Did Constantine Give Us the Bible?

By Josh Williamson

There is much confusion and debate over the origin of the Scriptures as we know them today. Dan Brown has added to the confusion with his book “The Da Vinci Code”. This book contains the following assertion “The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.”^[1]

This statement has led many to believe that before Emperor Constantine we didn't have a copy of the Bible. This notion is simply false, being based on an ignorance of history.

Despite claims in the prologue to the contrary, The Da Vinci Code is a book of fiction with historians widely denouncing its claim of historical accuracy.

We will examine the historical evidence showing that the Bible existed before the days of Constantine. First, however it would be wise to look at the man at the centre of the controversy.

Emperor Constantine was born in the year 274 AD^[2], in what is now Serbia and Montenegro. He was the son of the commander Constantius Chlorus (later Constantius I) and Helena (later Saint Helena). Constantius became co-emperor in 305 AD. Constantine, who had shown military talent in the East, joined his father in an invasion of the British Isles in 306 AD. He was popular with the troops, who proclaimed him emperor when Constantius died later the same year. Over the next two decades, however, Constantine had to fight his rivals for the throne, and he did not finally establish himself as sole ruler until 324 AD.^[3]

Constantine served as the Roman Emperor from 306 – 337 AD^[4], however, he did not experience his ‘conversion’ until 312 AD, at Milvian bridge. There is still some debate weather this was a true conversion to Christianity, or if it was merely a political move. History has shown us that from this point onwards the persecution of the Christians within the Roman Empire decreased.

Prior to his conversion in 312 AD, Constantine was a worshipper of the sun. It can be safely concluded that during this time he was opposed to Christianity, which would deem him an idolater.

Constantine was a true historical figure and appears to have converted from paganism to Christianity.

Back to the question of “Did Constantine give us the Bible?” The simple answer is no. Manuscript evidence (below) shows very clearly, that prior to the conversion of Constantine the Bible was being widely distributed.

For the purpose of this article we will focus on the New Testament rather than the Old Testament. The Old Testament was in wide circulation long before this time and even before the time of Christ, so there is little value in us exploring this avenue in regards to the question at hand.

Below are the names, and details of the many Papyri and Uncials that we have which show that we have had the Scriptures long before Constantine was even born:

Papyri:

Papyri refer to a manuscript that is made of papyrus. It is referring to a type of ‘paper’ and not a style of writing. Papyri itself is easily destroyed when exposed to the elements, that is why only a few manuscript fragments survive. Most of these were found in drier regions, in the deserts of Egypt and the Middle East. In most cases the papyri content contains only portion of books, the reasoning for this is because of the age and fragility of the papyri we have lost the other sections.

Uncials:

Uncials are manuscripts that are written in capital letters. This style of writing took a lot of work, and was normally reserved for literary works.

Name	Date	Location	Content[5]
0162	3rd or 4th Century	New York, USA	John 2:11-22
0171	300 AD	Florence, Italy Berlin, Germany	Matthew 10; Luke 22
0189	2nd or 3rd Century	Berlin, Germany	Acts 5:3-21
0220	3rd Century	Oslo, Norway	Romans 4:23-5:3, 5:8-13

