Spiritual Maturity TrainingUpper Midwest Family of Churches

FALL 2013

• Session 1 - 10:10-10:53 – Can We Trust Our Bibles• Break - 10:53-11:00

• Session 2 - 11:00-11:45 – Important Themes in the NT• Break – 11:45-12:00

• Session 3 - 12:00-12:45 – The Gospels• Lunch - 12:45-2:15

• Session 4 - 2:15-3:00 – Hard Questions from the New Testament• Break - 3:00-3:10

• Session 5 - 3:10-3:55 – Paul and the New Humanity

• Today’s ScheduleSpiritual Maturity Training

• Biblical Interpretation Spring 2012 Mke/MnplsBurns

• Core Doctrines & Church Life Fall, 2012Mnpls./Mke Saindon/ Burns

• Reading the Old Testament Spring, 2013 Mke/MnplsAlexander/Stevens

• Reading the New Testament Fall, 2013 Mad/ECBurns/ Alexander

• Defending the Gospel Spring, 2014 TBA TBA• Evidences of the Faith Fall, 2014 TBA TBA• What we Believe About God Spring, 2015 TBA TBA• The Kingdom of God Fall, 2015 TBA TBA

• Course ScheduleSpiritual Maturity Training

Can We Rely on the New Testament?

4 Common Attacks on the New Testament

1. NT Writers didn’t intend to write Scripture(Power Struggles produced Scripture)

2. NT Canon wasn’t established until the 4th century (or later)

3. There were many contenders to be part of the NT

4. The texts aren’t reliable (copies of copies of copies)

EXPECTING CANON

Canon is Covenant• The Old Testament is organized as a

Covenant document

“Biblical canon is covenantal canon”

– Meredith Kline, The Structure of Biblical Authority

Jeremiah 31:31• “The days are coming,” declares the

LORD,    “when I will make a new covenantwith the people of Israel    and with the people of Judah”

Luke 22:20• 20 In the same way, after the supper

he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

A Completely New Covenant• 15 For this reason Christ is the

mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

– Hebrews 9

Get rid of the Old Covenant• 24 These things are being taken

figuratively: The women represent two covenants. . . . 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[f] 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

- Galatians 4

The Fulfillment of the Law• 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish

the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear [a common 1st century figure of speech meaning “it’s not going to happen], not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands [the beatitudes that were coming with the New Covenant as Jesus fulfilled the Law] and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The Apostolic Authority• John 16:13• Matthew 10:1• John 20:21• Acts 1:8; 2:42; 10:41-42• 1 Corinthians 12:28• Ephesians 2:19-20; 3:4-6• 2 Peter 3:2

Apostles’ Covenant Authority• 1 Corinthians 14:37-38• Mark 1:1• Luke 1:1-4• John 21:24• 1 Corinthians 7:12• 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 13

Publicly Read as Scripture• Colossians 4:16• 1 Thessalonians 5:27• Revelation 1:3

Covenantal Curses for Altering• Revelations 22:18-19 (see

Deuteronomy 4:2)

The New Testament as Scripture• 2 Peter 3:16• 1 Timothy 5:18 (Luke 10:7)

Attacking New Testament Reliability

1. NT Writers didn’t intend to write Scripture(Power Struggles produced Scripture)

2. NT Canon wasn’t established until the 4th century (or later)

3. There were many contenders to be part of the NT

4. The texts aren’t reliable (copies of copies of copies)

The Standard - Canon Criteria

•Written by an apostle or companion; Dating to the 1st CenturyApostol

ic•Doctrinally sound with OT and apostolic teachingOrthod

ox

•Universally used and read in the churchesCatholi

city

The Standard – Received • 3 For what I received I passed on to you

as of first importance – 1 Cor. 15:3• you accepted it not as a human word,

but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. – 1 Thess. 2:13

• “Do not abandon the commandments of the Lord, but guard what you have received, neither adding to them nor taking away.” – Didache (c. 100 AD)

The Standard - Rejected• “Hermas composed The Shepherd

quite recently—in our times, in the city of Rome, while his brother Pius the overseer served as overseer of the city of Rome. So, while it should indeed be read, it cannot be read publicly for the people of the church—it is counted neither among the Prophets (for their number has been completed) nor among the Apostles (for it is after their time)” – Muratorian Fragment (c. 170 AD)

Development of CanonSource Year NT Books Cited Other Works

Fully Accepted as New Covenant Scripture

Justin Martyr c. 150 Quotes from 13 NT books

None

Irenaeus c. 185 21 (including all 4 Gospels)

None

Muratorian Fragment

c. 170 22 (including all 4 Gospels)

None

Origen c. 245 Mentions all 27 NT books

None

Eusebius Early 4th Cent. 22 (including all 4 Gospels)

Ahtanasius 367 Lists the 27 books of the NT as canon

None

Muratorian Canon Categories

Accepted

Gospels/Acts

Paul’s Letters

Solomon of Wisdom

1 & 2 John, JudeRevelatio

n

Disputed

Apocalypse of Peter

Rejected but to be

read privately

Shepherd of

Hermas

Heretical

Paul to LaodiceaPaul to

Alexandria

ArsinousValentinusBasilidesMarcion

Montanists

Eusebius Canon CategoriesAcknowle

dged Books

Gospels/Acts

Paul’s Letters

1 John1 Peter

Revelation

Disputed Books

James

Jude

2 Peter

2/3 John

Spurious Books

Apocalypse of Peter

Acts of PaulShepherd of

HermasEpistle of Barnabas

Apocalypse of JohnDidache

(Hebrews)

Rejected Books

Gospel of Peter

Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of MatthiasActs of AndrewActs of John

Canon of Athanasius• 325 AD - Attended Council of Nicea• 328 AD - Bishop of Church in Alexandria• 367 AD - 39th Festal letter

“In these alone, the teaching if godliness is proclaimed. Let no one add to these; let nothing be taken away from them.”

