If God values the Bible so much, why didn't He preserve the original manuscripts?

Question

I mean the actual parchments that the original authors actually wrote on when they first wrote down each book of the Bible. Then we could check our modern copies against the originals to make sure they were accurate! As it is, there are numerous versions of the Bible in print (King James, the Living Bible, Catholic Bible, New American Version, etc. etc...) Christians themselves say that some of these versions distort the meaning of the original, so why didn't God save the original so we could check, the same way that Congress preserved the original copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution under glass?

Answer 1

Because God forbids worshipping idols and created things. He likely knew that if the autographs existed, they would be revered as holy relics and put on display to be adored. That's why there is no Ark of the Covenant - no bits of Noah's Ark - no bricks from the stable Jesus was born in, and so on.

The Apostle Paul said, 'We walk by faith, not by sight' (2 Cor 5:7). Christians don't need artifacts to bolster their faith.

The accuracy of Bible translation is well testified to by myriad ancient manuscripts that have been found. The differences are very slight. The Hebrew scriptures in particular have come down to us with such an astonishingly rigorous method of copying by the scribes that there is no question as to their accuracy today. The Greek scriptures appear to have more slight differences but nothing serious. The real problems lie in translations that play fast and loose with those ancient manuscripts.

Answer 2

We have no way of knowing if the autographs have been preserved or not. It's true, we do not know if they still exist - but that is not the same thing. In any case, it is certainly *very* difficult for any human to claim with reasonable certainty that he or she knows why God has done (or not done) any particular thing. They would be guessing.

"Then we could check our modern copies against the originals to make sure they were accurate! "
Of course, we wouldn't need the modern "copies" at all, then. We could simply photocopy the originals. This, of course, provides only a little help with the translation. Even if all bible translators agreed to use the same source texts, we would *still* have several different translations. Right now, I have 3 translations of Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days", only about 135 years old. Imagine the difficulties and ambiguities inherent in translating from texts that are 2000 years old and more. If 3 English translations of one fairly short French book have been made in 130 years, it is no wonder that there are dozens of English translations of the bible that have been made over the last 600 or more years.

"Christians themselves say that some of these versions distort the meaning of the original, so why didn't God save the original so we could check, the same way that Congress preserved the original copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution under glass?"
Make no mistake, these are all translations, and translating a work of any length is *always* a task rife with ambiguities. In other words, *every single one* of these translations distort the meaning of the original. That is a consequence of translation. If all the translators of the bible agreed to use the same source texts, they would *still* *all* produce different translations.

But, I am not going to second-guess God. It is more than likely that if I told you why God has done what he has done (without direct pertinent scriptural support), I would be lying about God.

Jim, http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Answer 3

My dear friend in christ, that is a very good question. I really do not have a good answer for your question.

However, there is only one important thing to remember. Jesus did not set out to create a bunch of new religions, he set out to teach us to love each other. If we love each other then we love God as Jesus tried to teach us.

Love for everyone is the key.

There are many contridictions between the old testament and the new testament, and it can be debated on which version is the correct version.

I practice my religion as a Catholic, there a some real strange teaching's in the Catholic Church that can be confusing and can contridict themselfs in some of the different books in the bible.

I have just decided to let a lot of those idea's go, and try and love everyone reguardless of there religious beleifs or lack there of.

The way I over come this issue as to what is really the word of god ? is to stick to the teaching of Jesus, which are really quite simple, but sometimes very hard to practice.

Love everyone and treat everyone as if he were Jesus.

God Bless, and good luck in finding the answers you seek.

Answer 4

The dead sea scroll do indeed confirm the faithfulness of the old testament books across the time period i.e. from around Christ's time to the present. There were no NT "books" found with the other Dead Sea scrolls.

But yes, one would think that a preservation of the original texts would have been a wise move.

Answer 5

Because the Devil wants to distort God's Word. And did you ever hear of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are parchments from the 1st century B.C. and 1st century. They contain most of the Bible. And guess what? They match with the KJV. The KJV was taken from the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.

Answer 6

God didn't preserve the original manuscripts because the devil wants to distort God's word and, as we all know, the devil is much more powerful than God.

Answer 7

God has the Bible comitted to memory. What He preverved for mankind is enough for our puny minds.