Ancient Quote by F. F. Bruce
“There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The New Testament and Its World by F. F. Bruce, 1977
The New Testament is uniquely well‑preserved by many early manuscripts, making its text highly reliable.
In simple terms: The New Testament has many ancient copies, giving it strong textual support.
Key Takeaway
Value the strong manuscript evidence when studying biblical texts.
Themes
biblical studies
textual criticism
history
reliability
Mood
scholarly
analytical
Type
historical
academic
When to use this quote
- academic research
- theological education
- church teaching
- historical analysis
Key Concepts
manuscript tradition
historical reliability
critical scholarship
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this abundance affect modern biblical interpretation?
- What implications does this have for textual criticism?
A Different Perspective
Other ancient works also have substantial manuscript evidence, though less extensive.
![“I have argued elsewhere (Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence [2005]) that we need to treat ethics in biblical texts just as we treat ethics in any other works of ancient literature. It is a vacuous exercise to pick and choose which atrocities were really ordained by any gods and…” quote by Hector Avalos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebe/hector-avalos-91785_ancient-literature_i-have-argued-elsewhere-fighting-words-t_2573037.jpg)
