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The Reliability of the New Testament. Emergence Winter Sessions Apologetics Session 3. The Text of the New Testament or How close are the books in our Bibles to the books as they were written? or Is what we have now what they wrote then?. Why it matters:
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The Reliability of the New Testament Emergence Winter SessionsApologeticsSession 3
The Text of the New Testament orHow close are the books in our Bibles to the books as they were written? or Is what we have now what they wrote then?
Why it matters: • This is a primary objection to biblical Christianity. • Since we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, it should matter to us if we have the correct words.
Some misleading claims: • The orthodox church deliberately corrupted the Scriptures to reflect their own theological views. • There are more New Testament variants than there are words in the New Testament.
Autograph: An original document, as it left its author’s hands. • Manuscript: A copy of a document, written by hand. • Textual criticism: The study of the manuscripts of a writing whose autograph is lost, for the purpose of determining the original text. • Textual variant: A place where one or more manuscripts differ in wording or spelling.
How variants enter into the textual tradition: • By accident. • On purpose.
A (possibly) troubling observation: • There are approximately 138,000 words in the New Testament. • There are approximately 400,000 known textual variants in our extant New Testament manuscripts.
Why this isn’t surprising (or very troubling): • We have 5,824 manuscripts of the Greek New Testament.
-Adapted, with some additions, from Josh McDSowell and Sean McDSowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict:Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World (New York: HarperCollins, 2017), 55.
Codex Sinaiticus, 330–360 ADEntire New Testament, much of the Old Testament, some early fathers
Codex Vaticanus, 300–325 ADComplete New Testament (-1 & 2 Tim, Tit, Phlm, Rev)
Different kinds of textual variants: • Meaningful: A variant that impacts the meaning of the text.
John 9 14 ἦν δὲ σάββατον ἐν ᾗἡμέρᾳ τὸν πηλὸν ἐποίησεν ὁἸησοῦς καὶἀνέῳξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. 17 λέγουσιν οὖν τῷ τυφλῷ πάλιν· Τί σὺ λέγεις περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἠνέῳξέν σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ὅτι Προφήτης ἐστίν. 21 πῶς δὲ νῦν βλέπει οὐκ οἴδαμεν, ἢ τίς ἤνοιξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν· αὐτὸν ἐρωτήσατε, ἡλικίαν ἔχει, αὐτὸς περὶἑαυτοῦ λαλήσει. 26 εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ· Τί ἐποίησέν σοι; πῶς ἤνοιξέν σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς;
Different kinds of textual variants: • Meaningful: A variant that impacts the meaning of the text. • Viable: A variant that has some reasonable chance of reflecting the original wording. • Only 1,500–2,000 variants are both meaningful and viable.
No major (or even minor) doctrine of the Christian faith is called into question because of a textual variant. “The position I argue for in Misquoting Jesus does not actually stand at odds with Prof. Metzger’s position that the essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.” -Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), 252.
No major (or even minor) doctrine of the Christian faith is called into question because of a textual variant. • The difference in meaning may not touch doctrine. • The difference in meaning may teach something that is taught elsewhere.
Weighing textual variants. • External evidence. • Internal evidence.
Weighing internal evidence. • The basic principle: The reading from which the other readings most likely arose is probably original. • In parallel passages, the reading which is less verbally identical to the parallel is generally preferable. • A reading with words and forms foreign to the author’s style is suspect.
The three most significant textual variants in the New Testament. 1. The story of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:11).
The three most significant textual variants in the New Testament. 11. The longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9–20).
The three most significant textual variants in the New Testament. The Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7–8). KJV:“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” ESV: “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1–4).
A historically-reliable Gospel would be a Gospel that accurately portrays the words and deeds of Jesus.
Matthew • One of the twelve. • A tax collector from Capernaum (Matt 9:9; 10:3) • His profession may have equipped him with skills for record taking. • Mark • Not one of the twelve. • Peter’s “interpreter” in Rome. • If he is John Mark, he was from Cyrpus (Acts 4:36), his mother had property in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), and he was the cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10). • Luke • Not one of the twelve. • A medical doctor (Col 4:14) • Possibly a Gentile. • John • One of the twelve. • A fisherman from Capernaum. • Son of Zebedee, younger brother of James.
Typical (liberal) Gospel dates: • Matthew: 80–90 • Mark: 65–70 • Luke: 80–85 • John: 90–100
Towns Aenon J Magadan MtArimathea MtMLJ Nain LBethany MtMLJ Nazareth MtMLJBethlehem MtLJ Rama MtBethphage MtML Salim JBethsaida MtMLJ Sidon MtMLCaesarea Philippi MtM Sychar JCana J Tiberias JCapernaum MtMLJ Tyre MtMLChorazin MtL. Dalmanutha MEmmaus LEphraim JGennesaret MtMLJericho MtMLJerusalem/Zion MtMLJ Charts from Peter J. Williams, Can We Trust the Gospels (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 52–54.
Regions Abilene LDecapolis MtMEgypt MtGalilee MtMLJIdumaea MIturaea LJudaea MtMLJNaphtali MtSamaria LJSidonia LSyria MtLTrachonitis LZebulun Mt
The Gospel of Thomas (2nd cent.): Judea The Gospel of Philip (3rd cent.): Jerusalem (4), Nazara (sic), the Jordan The Gospel of Judas (late 2nd cent.): No locations
Most Popular Jewish Names in Palestine Tables from Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).
“The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon (1), who is called Peter, and Andrew (>99) his brother; James (11) the son of Zebedee, and John (5) his brother; Philip (61) and Bartholomew (50); Thomas (>99) and Matthew (9) the tax collector; James (11) the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (39=); Simon (1) the Zealot, and Judas (4) Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Matt 10:2–4).
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.’ For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because John had been saying to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus” (Matt 14:1–12).
“The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee’” (Matt 21:6–11).
“But to some of the Jews the destruction of Herod’s army seemed to be divine vengeance, and certainly a just vengeance, for his treatment of John, surnamed the Baptist. For Herod had put him to death, though he was a good man and had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice towards their fellows and piety towards God, and so doing to join in baptism. In his view this was a necessary preliminary if baptism was to be acceptable to God. They must not employ it to gain pardon for whatever sins they committed, but as a consecration of the body implying that the soul was already thoroughly cleansed by right behavior. When others too joined the crowds about him, because they were aroused to the highest degree by his sermons, Herod became alarmed. Eloquence that had so great an effect on mankind might lead to some form of sedition, for it looked as if they would be guided by John in everything that they did. Herod decided therefore that it would be much better to strike first and be rid of him before his work led to an uprising, than to wait for an upheaval, get involved in a difficult situation and see his mistake. Though John, because of Herod’s suspicions, was brought in chains to Machaerus, the stronghold that we have previously mentioned, and there put to death, yet the verdict of the Jews was that the destruction visited upon Herod’s army was a vindication of John, since God saw fit to inflict such a blow on Herod. “ Josephus, Antiquities 18.116–19.
