptic versions began about 180 A.D.
195 A.D. The name of the first translation of the Old and New Testaments into Latin was
termed Old Latin, both Testaments having been translated from the Greek. Parts of the
Old Latin were found in quotes by the church father Tertullian, who lived around 160-
220 A.D. in north Africa and wrote treatises on theology.
300 A.D. The Old Syriac was a translation of the New Testament from the Greek into
Syriac.
300 A.D. The Coptic Versions: Coptic was spoken in four dialects in Egypt. The Bible
was translated into each of these four dialects.
380 A.D. The Latin Vulgate was translated by St. Jerome. He translated into Latin the
Old Testament from the Hebrew and the New Testament from Greek. The Latin Vulgate
became the Bible of the Western Church until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's. It
continues to be the authoritative translation of the Roman Catholic Church to this day.
The Protestant Reformation saw an increase in translations of the Bible into the common
languages of the people.
Other early translations of the Bible were in Armenian, Georgian, and Ethiopic, Slavic,
and Gothic.
1380 A.D. The first English translation of the Bible was by John Wycliffe. He translated
the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate. This was a translation from a translation
and not a translation from the original Hebrew and Greek. Wycliffe was forced to
translate from the Latin Vulgate because he did not know Hebrew or Greek.
The Advent of Printing
Printing greatly aided the transmission of the biblical texts.
1456 A.D. Gutenberg produced the first printed Bible in Latin. Printing revolutionized
the way books were made. From now on books could be published in great numbers and
at a lower cost.

1514 A.D. The Greek New Testament was printed for the first time by Erasmus. He
based his Greek New Testament from only five Greek manuscripts, the oldest of which
dated only as far back as the twelfth century. With minor revisions, Erasmus' Greek New
Testament came to be known as the Textus Receptus or the "received texts."
1522 A. D. Polyglot Bible was published. The Old Testament was in Hebrew, Aramaic,
Greek, and Latin and the New Testament in Latin and Greek. Erasmus used the Polyglot
to revise later editions of his New Testament. Tyndale made use of the Polyglot in his
translation on the Old Testament into English which he did not complete because he was
martyred in 1534.
1611 A.D. The King James Version into English from the original Hebrew and Greek.
The King James translators of the New Testament used the Textus Receptus as the basis
for their translations.
1968 A.D. The United Bible Societies 4th Edition of the Greek New Testament. This
Greek New Testament made use of the oldest Greek manuscripts which date from 175
A.D. This was the Greek New Testament text from which the NASV and the NIV were
translated.
1971 A.D. The New American Standard Version (NASV) was published. It makes use
of the wealth of much older Hebrew and Greek manuscripts now available that weren't
available at the time of the translation of the KJV. Its wording and sentence structure
closely follow the Greek in more of a word for word style.
1983 A.D. The New International Version (NIV) was published. It also made use of the
oldest manuscript evidence. It is more of a "thought-for-thought" translation and reads
more easily than the NASV.
o As an example of the contrast between word-for-word and thought-for-thought
translations, notice below the translation of the Greek word "hagios-holy"
NASV Hebrews 9:25. "...the high priest enters the holy place year by year with
blood not his own."
NIV Hebrews 9:25. "...the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with
blood that is not his own."
o The NIV supplies "understood" information about the Day of Atonement, namely
that the high priest's duties took place in the compartment of the temple known
specifically as the Most Holy Place. Note that the NASV simply says "holy
place" reflecting the more literal translation of "hagios."
The Integrity of the Manuscript Evidence
As with any ancient book transmitted through a number of handwritten manuscripts, the question
naturally arises as to how confident can we be that we have anything resembling the autograph.
Let us now look at what evidences we have for the integrity of the New Testament manuscripts.
Let us look at the number of manuscripts and how close they date to the autographs of the Bible
as compared with other ancient writings of similar age.
A. Tacitus, the Roman historian, wrote his Annals of Imperial Rome in about A.D. 116. Only
one manuscript of his work remains. It was copied about 850 A.D.

B. Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote The Jewish War shortly after 70 A.D. There are nine
manuscripts in Greek which date from 1000-1200 A.D. and one Latin translation from
around 400 A.D.
C. Homer's Iliad was written around 800 B.C. It was as important to ancient Greeks as the
Bible was to the Hebrews. There are over 650 manuscripts remaining but they date from
200 to 300 A.D. which is over a thousand years after the Iliad was written.
D. The Old Testament autographs were written 1450 - 400 B. C.
1. The Dead Sea Scrolls date between 200 B.C. to 70 A. D and date within 300 years
from when the last book of the Old Testament was written.
2. Two almost complete Greek LXX translations of the Old Testament date about
350 A. D.
3. The oldest complete Hebrew Old Testament dates about 950 A. D.
4. Genesis-Deuteronomy were written over 1200 years before the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Codex Vaticanus is an almost complete Greek translation of the Old Testament
dating around 350 A.D. The Aleppo Codex is the oldest complete Old Testament
manuscript in Hebrew and was copied around 950 A.D. The Dead Sea Scrolls
date from within 200-300 years from the last book of the Old Testament.
However since the five books of Moses were written about 1450- 1400 B.C. the
Dead Sea Scrolls still come almost 1200 years after the first books of the Old
Testament were written.
E. The New Testament autographs were written between 45-95 A. D.
1. There are 5,664 Greek manuscripts some dating as early as 125 A. D. and an
complete New Testament that dates from 350 A. D.
2. 8,000 to 10,000 Latin Vulgate manuscripts.
3. 8,000 manuscripts in Ethiopic, Coptic, Slavic, Syriac, and Armenian.
4. In addition, the complete New Testament could be reproduced from the quotes
that were made from it by the early church fathers in their letters and sermons.
Authorship and dating of the New Testament books
Skeptics and liberal Christian scholars both seek to date the New Testament books as late first
century or early second century writings. They contend that these books were not written by
eyewitnesses but rather by second or third hand sources. This allowed for the development of
what they view as myths concerning Jesus. For example, they would deny that Jesus actually
foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. Rather they would contend that later Christian writers "put
these words into his mouth."
A. Many of the New Testament books claim to be written by eyewitnesses.
1. The Gospel of John claims to be written by the disciple of the Lord. Recent
archeological research has confirmed both the existence of the Pool of Bethesda
and that it had five porticoes as described in John 5:2. This correct reference to an
incidental detail lends credibility to the claim that the Gospel of John was written
by John who as an eyewitness knew Jerusalem before it was destroyed in 70 A. D.

2. Paul signed his epistles with his own hand. He was writing to churches who knew
him. These churches were able to authenticate that these epistles had come from
his hands (Galatians 6:11). Clement an associate of Paul's wrote to the Corinthian
Church in 97 A. D. urging them to heed the epistle that Paul had sent them.
B. The following facts strongly suggest that both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts
were written prior to 65 A.D. This lends credibility to the author's (Luke) claim to be an
eyewitness to Paul's missionary journeys. This would date Mark prior to 65 A.D. and the
Pauline epistles between 49-63 A.D.
1. Acts records the beginning history of the church with persecutions and
martyrdoms being mentioned repeatedly. Three men; Peter, Paul, and James the
brother of Jesus all play leading roles throughout the book. They were all
martyred by 67 A.D., but their martyrdoms are not recorded in Acts.
2. The church in Jerusalem played a central role in the Book of Acts, but the
destruction of the city in 70 A.D. was not mentioned. The Jewish historian
Josephus cited the siege and destruction of Jerusalem as befalling the Jews
because of their unjust killing of James the brother of Jesus.
3. The Book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome under house arrest in 62 A.D. In 64
A.D., Nero blamed and persecuted the Christians for the fire that burned down the
city of Rome. Paul himself was martyred by 65 A.D. in Rome. Again, neither the
terrible persecution of the Christians in Rome nor Paul's martyrdom are
mentioned.
Conclusion: These books, Luke-Acts, were written while Luke was an eyewitness
to many of the events, and had opportunity to research portions that he was not an
eyewitness to.
The church fathers bear witness to even earlier New Testament manuscripts
The earliest manuscripts we have of major portions of the New Testament are p 45, p 46, p66,
and p 75, and they date from 175-250 A. D. The early church fathers (97-180 A.D.) bear witness
to even earlier New Testament manuscripts by quoting from all but one of the New Testament
books. They are also in the position to authenticate those books, written by the apostles or their
close associates, from later books such as the gospel of Thomas that claimed to have been
written by the apostles, but were not.
A. Clement (30-100 A.D.) wrote an epistle to the Corinthian Church around 97 A.D. He
reminded them to heed the epistle that Paul had written to them years before. Recall that
Clement had labored with Paul (Philippians 4:3). He quoted from the following New
Testament books: Luke, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Titus, 1 and 2 Peter,
Hebrews, and James.
B. The apostolic fathers Ignatius (30-107 A.D.), Polycarp (65-155 A.D.), and Papias (70-
155 A.D.) cite verses from every New Testament book except 2 and 3 John. They thereby
authenticated nearly the entire New Testament. Both Ignatius and Polycarp were
disciples of the apostle John.

