Firm Foundations: Understanding and Defending the Christian Worldview.

Transcription

1 Firm Foundations: Understanding and Defending the Christian Worldview

2 Moral Argument Brief review question No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from my daddy s fist and abominations. I figured out way back if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all good. And if He is all good, then He cannot be all-powerful.

3 NT Reliability Existential confirmation Confirmed the truths of Scripture in different events in our lives What did the earliest church look when the NT was established Two things that were very important Antiquity Apostolicity Written during the generation of the apostles Written by an apostle or someone who was with the apostles (i.e. Luke) The same things historians look for in other areas of antiquity: sources that are early and eyewitnesses or close to eyewitnesses

4 NT Reliability Before examining the dates of the writings and how close they were to the events we must first consider the textual evidence for the NT Textual criticism examines the various copies of the NT and tries to determine as best as possible what the originals said The more copies the one has the better we can be confident in what the originals, which we do not have, actually said How By comparing the different copies What are the differences Which copies have them Where are they from When were they written Etc. Comparing quotes from early authors (e.g. church fathers)

5 NT Reliability: Textual Evidence 1 John 1:4 Version 1 We ourselves write these things in order that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:4 Version 2 We ourselves write these things in order that your joy may be complete. This verse in which scholars are not sure about the exact meaning has no bearing on how Christians should live or on any major area of doctrine Most areas that differ between the text fall into categories such as this and are due to spelling mistakes, or language/wording mistakes

6 NT Reliability: Textual Evidence Antioch Corinth Damascus Ephesus Galatia Cappadocia Athens Berea Cyprus Crete

7 Texts of Other Ancient Writings Author Writing When Extant Span Number Caesar Gallic Wars c.50bc 900AD 950 yrs 10 Livy History of Rome c. 50BC 300AD 350 yrs 20 Plato Tetralogies c. 400BC 900AD 1200 yrs 7 Tacitus Annals 100AD 1100AD 1000 yrs 20 (frag) Tacitus Histories 100AD 1000AD 900 yrs 1 Pliny Letters AD 850AD 750 yrs 7 Seutonius 12 Caesars AD 950AD 800 yrs 8 Herodotus History c. 450BC 900AD 1300yrs 8

8 Copies of the NT Text vs Others

9 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline Alexander s Death Around BC

10 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline BC

11 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline BC

12 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline Diodorus Library of History 1 st Century BC

13 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline BC AD

14 NT Reliability: Alexander the Great Timeline Plutarch s Lives Written Around AD 100 Arrian s Anabasis Written Around AD AD These biographies include miracle stories, legendary development, hagiography, and are heavily edited accounts.

15 For four hundred years during and after the Buddha s lifetime, his teachings were transmitted only orally.it took another hundred years to begin [to be written down]. By that time, it is said that there was only one monk who had memorized the whole canon and that he was somewhat arrogant. The other monks had to persuade him to recite the discourses so they could write them down. Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of Buddha s Teachings Buddhist Scriptures

16 Buddhist tradition differs fundamentally from that of Christianity. In Christianity we can distinguish an initial tradition, embodied in the New Testament, from a continuing tradition, which consists the Fathers and doctors of the Church, the decisions of councils and synods.buddhists possess nothing that corresponds to the New Testament.The bulk of the selections in this book was written down between A.D. 100 and 400, in other words about 600 to 900 years after the Buddha s demise. Edward Conze, Buddhist Scriptures, 11 Buddhist Scriptures

17 NT Reliability: Gospel Timeline Jesus Death 30 or 33 Mark Written Mid-60s to Early 70s John Written Early to Mid-90s AD Mark at yrs Mt/Lk at yrs Jn at yrs Paul at yrs Paul s Writings Matthew and Luke Written 80-85

18 NT Reliability: Authorship Pauline authorship 7 undisputed Pauline texts Romans 1 and 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians 1 Thessalonians Philemon

19 NT Reliability: Authorship Gospels as anonymous? Gospels are technically anonymous as the author s name is not located in the text itself Many works, both ancient and modern, are technically anonymous Lucian s Life of Demonax My Thesis! Books were frequently circulated with names of the author s attached names would be expected to distinguish between gospel writers The only names ascribed to the Gospel writers have been the only one s ascribed no competing authorship Church testimony is unanimous about the authorship It is inconceivable that a work like Luke s was anonymous (Lk. 1:1-4)

20 NT Reliability: Authorship Four Gospels and church tradition Testimony of the early church was of four Gospels Papias (arund AD 110) refers to 3/4 Justin Martyr (around AD 150) refers to the memoirs of the apostles Tatian, a disciple of Justin, wrote the Diatesseron which sought to harmonize the four Gospels Irenaeus (around AD 180) names them Other Gospels (Gospel of Peter and Gospel of Thomas) were rejected and are considered to be much later than the four in the NT Lastly, the NT Gospel accounts are considered to be in the Genre of ancient biographies (Richard Burridge, What are the Gospels).

21 NT Reliability: Non-Christian Confirmation Many non-christian sources within 100 years or so provide independent attestation to biblical claims We will consider two examples Tacitus Roman Historian Josephus Jewish/Roman Historian

22 Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome Tacitus, Annals, Christians named for Christus Crucified by Pontius Pilate During the reign of Tiberius Death ended superstition temporarily Superstition broke out soon afterward Spread from Judea to Rome

23 Now there was at this time a man Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many Jews and many Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when Pilate at the suggestion of the principled men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. Josephus, Antiquities, 18.3 Jesus had many disciples (Jews and Gentiles) Pilate condemned Him to die He was crucified The disciples continued after His death Jesus was believed by some to be the Messiah and was the brother of James (Ant. 20.9)

24 NT Reliability: Conclusion Textual Evidence Most differences are due to spelling or word order Thousands of copies: Best attested text of any ancient writing in the world (John A.T. Robinson) Extant copies are very early We can be confident that what we have represents what was originally written NT is Early Gospels were written around AD (or plus years) Paul s writings are even earlier (AD 50s) Creeds even earlier (AD 30s)

25 NT Reliability: Conclusion NT Authorship Pauline authored a significant number of NT books Gospels have a consistent authorship attributed to disciples or associates of the disciples and were written during the generation of the disciples Non-Christian Attestation Tacitus Josephus Both confirm a number of details found in the NT Pliny, Suetonius, et. al.