Lecture 3 - Is the Bible true?
Reliability of the Biblical Documents
Noah's flood - Genesis 6-9. Fact or
myth?
Floods in other cultures - Phrygian,
Indian, Zoroastrian, Tibet, Australia, Americas.
Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh
1929: Woolley excavates Ur.
- Finds 10 feet of clay - could only
be laid down by a large flood - date estimated as about 4000 B.C.
Writing on:
- Papyrus - from reeds growing along
River Nile.
- Parchment - from animal hides.
- Palimpsests - re-used parchments.
Written over the top of the original.
- Book or Codex - appeared shortly
after Christ.
- Folded or bound sheets of parchment
with strips sewn together.
Until finding of Dead Sea scrolls, oldest
complete Old Testament document dated 900 A.D.
Dead Sea scrolls - about 1st or 2nd
century B.C.
Other fragments of similar date.
First New Testament book written - 1
Thessalonians - A.D. 51, 18 years after Jesus' death. They didn't
expect the world to last!
Earliest gospel - Mark - about A.D.
70. Gospel of John written about 100 A.D. and we have a fragment
of this date.
Other interesting documents:
- Tatian (2nd cent.) - combined four
gospels together.
- Wulfila the Goth (350 A.D.) - had
to create a language!
- Codex Vaticanus - 4th cent.
- Codex Sinaiticus (350 A.D.) - complete
New Testament. Discovered by Tischendorf at St Catherine's monastery
in Sinai in 1844.
|
Document
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Written
|
Earliest MS
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Number of MS
|
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Plato
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427-347 BC
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900 AD
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7
|
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Caesar
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100-44 BC
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900 AD
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10
|
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Tacitus
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100 AD
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1100 AD
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20
|
|
Pliny
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100 AD
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850 AD
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7
|
|
New Testament
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50-100 AD
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350 AD
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13,000
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Supporting Evidences.
(a) Early church fathers
- N.T. translated into Syriac, Coptic
and Latin in 1st and 2nd cent. AD.
- Papias (130 AD) Mark's gospel an
interpretation of Peter.
- -Matthew used other sources.
- Clement of Rome (d. about AD 102).
Wrote an epistle to the Corinthians.
- Quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke,
Acts and some of the Epistles.
- So scriptures are already being used
by the church
- "Epistle of Barnabas" author unknown
- pseudepigraphy. (AD 70-125)
- Copy also found at Sinai.
- Tertullian (AD 160-220) - quotes
NT mote than 7000 times.
(b) Non-Christian writers
- Josephus (AD 35-100) - A Jew. Write
"The Antiquities of the Jews" Ad 93.
- describes ministry of John the
Baptist.
- James, the brother of Jesus,
is mentioned.
- Jesus, condemned by Pilate, "appeared
to the restored to life". Authentic??
- Tacitus (AD 55-120) - Nero blamed
Christians for the fire of Rome AD 64.
- Pliny (AD 61-114) _ Writes to Emperor
Trajan and reports about Christians' meetings.
How do we know the writers wrote the
truth?
Miracles and the supernatural are difficult
for modern people to accept.
Move to DEMYTHOLOGISE - remove all supernatural
references.
What's left?
Why has Christianity survived?
Why did the various Biblical writers
write?
Mark 1:1 "The gospel (good news) about
Jesus Christ".
Matthew - Jewish.
Luke 1:1-4. "Write and orderly account".
Acts - Luke's second book.
John 20:31. To engender faith in the
reader.
Inter-relationship of the synoptic gospels
(Peter) Special sources
|
V
Mark
Special sources -> Matthew Luke
"Sayings" (Q)
Did the writers make up these fantastic
stories?
1st century world different - "magicians",
demon possession part of the scene.
Why did Jesus perform miracles?
- compassion.
- SIGNS of arrival of God's kingdom.
Greatest sign is Jesus' resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:14,17 "If Christ be
not raised ... you are still in your sins".
Jesus appeared to more than 500 people
after his death (1 Corinthians 15:6). - He must be alive!
Maybe Jesus didn't really die?
- swooned?
- fooled the Roman soldiers?
- Other Christian believers martyred
for a lie?
Today's Christians
- claim a "relationship with Christ".
- "communion with God through Christ"
2 Corinthians 5:17 - "a new creation".
The Bible alone has caused such changes
- evidence that it is "the Word of God"?
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