C. Justin Martyr, (110-165 A.D.), cited verses from the following 13 books of the New
Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, 2
Thessalonians, Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter, and Revelation.
D. Irenaeus, (120-202 A.D.), wrote a five volume work Against Heresies in which,
1. He quoted from every book of the New Testament but 3 John.
2. He quoted from the New Testament books over 1,200 times.
How was the New Testament canon determined?
The Early church had three criteria for determining what books were to be included or excluded
from the Canon of the New Testament.
1. First, the books must have apostolic authority-- that is, they must have been written
either by the apostles themselves, who were eyewitnesses to what they wrote about, or by
associates of the apostles.
2. Second, there was the criterion of conformity to what was called the "rule of faith." In
other words, was the document congruent with the basic Christian tradition that the
church recognized as normative.
3. Third, there was the criterion of whether a document had enjoyed continuous acceptance
and usage by the church at large.
4. The gospel of Thomas is not included in the Canon of the New Testament for the
following reasons.
a. The gospel of Thomas fails the test of Apostolic authority. None of the early
church fathers from Clement to Irenaeus ever quoted from the gospel of Thomas.
This indicates that they either did not know of it or that they rejected it as
spurious. In either case, the early church fathers fail to support the gospel of
Thomas' claim to have been written by the apostle. It was believed to by written
around 140 A.D. There is no evidence to support its purported claim to be written
by the Apostle Thomas himself.
b. The gospel of Thomas fails to conform to the rule of faith. It purports to contain
114 "secret sayings" of Jesus. Some of these are very similar to the sayings of
Jesus recorded in the Four Gospels. For example the gospel of Thomas quotes
Jesus as saying, "A city built on a high hill cannot be hidden." This reads the same
as Matthew's Gospel except that high is added. But Thomas claims that Jesus
said, "Split wood; I am there. Lift up a stone, and you will find me there." That
concept is pantheistic. Thomas ends with the following saying that denies women
salvation unless they are some how changed into being a man. "Let Mary go away
from us, because women are not worthy of life." Jesus is quoted as saying, "Lo, I
shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living
spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter
into the kingdom of heaven."
c. The gospel of Thomas fails the test of continuous usage and acceptance. The
lack of manuscript evidence plus the failure of the early church fathers to quote
from it or recognize it shows that it was not used or accepted in the early Church.
Only two manuscripts are known of this "gospel." Until 1945 only a single fifth-
century copy translation in Coptic had been found. Then in 1945 a Greek

