For one thing, the Bible is totally reliable. This is much truer than for any other ancient work. The earliest existing copies of most other ancient works date from hundreds of years after the originals. Even the rare ancient works that date from closer to the time they were written – such as Homer’s Iliad - have very few copies in comparison to the Bible. And, writings from the Bible date from mere decades after the originals were written. One fragment, called the John Ryland fragment, dates from 125 AD for certain, and perhaps earlier. Why 27?, by Brian H. Edwards, notes that one specialist in studying page fragments –Jose O’Callaghan - found something amazing in a cave. A tiny piece of the Gospel of Mark, along with pieces of several other New Tesament books, were discovered that was almost certain to have been written before 68 AD, when the cave in question was sealed. Scientists who study fragments agree with his claims. Even if this is not true of that fragment, the 125 AD date is true of the Ryland one.
According to A General Introduction to the Bible, by Norman Geisler and William Nix, the Iliad has been put together from around 650 full or partial manuscripts. These manuscripts were copied over about a thousand years. The Bible, on the other hand, has been put together from over 5,300 full or partial manuscripts. This is not even counting many fragments like those mentioned above. Also, textual critics see more questionable lines in the other two works, versus almost none in the Bible. They say the Bible is likely 99.5% the same as the original works.
Finally, we have those who quoted the Scriptures. Geisler and Nix also say that if we only had ancient preachers like Polycarp to go on, we could put together the entire New Testament except for 12 verses, and for those 12, we likely have paraphrases. The Bible you read is clearly just what the ancients had.
You only know George Washington was the first president because you were taught. The printing press allowed things to be printed very fast. Now, think of how the Bible was written, and copied - with quill pens, in dim light, with everything needing to be copied by hand. The fact that we have so much of it is a miracle. However, it isn’t just the fact that we have it that shows God’s hand. It’s the fact that what’s inside is so consistent, from the first book to the last.