Papyri

Name	Date	Location	Contents[6]
P1	3rd Century	Philadelphia, USA	Matthew 1
P4	3rd Century	Paris, France	Luke 1 - 6
P5	3rd Century	London, UK	John 1, 16, 20
P7	3rd or 4th Century	Kiev, Ukraine	Luke 4
P9	3rd Century	Cambridge, USA	1 John 4
P12	3rd Century	New York, USA	Hebrews 1
P13	3rd or 4th Century	London, UK Cairo, Egypt	Hebrews 2-5, 10-12
P15	3rd Century	Cairo, Egypt	1 Corinthians 7-8
P16	3rd or 4th Century	Cairo, Egypt	Philippians 3-4
P18	3rd or 4th Century	London, UK	Revelation 1
P20	3rd Century	Princeton, USA	James 2-3
P22	3rd Century	Glasgow, UK	John 15-16
P23	3rd Century	Urbana, USA	James 1
P27	3rd Century	Cambridge, UK	Romans 8-9
P28	3rd Century	Berkley, USA	John 6
P29	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Acts 26
P30	3rd Century	Ghent, Belgium	1 Thessalonians 4-5 2 Thessalonians 1
P32	200 AD	Manchester, UK	Titus 1-2
P37	3rd or 4th Century	Ann Arbor, USA	Matthew 26
P38	300 AD	Ann Arbor, USA	Acts 18-19
P39	3rd Century	Rochester, USA	John 8
P40	3rd Century	Heidelberg, Germany	Romans 1-4, 6, 9
P45	3rd Century	Dublin, Ireland Vienna, Austria	Matthew 20-21, 25-26; Mark 4-9, 11-12; Luke 6-7, 9-14; John 4-5, 10-11; Acts 4-17
P46	200 AD	Dublin, Ireland Ann Arbor, USA	Romans 5-6; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; 1 Thessalonians; Hebrews
P47	3rd Century	Dublin, Ireland	Revelation 9-17
P48	3rd Century	Florence, Italy	Acts 23
P49	3rd Century	New Haven, USA	Ephesians 4-5
P52	125 AD	Manchester, UK	John 18
P53	3rd Century	Ann Arbor, USA	Matthew 26; Acts 9-10
P64 [+67]	200 AD	Oxford, UK Barcelona, Spain	Matthew 3, 5, 26
P65	3rd Century	Florence, Italy	1 Thessalonians 1-2
P66	200 AD	Cologny, Switzerland Dublin, Ireland Cologne, Germany	John
P69	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Luke 22
P70	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 2-3, 11-12, 24
P72	3rd or 4th Century	Oxford, UK	1 Peter; 2 Peter; Jude
P75	3rd Century	Cologny, Switzerland	Luke 3-18, 22-4; John 1-15
P77	2nd or 3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 23
P78	3rd or 4th Century	Oxford, UK	Jude
P80	3rd Century	Barcelona, Spain	John 3
P87	3rd Century	Cologne, Germany	Philemon
P90	2nd Century	Oxford, UK	John 18-19
P91	3rd Century	Sydney, Australia	Acts 2-3
P95	3rd Century	Florence, Italy	John 5
P98	2nd Century	Cairo, Egypt	Revelation 1
P101	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 3-4
P102	3rd or 4th Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 4
P103	2nd or 3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 13-14
P104	2nd Century	Oxford, UK	Matthew 21
P106	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	John 1
P107	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	John 17
P108	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	John 17-18
P109	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	John 21
P111	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Luke 17
P113	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Romans 2
P114	3rd Century	Oxford, UK	Hebrews 1
P115	3rd or 4th Century	Oxford, UK	Revelation 2-3, 5-6, 8-15

Note that where the dates are recorded as 2nd century, this equates with years 100 AD-199 AD, and so for the 3rd 200 AD -299 AD and the 4th for 300 AD-399 AD. Thus, the evidence overwhelmingly shows that the manuscripts we have predate Constantine. History shows clearly that all the Scriptures existed for over 200 years before the birth of Constantine. This easily dismisses the claims of those who state that Constantine gave us the Holy Bible.

The Bible is the most tested book in all of history, and many would try and discredit it by giving it a late writing date. God however, in His Sovereign protection has preserved His word, so that we today are able to read the Scriptures and know that contained within them are the words of eternal life.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

1. [1] Dan Brown, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Corgi Books (2004): 313
2. [2] http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560455/Constantine_the_Great.html (Cited: 8 December, 2007)
3. [3] Ibid: (Cited: 8 December, 2007)
4. [4] Ibid: (Cited: 8 December, 2007)
5. [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Testament_uncials (Cited: 3 December, 2007)
6. [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Testament_papyri (Cited: 3 December, 2007)