manuscript of the Gospel of Thomas was found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. This
compares very poorly to the thousands of manuscripts that authenticate the Four
Gospels.
Textual Criticism: What Is It And Why It Is Necessary
Important terms:
Textual criticism is the method used to examine the vast number of manuscripts to determine the
probably composition of the original autographs.
"Lower" Textual Criticism: the practice of studying the manuscripts of the Bible with
the goal of reproducing the original text of the Bible from this vast wealth of manuscripts.
This is a necessary task because there exists minor variations among the biblical
manuscripts. So, unless one manuscript is arbitrarily chosen as a standard by which to
judge all others, then one must employ textual criticism to compare all manuscripts to
derive the reading which would most closely reflect the autographs.
"Higher" criticism: "The Jesus Seminar" is a group of liberal Christian higher critics
who vote on which of the sayings of Christ they believe to have actually been spoken by
Him. This is an example of "higher" criticism. It is highly subjective and is colored by the
view points of various "higher" critics.
Textual Variants: Since all Greek manuscripts of the New Testament prior to Erasmus'
first printed Greek New Testament were copied by hand scribal errors or variants could
have crept into the texts.. When these Greek New Testament manuscripts are compared
with each other we find evidence of scribal errors and places where the different
manuscripts differ with one another.
Textual variants and the integrity of the New Testament text
Many scholars have spent a lifetime of study of the textual variants. The following
is the conclusion of the importance of these variants as they relate to the integrity of
the New Testament text.
A. There are over 200,000 variants in the New Testament alone. How do these
variants effect our confidence that the New Testament has been faithfully
handed down to us?
B. These 200,000 variants are not as large as they seem. Remember that every misspelled
word or an omission of a single word in any of the 5,600 manuscript would count as a
variant.
C. Johann Bengel 1687-1752 was very disturbed by the 30,000 variants that had recently
been noted in Mill's edition of the Greek Testament. After extended study he came to the
conclusion that the variant readings were fewer in number than might have been expected
and that they did not shake any article of Christian doctrine.
D. Westcott and Hort, in the 1870's, state that the New Testament text remains over 98.3
percent pure no matter whether one uses the Textus Receptus or their own Greek text
which was largely based on Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.

E. James White, on p. 40 of his book The King James Only Controversy states: "The reality
is that the amount of variation between the two most extremely different manuscripts of
the New Testament would not fundamentally altar the message of the Scriptures! I make
this statement (1) fully aware of the wide range of textual variants in the New Testament,
and (2) painfully aware of the strong attacks upon those who have made similar
statements in the past."
F. Scholars Norman Geisler and William Nix conclude, "The New Testament, then, has not
only survived in more manuscripts that any other book from antiquity, but it has survived
in a purer form than any other great book-a form that is 99.5 percent pure."
G. When textual critics look at all 5,600 Greek New Testament manuscripts they find that
they can group these manuscripts into text-types or families with other similar
manuscripts. There are four text-types.
Figure 1. Age differences between Alexandrian and Byzantine manuscripts.
1. The Alexandrian text-type, found in most papyri and in Codex Sinaiticus and
Codex Vaticanus all of which date prior to 350 A.D.
2. The Western text-type, found both in Greek manuscripts and in translations into
other languages, especially Latin.
3. The Byzantine text-type, found in the vast majority of later Greek manuscripts.
Over 90 percent of all 5,600 Greek New Testament manuscripts are of the
Byzantine text-type. The Byzantine text-type is "fuller" or "longer" than other
text-types, and this is taken as evidence of a later origin. The reason that we have
so many manuscripts of the Byzantine text-type is because the Byzantine Empire
remained Greek speaking and Orthodox Christian until Islamic Turks overran its
capital, Constantinople, in 1453. Constantinople is now called Istanbul and is
Turkey's largest city, although no longer its capital.
4. The Caesaarean text-type, disputed by some, found in p 45 and a few other
manuscripts.
Why does the KJV differ from the NIV?

