Have the Gospels Been Changed?

Whether one believes the effect has been good or bad, it cannot be denied Christianity has had a major impact on the Western world. At the center of it all is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a Jewish carpenter, who became a traveling preacher and the leader of a movement which has sparked controversy, inspired art, and gained followers among both kings and peasants, sages and slaves, and whose influence led to the establishment of human rights, literacy, hospitals, universities, and science. To this day people around the world call Him Lord and Savior, believing He is God who became a man walking the Earth for roughly 33 years, teaching and healing before He was crucified as a sacrifice for the wrongs people committed, and then rose again bodily three days later.

While some facts about Jesus can be established through other historical sources, like the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus, most of the information known about Him and his early followers comes from the New Testament.

Through Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament many institutions have been established, people have found their meaning, and ideas have been inspired. Yet, if the New Testament is unreliable, much of what we know about Jesus would be in question and many of the beliefs, benefits, and practices of Christianity would be hollow. Skeptical questions about the origin, authorship, transmission, and collection of New Testament books are found in abundance on the internet and in the minds of some Christians. The booklet in your hands will attempt to answer some of the most common and fundamental questions people have about the origin of the Bible itself, including: who wrote it and when, who choose the books that would go in it, and how it was passed down through the centuries. And most of all, can I trust what I read to be accurate and truthful?