We live in a unique time in history.  Never before has the Bible been so easily accessible to such a large portion of the population, and yet it goes unread by so many.  Bibles are often given away for free, and in some cases stolen, since the Bible is the most stolen book in history.  What are some qualities about the Bible that make it special?

A Connection To History Like None Other

A page from a 1430 Wycliffe Bible with Matthew 6:9, the Lord’s prayer, in Middle English. Image courtesy of www.dkiel.com

Over the weekend Brianne and I were privileged to attend the “How We Got the Bible” seminar by David Tarbet at a local church.  David walked the audience through the history of the Bible talking about languages, authors, artifacts, manuscripts, and so much more.

He had two slides in his presentation that really struck me.  The first was a list of famous philosophers/writers and the number of existing ancient manuscripts for their work as compared to the Bible.  Tacitus who lived from 14-70 A.D. has about 20 full or partial ancient manuscripts that contain his writings.  Aristotle (384-322 B.C) has about 5 full or partial ancient manuscripts of his writings.  Plato (427-347 B.C.) has about 7 full or partial ancient manuscripts that are known.  Many would not question the writing of these great philosophers that are translated from only a handful of manuscripts.  The New Testament alone has approximately 5,500 full or partial ancient transcripts that are known, with new discoveries popping up every now and then.

The second slide contained the age gap between when the works were being spoken/written and the age of the ancient manuscript.  For Tacitus there is a 1,000 year age gap between his lifetime and the oldest ancient manuscript of his work.  There is an 1,100 year age gap for Aristotle and a 1,200 year age gap for Plato.  Again, many do not question the veracity of their work but there are large gaps between the time they were alive and the written record we have of their thoughts and words.  The time span between the writing of the New Testament and the oldest fragment is only 60 years.  There is a section of the book of John that dates to only a few decades after the completion of that book.

We live in a time when pop stars quickly dismiss the Bible with a verse of their song saying that the Bible is old and outdated.  Well, it is old but not outdated.  Many throughout history have painstakingly worked to preserve the record for those who would follow.  Many have even given their lives…

A Blood-bought Bible

Another thing that struck me during David’s presentation was his clear and provoking presentation of the history of our English Bible.  John Wycliffe was among the first to make the effort to translate the Bible into English so the common people could read it.  In 1382 he translated the Bible from Latin, writing it out by hand, with the help of others.  These were the only known English Bibles that existed for centuries.  Approximately 200 copies of the Wycliffe Bible still exist in one form or another today.  Single pages from these Bibles have fetched upward of $300,000 in auction.

Ownership and reading of the Bible was outlawed in 1409 by the Constitutions of Oxford.  The penalty for owning, reading, or even memorizing a Bible in English was death.  This was done to protect the un-Biblical power structure that existed between the monarchy and the “church” at the time.  If the people found out what was being done was against God’s will they would revolt.

Many brave people gave their lives so that the English Bible could be proliferated and distributed to as many as possible.  The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1455 setup a revolution that no law could hold back.  Men like Tyndale and John Rogers were tortured, strangled, and burned at the stake for translating and distributing the Bible.

As Bibles became more prolific, they became available to more and more people although they were still illegal to possess without a special license.  Authorities conducted raids, asking homeowners if they owned a Bible.  The homeowner had two options: 1) Produce their Bible and watch it be destroyed in the streets outside their home. 2) Conceal their Bible and risk a search of their home.  If the Bible was found, the family would be taken into their street with their Bible and executed.  Many times the pages of the Bible were soaked with the blood of those who treasured it.  One of these ‘blood-bought’ Bibles is in a private collection here in Fort Worth.

Final Thought and Dinnertime Devotional

I have presented just a few historical perspectives on why the Bible is special.  Of course, there are many other reasons (historical and spiritual) for why the Bible is special but those will have to wait till a later date.  I hope you spend some time with your family this week studying this most special of books.  The theme of our Dinnertime Devotionals this week is God’s Word >>> Dinnertime Devotionals 4

Bonus: One of the oldest English Bibles is housed here in the great state of Texas!  The University of Texas has a copy of the Gutenberg Bible that you can view online.  Check it out here.