The reason the King James version differ from the NASV and the NIV in a number of readings is
because it is translated from a different text-type than they are.
A. The King James Version was translated from Erasmus' printed Greek New Testament
which made use of only five Greek manuscripts the oldest of which dated to the 1,100
A.D. These manuscripts were examples of the Byzantine text-type.
B. The NASV and the NIV make use of the United Bible Societies 4th
Edition 1968 of the
New Testament. This edition of the Greek New Testament relies more heavily on the
Alexandrian text-type while making use of all 5,664 Greek manuscripts. The reasons that
the NASV and NIV find the Alexandrian text-type more reliable are the following:
1. This text-type uses manuscripts date from 175-350 A.D. which includes most of
the papyri, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.
2. The church fathers from 97-350 A.D. used this text-type when they quoted the
New Testament.
3. The early translations of the New Testament used the Alexandrian text-type.
Examples that show why the KJV differs from the NIV and NASV in certain
verses
In the following examples the King James Version differs from the NIV, and NASV.
because it bases it's translation on the Byzantine text-type and the NIV and NASV base theirs on
the Alexandrian text-type.
A. KJV 1 John 5:7-8 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in
earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one."
NIV 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that testify: v. 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood:
and the three are in agreement."
1. When Erasmus first printed the Greek New Testament in 1514 it did not contain
the words "in heaven, the Father, the Word, and Holy Ghost: and these three
are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth," because they were not
found in any of the Greek manuscripts that Erasmus looked at.
2. These words were not quoted by any of the Greek church fathers. They most
certainly would have been used by the church fathers in their 3rd
and 4th
century
letters if found in the Greek manuscripts available to them.
3. These words are not found in any ancient versions of the New Testament. These
include Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Arabic, Slavonic, nor in the Old Latin
in its early form.
4. These words begin to appear in marginal notes in the Latin New Testament
beginning in the fifth century. From the sixth century onward these words are
found more and more frequently.
5. Erasmus finally agreed to put these words into new editions of his Greek New
Testament if his critic's could find one Greek manuscript that contained these
words. It appears that his critics manufactured manuscripts to include these
words.

6. These additional words are found in only eight manuscripts as a variant reading
written in the margin. Seven of these manuscripts date from the sixteenth century
and one is a tenth century manuscript.
7. Erasmus' New Testament became the basis for the Greek New Testament, "Textus
Receptus", which the King James translators used as the basis for their translation
of the New Testament into English.
B. Mark 16 verses 9-20 are found in the King James Version. However, both the NASV and
the NIV note that these verses are not found in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of
Mark (see The Authenticity of Mark 16:9-20).
1. Neither Codex Sinaiticus nor Codex Vaticanus have Mark 16:9-20.
2. Mark 16:9-20 is also absent from some Old Latin, Syriac, Armenian, and
Georgian manuscripts.
3. Clement of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of the existence of these
verses.
4. 4. The earliest church father to note the longer ending of Mark 16:9-20 was
Irenaeus, around 180 A. D.
C. Luke 2:14 reads:
KJV: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men."
NIV: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
The Greek text from which these two versions are translated differ by only one letter. The
NIV is translated from manuscripts that have an "s" on the end of the Greek word for
good will. This reading is supported by the oldest Alexandrine text-types.

Thank You Once Again lyrics
We hardly shared a glance
To greet and know each other
And now the time is up
The band is packing up
We'll find another chance
To meet again together
And fill each other's cup
I feel like breaking up
It's this time that almost
Always makes me cry
Before we say goodbye
I want to let you know I love you...
Thank you for playing my music
And thank you for singing my song
Thank you for sharing a moment
'Cause with you I feel I really belong
Thank you for keeping me company
And thank you for being my friend
And if our paths should cross somewhere someday
I'd love to sing this song again
I pray the Lord our God
Richly bless and keep you
Together let us call
And thank Him most of all
Somehow I'm feeling sad
I know I'm gonna miss you
I know I will recall
This warm and cozy hall
Still there's one more thing
Before the day is done
Before the lights are gone
Before the curtain closes, let me...
Thank you for playing my music
And thank you for singing my song
Thank you for sharing a moment
'Cause with you I feel I really belong

