Looking for the earliest known forms of the religious TEXTS?

Question

Looking for the earliest known forms of the religious TEXTS the following religion/deities are based on. Need dates and places they were discovered (sourced)… Also looking for claims of validity by the religion's followers.. if available

* Christianity

Thank you

Answer 1

A tremendous fund of manuscript copies of all 27 canonical books is available today. Some of these cover extensive portions of Scripture; others are mere fragments. According to one calculation, there are over 5,000 manuscripts in the original Greek. In addition, there are over 8,000 manuscripts in various other languages—a total exceeding 13,000 manuscripts all together. Dating from the 2nd century C.E. to the 16th century C.E., they all help in determining the true, original text. The oldest of these many manuscripts is the papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England, known by the number P52, which is dated to the first half of the second century, possibly about 125 C.E. Thus, this copy was written only a quarter of a century or so after the original.

Answer 2

www.google.com

Answer 3

The fundamental teachings of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed (pbut) are the same. The first commandment given to Moses (pbuh) was the Shama or Kalima, as Muslims would have it.

That Shama is:

De 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is One LORD”



Same thing was repeated by Jesus (pbuh), when a scribe came to him and asks him which is the first commandment of all? Jesus replied:

MARK 12:29 And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord:

In the Medina some Christians came to Mohammed (pbuh) and asked him, what is your concept of God? At this moment God sent a revelation:

112:1 Say: He, God, is One.

If we read these verses in Hebrew or Arabic, the root word ‘One’ in Hebrew is “Ikhad” and in Arabic it is “Ahad”. Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew are sister languages. Therefore, Moses said “Ikhad”, Jesus said “Ikhad” and Mohammed said “Ahad”. Meaning “One”.

If we are to believe in “ONE” God, than why God sent Moses (pbuh) with ‘Judaism’, Jesus (pbuh) with ‘Christianity’ and Mohammed (pbuh) with ‘Islam’?

Judaism:
If we are to follow the religion known as “Judaism” than this religion is not mentioned anywhere in the Law (Torah) (Old Testament) or Talmud or any other scriptures claimed by Jews to be the word of God. Nor did Moses (pbuh) in their sacred scriptures told his followers that their religion is “Judaism”. Where does this word “Judaism” comes from? Palestine was divided into tribes, one of them known as “Judea”. Therefore, the religion followed by the children of Juda in the land of Judea is known as “Judaism”.

Christianity:
If we are to follow the religion known as “Christianity” than this religion is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Nor did Jesus (pbuh) told his followers that your religion is known as “Christianity”. There are 73 books in the Catholic Bible and 66 Books in the Protestant Bible, But no word such as Christianity is found in them. The word “Christianity” is actually a derivation of people who after the ascension of Jesus (pbuh), accepted him as their Messiah. It was first used in Antioch.
Acts 11: 25-26 “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
If Christians believe that Jesus (pbuh) was their Messiah and the Bible is the word of God, than they must realize that no where does God says in the Bible to be Christians or no where does Jesus say in the Bible to be Christians.

Islam:

The Arabic word Islam is derived from the root word Salam or Shalom in Hebrew, meaning peace. The word “Islam” means Submission to God. Therefore, Muslims are those who submit themselves to God. This word is not only found in the sacred scripture of Muslims known as Koran, It is also found there in the Bible.

JAMES 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

PSALMS 66:3 Say unto God, How terrible [art thou in] thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. {(The Pagan Arabs were also enemies of God, but later on they submitted themselves to God (Became Muslims)}

Of course, the word Islam or Muslim is mentioned many times in the Koran. Like in this verse:

3:20 But if they dispute with you, say: I have submitted myself entirely to God and (so) every one who follows me; and say to those who have been given the Book and the unlearned people: Do you submit yourselves? So if they submit then indeed they follow the right way; and if they turn back, then upon you is only the delivery of the message and God sees the servants.
Therefore if we had the chance of meeting Moses (pbuh) and would ask him, what is your religion (way of life)? He would say my religion is Submission to God (Islam). If we would be alive till the second coming of Jesus (pbuh) and would ask him, what is your religion? He would say my religion is Submission to God (Islam).
MATTHEW 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
If he would say I am a Christian, we will ask him, which church do you belong to? Or do you accept the extra 7 books in Roman Catholic Bible or not?

Now the difference between Torah, Gospel and Quran is of Law. God gives Laws according to the situation. For example:

Mathew 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Now the disciples of Jesus (pbuh) couldn’t follow An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth because they were very few and weak in force. Not even faithful as Jesus (pbuh) use to say:

MATTHEW 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

But still Jesus (pbuh) said:

MATTHEW 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

If we ask a man of any religion that How many Gods do you believe in? His answer will be that God is One. For example a Hindu will also answer that God is One, but on the other hand he believes in God Incarnation! That God came to earth as Rama, Krishna, Seeva etc. The Christians would also say that we believe in One God, but they’ll say that God came on earth only as Jesus (pbuh) to live among us and understand us better. If that is so, why don’t you ask yourself a question? If God became a man to understand us better, why He didn’t became a Tree or a plant to understand it better? Why He didn’t became Sun to understand the Sun better? Why He didn’t became a Rabbit, to understand it better?


