Three scientists\u2014Papaia, Banani, Ravioli, and their assistant Igor\u2014who were supposed to attend the famous dark matter conference, miss their flight and end up on the other side of the world. Arriving at the wrong airport, they book a hotel for the night, but it\u2019s not exactly what they expected\u2026 meaning, it\u2019s awful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re in Banani\u2019s room, where Banani has returned to bed. Thirsty and exhausted from the intense humid heat, he can\u2019t manage to get any sleep. Thinking over and over again about the study Ravioli gave him, he picks it up and starts reading again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banani scans the lines of the study, reflecting to himself.
“Okay, so the author is asking whether the Gospels we read today are identical to those written by their original authors. A legitimate question. After all, centuries have passed, and the scribes copied everything by hand. Anyone could have added or changed something over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here it says that scholars have compared thousands of manuscripts, and aside from a few paraphrases, synonyms, or small transcription errors, the text has remained unchanged. Interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wait\u2026 The oldest manuscripts date back to the second century? So, very shortly after the original events! And then there\u2019s the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest Bible we have, dating back to 350 A.D. But even before this codex, we have enough fragments from the second and third centuries to reconstruct nearly the entire New Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Basically, despite the time passed, what we read today is the same as what was written back then. Well, this is solid proof!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Igor, commenting from the future: Banani was so desperate to sleep that, in the worst moment of his insomnia, he might have tried to imitate the scribes and copy the New Testament onto the toilet paper of the Sunflowerr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 too bad this plan would never have worked, in fact, there\u2019s no toilet paper in the room!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 anyway, this is not a surprise, on the contrary, in a place like this, where it’s impossible to eat or drink, it’s obvious that the toilet bowl is just there as decoration!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n