Thank you for keeping me company
And thank you for being my friend
And if our paths should cross someday
Then I'd really be glad, yes I'll really be glad,
I'd like to THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN
Intro: C G C F G C G
C Em Am
Every now and then
C7 F
We find a special friend
Dm G
Who never lets us down
C Em Am
Who understands it all
C7 F
Reaches out each time we fall
Dm G
You're the best friend that I've found
C Bb
I know you can't stay
F C
A part of you will never ever go away
G7
Your heart will stay
C C7 F
I'll make a wish for you
G C
And hope it will come true
Am C
That life would just be kind
C7 F
To such a gentle mind
C C7 F
If you lose your way
Dm G
Think back on yesterday
A7 Dm
Remember me this way
G C G C
I don't need eyes to see
The love you bring to me
No matter where I go
And I know that you'll be there
Forever more a part of me
You're everywhere
I'll always care

That life would just be kind
Bb G7
And I'll be right behind your shoulder
C
watching you
Am
I'll be standing by your side
D7
with all you do
Gm
And I won't ever leave
C7 F
As long as you believe
A7
You just believe
(Move the chords two frets higher)
that life would just be kind
In 1927, Catholic Mexico was immersed in a violent storm of
religious persecution. The President of Mexico at that time was a
despot named Plutarco Calles. His hatred for the Church had no
limits. He killed priests and burned churches.
In legitimate self defense, countless Catholics took up arms to
defend their Faith. Whenever they charged into battle, the
Cristeros, as they were called, shouted: "Viva Cristo Rey!"
"Long live Christ the King!"
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Young Jose Joins the Cristeros
Many Catholics shed their blood in this conflict. Many were
martyred. And Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio was among
them. From a young age he had a great love and enthusiasm for
the Blessed Sacrament, and encouraged his friends to have more
devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Whenever Jose heard of the glorious battles
of the Cristeros, which his two brothers were engaged in, his desire to join the holy army only
intensified. Finally, Jose wrote a letter to one of the Cristero Generals, Prudencio Mendoza,
pleading to be allowed to fight. The general acquiesced.
Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio

Capture and Imprisonment
In a certain battle, Jose was rushing to bring a fellow soldier a new supply of ammo. Just then,
he caught sight of the General whose horse had been shot dead. On foot, without a horse, the
General was extremely vulnerable.
Making a sacrifice that might cost him his life, Jose freely gave the general his own horse.
Moments later, he was caught by the federalists and locked up in a church sacristy that had been
turned into a prison. One of the guards had put a number of expensive fighting roosters inside
the church for safekeeping. This sacrilege troubled young Jose. He said: "This is not a barnyard!
This is a place for God!" He soon caught all the prized roosters and snapped their necks.
The enemies of Christ the King soon decided to kill him.
Holy Boldness in Defense of the Faith
On the way to execution, soldiers struck him savagely with sharp machetes. With every blow,
the young boy cried out, "Viva Cristo Rey!" When he got to the cemetery, he was bleeding
heavily. His torturers had also cut off the soles of his feet and forced him to walk on salt. The
boy screamed with pain but would not give in. As the road was nothing but rocks and dirt, the
stones where he had walked were soaked in his blood. The soldiers said: "If you shout, ‘Death
to Christ the King’, we will spare your life." He only answered: "Long live Christ the King!
Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe!"
The commander ordered the soldiers to bayonet Jose. They pierced his body. But with every
stab he only shouted louder and louder: "Viva Cristo Rey!" The commander was so enraged that
he pulled out his pistol and on February 10, 1928 killed Blessed Jose on the spot. There was no
trial.
Blessed Jose is an outstanding example of faith and courage for all Catholic young men — for
you— who wish to be faithful to Christ. He was declared a martyr and was beatified by Pope
Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.
Blessed Jose, pray for us!