If we create a camera, to understand camera do we have to become camera ourselves! Or do we as camera’s creators would already know how to make the camera work better. Just like that God is the Creator of everything that exists. To understand us, God doesn’t have to come in a form of human, But he sends a man, a Prophet to His people, so that they may believe in him with their God gifted brains and would live a life as God wants them to live.


JOHN 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

Let us discuss the 2 major parts of Christianity:

1. Original Sin:
This takes us to the story of Adam (pbuh) in the Bible. It tells us that Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Paradise because of the Sin they committed.

GENESIS 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?

Imagine, Adam and Eve HEARD the VOICE of the Lord God WALKING in the GARDEN in the COOL of The DAY. GOD WALKING!!!!! JOHN 4:24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.

In verse 9, the Creator of everything, The Greatest, The All-Knower, Is searching for Adam… WHERE ART THOU???

Christian theology tells us that the sin Adam & Eve committed, was inherited by everyone till the time of Jesus (pbuh). We ask, wasn’t kicking out of the garden enough punishment for them! No, says the Christian theology! Because of Adam and Eve, all mankind will pay for their sin! We would like to ask, Did Adam and Eve asked you before eating the apple? NO!!! Than how can the All-Wise, Master of the Day of Judgment would held you responsible for their sin? The theology says, that Jesus (pbuh) was Crucified to neutralize that sin. Can The Most Merciful God not forgive your sins without having Jesus (pbuh) crucified in such pain and difficulties?

MATTHEW 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

2 Divinity Of Christ:
Perfect God means that there is no sharer in His Nature and His Attributes:

"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth
not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him." (Holy Qur'an,
112:1-4)

How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?-(JOB 25:4).

"..To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?"- (ISAIAH 40:18).

"I am the Lord thy God...Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them."-(EXODUS 20:2-5).

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.-(ACTS 2:22).

I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.-(JOHN 5:30-31).

And, behold, one came and said unto him (Jesus), "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but One, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments.-(MATTHEW 19:16-17).

The Ancestors of "God": "The generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew, 1:1)

The Sex of "God": "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus." (Luke, 2:21)

How Mary Conceived and Delivered "God". Mary conceived Jesus like any other woman: "The days were accomplished that she should be delivered," (Luke,2:6) which means that she went through all the normal stages of pregnancy.
Nor was her delivery any different from other expectant mothers: "And she being with child cried, travelling in birth, and pained to be delivered." (Revelation, 12:2)

The Country of Origin of "God": "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king. (Matthew, 2:1)

The Occupation of "God": "Jesus was a carpenter by trade." (Mark, 6:3), "and the son of a carpenter." (Matthew, 13:55)

"God" Was a Devout Jew: "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark, 1:35)

"God" Was a Loyal Subject: Jesus was a good citizen, he was loyal to Caesar. He said: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." (Matthew, 22:21) He paid his tax regularly. (Matthew, 17:24-27)

Mental, Physical and Moral Development of "God": "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke, 2:52)

"God" Was 12 Years Old When His Parents Took Him to Jerusalem: "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast." (Luke, 2:41-42)

The Powerless "God" (Jesus) said: "I can of mine own self do nothing." (John, 5:30)

"God" Was Ignorant of the Time. Jesus said: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark, 13:32)

"God" Was Ignorant of the Season: "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he (Jesus) was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet." (Mark, 11:12-13)


The Devil Tempted "God" For 40 Days: "And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan." (Mark, 1:12-13)

The Devil Tempted "God" Continuously: "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." (Luke, 4:13)

Like the Sinners, "God" Was Tempted In All Things: "But (he) was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews, 4:15)

True God Cannot be Tempted With Evil: "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (James,
1:13)

Only The Ungodly Are Tempted With Evil: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." (James, 1:14)

"God" Came For The Jews Only: "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew, 15:24)

Racial Discrimination of "God": "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew, 10:5-6)

The Titles of "God": "The king of the Jews" (Matthew, 2:2), "The king of Israel" (John, 1:49; 12:13)

A Hungry "God": "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." (Matthew 4:2), "Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered." (Matthew, 21:18), "and on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry." (Mark, 11:12)

A Thirsty "God": "(He) saith, I thirst." (John, 19:28)

A Sleepy "God": "He was asleep." (Matthew, 8:24), "He fell asleep" (Luke, 8:23), "And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow." (Mark, 4:38)

The "God" of War: Jesus said: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matthew, 10:34)

The Sabre-Rattling "God": Jesus said: "And he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." (Luke, 22:36)

"God" Fled in Disguise: "Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (John, 8:59)

IF CHRISTIANS WORSHIP JESUS AS GOD, BECAUSE HE HAD NO FATHER AND HE HAD GRATE MIRACLES… WHY DON’T THEY WORSHIP “MALCHESDIC”
HEBREWS 7
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.


Now my dear brothers and sisters, I would like to end with few Quranic verses:

5:77 Say: "O people of the Book! (Jews & Christians) exceed not in your religion the bounds (of what is proper), trespassing beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by,- who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the even way.

5:76 Say: "Will ye worship, besides God, something which hath no power either to harm or benefit you? But God,- He it is that heareth and knoweth all things."

5:75 Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how God doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!

3:67 Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to God's(Which is Islam), and he joined not gods with God.