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Altar, Sacred Vessels, and Vestments
altar and Sanctuary
Observe well the picture of the altar and sanctuary. It is here that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered
up. This picture shows everything that is necessary for Mass, and gives the proper name of the furniture of
the sanctuary.
1. The Crucifix
2. Canopy or Throne of the Altar
3. Tabernacle covered by veil (wherever used the veil is of the color of the day or white)
4...9. Large Candlesticks (lighted only for High Mass and Benediction)

10...11. Small Candlesticks (lighted only for Low Mass)
12...14. Altar Cards (the larger is in the center, containing prayers which the priest reads at
the Offertory and Canon. The smaller one on the Epistle side has the prayers read by
the priest when washing his hands after the Offertory. The other smaller one on the
Gospel side has the Gospel of St. John, which is most frequently read at the end of
Mass)
15. First Gradine or Candlebench for the smaller Candlestick
16. Second Gradine or Candlebench for the larger Candlestick
17. Mensa or Altar Table
18. Altar Table Coverings (one wax and three linen cloths cover the altar table. The
fourth or top one of linen frequently edged with lace hangs down over the side of the
altar to the floor)
19. Antependium or Frontal (wherever customary a cloth of the color of the day hangs
down in front of the altar)
20. Gospel Side of the Altar
21. Epistle Side of the Altar
22. Sanctuary Floor
23. First Altar Step
24. Second Altar Step
25. Predella or Altar Platform (sometimes called the Footpace)
26. Credence Table
27. Water and Wine Cruets
28. Finger Basin
29. Towel
30. Communion Paten

31. Sedilia or Priests’ Bench
32. Bell
33. Communion Rail
Sacred Vessels
The Chalice and its Appurtenances
(a) Chalice This is a cup made of gold or silver, or if of silver, the interior must be of gold. It holds
the wine for the Holy Sacrifice, and is a striking figure of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
(b) Purificator This is a linen cloth used for wiping the chalice, and the fingers and mouth of the
celebrant after Communion. It is spread over the cup of the chalice at the beginning and
end of Mass.
(c) Paten This is a plate of gold or silver upon which the large bread for consecration rests until the
Offertory. Of old it was necessarily larger than now, for it held all the breads to be
consecrated.

(d) Pall This is a square pocket-shaped piece of linen with a cardboard inserted in order to stiffen
it. It is placed over the chalice to prevent dust or other matter falling into it.
(e) Chalice
Veil
This is the cloth which covers the chalice until the Offertory, and again after the
Communion. It also is made of the same material and color as the vestments.
(f) Burse
&
Corporal
The Burse is a square container for the corporal when the latter is not in use. It is made
of the same material and color as the vestments. The Corporal is a square piece of linen.
In size and appearance it resembles a small napkin. It is spread out on the altar, and the
chalice is placed upon it. During the Mass the Sacred Host rests for a time on the
Corporal.
Vestments
By God’s command the Jewish priests wore a distinctive garb when they ministered in the Temple. The
Bible tells us they were vested in violet and purple, scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen. Gold and precious
stones were also used to give the person of the priest that dignity demanded by his exalted office.
No special dress was at first prescribed for the Christian priesthood. During the early days the
garments worn at the Holy Sacrifice were not dissimilar in form to the clothing of civilians.
They were distinguished, however, from profane apparel in richness and beauty of decorations;
and, of course, their use was restricted to divine worship.
Secular fashion changed, but the Church clung to the old style. Thus it was that garments once
common to all, presently became the privileged dress of the clergy. Faith then saw in each

particular vestment a symbol relating to the Passion of Our Lord, and a reminder of some
Christian duty.The Vestments Worn at Mass
Vestment Historical Origin Symbolic Ref.
(h) Amice
The amice is a piece of fine linen in
the form of an oblong. The priest
places it for a moment on his head,
and then allows it to rest upon his
shoulders. As he does so he prays:
“Place, O Lord, on my head the
helmet of salvation, that so I may
resist the assaults of the devil.”
A covering for the head and neck
worn like a hood. When indoors it
was lowered and thrown over the
shoulders.
(a) The linen cloth that the
soldiers put over Our Lord’s
head; when thus blindfolded. He
was mockingly asked who struck
Him. (b) The helmet of Salvation
(Cf. Ephes. 6:17)
(i) Alb
A wide linen robe reaching to the
feet and covering the whole body.
The vesing prayer is: “Make me
white, O Lord, and cleanse my
heart; that being made white in the
The alb, or tunic, was worn in
ancient times by all who enjoyed
any dignity.
(a) The garment with which
Herod clothed Our Lord. (b)
Signifies the purity of conscience
demanded of God’s priests.

Blood of the Lamb I may deserve an
eternal reward.”
(j) Cincture
The cincture, or girdle, is a cord of
linen fastened about the waist to
confine the alb. The vesting prayer
is: “Gird me, O Lord, with the
cincture of purity, and quench in
my heart the fire of concupiscence,
that the virtue of continence and
chastity may abide in me.”
Walking and active exertion made
it necessary for one to gird up a
long garment like the alb. Hence
the cincture was an essential article
of dress.
(a) The cord that bound Our Lord
to the pillar when He was being
scourged. (b) Symbolizes
modesty, and also readiness for
hard work in God’s service.
(k) Maniple
A strip of silken cloth worn on the
left arm of the priest. The vesting
prayer is: “May I deserve, O Lord,
to bear the maniple of weeping and
sorrow in order that I may joyfully
reap the reward of my labors.”
Originally a strip of linen worn over
the arm. During the long services,
and in the intense heat of southern
countries its use was frequently
necessary to wipe the perspiration
from the face and brow.
(a) The rope whereby Our Lord
was led, and the chains which
bound His sacred hands. (b) An
emblem of the tears of penance,
the fatigue of the priestly office
and its joyful reward in heaven.
(l) Stole
A long band of silk of the same
width as the maniple, but three
times its length. It is worn around
the neck and crossed on the
breast. The vesting prayer is:
“Restore to me, O Lord, the state of
immortality which I lost through
the sin of my first parents and,
although unworthy to approach
Thy Sacred Mysteries, may I
deserve nevertheless eternal joy.”
A kind of neck-piece or kerchief; a
part of the dress of the upper
classes. It gradually became the
distinctive mark of spiritual
authority in the higher clerics, viz.,
the priest and deacon.
(a) The cords with which Jesus
was tied. Worn as it is over the
shoulders, it reminds us, too, of
the cross Our Lord carried. (b) A
reminder of the yoke of Christ.
The priest’s burden is a heavy
one, which Christ nevertheless
makes sweet.
(m) Chasuble
The chasuble is the outer and chief
vestment of the priest. It is
essentially the Mass vestment and
is now exclusively reserved to the
priest. The vestment is familiar to
all by reason of the cross usually
embroidered on it. The vesting
prayer is: “O Lord, who has said,
Imagine a large circular cloth with a
hole cut in the center for the head.
This will help one to visualize the
ancient chasuble, which was an
immense cloak, over the head and
completely enveloped the body.
When it was necessary to use the
hands, the garment had to be
folded up on each side over the
(a) The purple cloak worn by Our
Lord when He stood before
Pilate. (b) An emblem of love.
When the ordaining bishop gives
it to the new priest, he says:
“Receive the priestly garment,
for the Lord is Powerful to
increase in you love and
perfection.”

‘My yoke is sweet and My burden
light,’ grant that I may so carry it as
to merit Thy grace.”
arms. Because of its inconvenience
(for two assistants were needed to
manipulate it), the vestment was
gradually cut and altered until it
now has its present shape. It is
usually ornamented with a large
cross on the back, and sometimes
on the front of the garment (fig n.).
We occasionally see chasubles
made in the Gothic or Medieval
style. These are more ample and
drape over the shoulders down to
the wrists. The cross on such
chasubles has the shape of the
letter “Y,” the top arms of which
extend over the shoulders towards
the front.
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