– Athanasius finally had enough of the Gnostic “gospels” and put his foot down, confirming them to be heretical and no longer being patient with the Gnostics and their teachings

Athanasius Canon Categories“Books of the

New Testament”

Gospels/Acts

Paul’s letters/ Hebrews

General Epistles

Revelation

To Be Read

Wisdom of Solomon

Wisdom of Sirach

Esther, Judith, Tobit

Shepherd of Hermas

Didache

Heretical Books

“there should be

no mention of all of

apocryphal books

created by heretics”

Other Significant DocumentsThe Shepherd of Hermas

The Didache

The Diatessaron

The Epistle of Barnabas

1 Enoch

The Apocalypse of Peter

The Letter of Clement

Wisdom of Solomon

Attacking New Testament Reliability1. NT Writers didn’t intend to write

Scripture(Power Struggles produced Scripture)

2. NT Canon wasn’t established until the 4th century (or later)

3. There were many contenders to be part of the NT

4. The texts aren’t reliable (copies of copies of copies)

The Pretenders - Canon• There were disputed books through

the first 4 centuries (and beyond) but there is amazing and overwhelming agreement as the NT cannon developed−Only the 4 Gospels were ever accepted−Paul’s letters were overwhelmingly

accepted−No book that is not in the 27 was ever

widely accepted as a NT book

Other WritingsWork Approximate Year Written

Gospel of Thomas 150-200 ADGospel of Truth 3rd centuryGospel of May 150-180 ADGospel of Philip 180-350 ADGospel of Judas Late 2nd – Early 3rd centuryGospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate)

Late 4th century

The Gnostic “Gospels”• Denied the OT• Believed an evil god named Demiurge created the

world• Salvation was not who you know but what you know• Elitist and intellectual-focused (self-help for those in

the “know”)• Mixed the religious and philosophic beliefs of the day

with a bit of gospel (with the Cross almost entirely removed)

• Removed the Jewishness of Jesus and the Gospels• Denied the goodness of creation and the material

realm• Modern claims of the Gnostics that they believed

Jesus was married—they would have been the last ones to claim that (they believed that you could transfer knowledge through a holy kiss on the cheek)− Gospel of Phillip implies that Mary was enlightened by

Jesus not married to him

Reasons for Rejecting these Other Writings• Clashed with Old Testament

Teaching• Did not have apostolic connections• Were written too late to be approved

by the apostles• Contained aberrant doctrines about

Christ and the gospel• Were never widely accepted by the

Orthodox churches

Confirming Canon• The Church went through a careful

process of sifting out the canon• There was never any real debate

over the four gospels and Paul’s writings

• The Gnostic gospels were never on any canon list—Ever!

Attacking New Testament Reliability1. NT Writers didn’t intend to write

Scripture(Power Struggles produced Scripture)

2. NT Canon wasn’t established until the 4th century (or later)

3. There were many contenders to be part of the NT

4. The texts aren’t reliable (copies of copies of copies)

Textual Criticism(Lower Criticism)

• Concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of ancient biblical manuscripts.

Common Claims• We have no surviving original autographs of the

New Testament• Of the 5,800+ Greek manuscripts, no two are

identical• There are over 400,000 transcriptional variants

in the New Testament manuscripts• There are only about 138,000 words in the

whole New Testament• The texts have been copied so many times and

so riddled with errors that it is impossible to know what the original autographs actually said

Papyrus

Parchment

Scroll vs. Codex

Greek Manuscript Text-TypesAlexandrian•Library•Scholastic•Most

accurate

Western•Loose•Many

variants•One or many

introductions

Caesarean•Conflation

text•True text-

type?

Byzantine•Late date•Majority

Text

Types of Greek Manuscripts

papyri• 116

MSS• 2nd –

8th century

• ½ early

• 4th or earlier

uncials• 310

MSS• Also

called majuscules

• 3rd – 8th century

minuscules

• 2877 MSS

• Byzantine

lectionaries

• 2432 MSS

• Byzantine

Common Claims• We have no surviving original autographs of the

New Testament• Of the 5,800+ Greek manuscripts, no two are

identical• There are over 400,000 transcriptional variants

in the New Testament manuscripts• There are only about 138,000 words in the

whole New Testament• The texts have been copied so many times and

so riddled with errors that it is impossible to know what the original autographs actually said

No Twin• Although it is true that there are no

two manuscripts that are identical:−This is an unrealistic expectation before

the printing press−You would not expect two hand-written

manuscripts of that size to be identical−There is no precedent for such a thing in

the ancient manuscript world

Common Claims• We have no surviving original autographs of the

New Testament• Of the 5,800+ Greek manuscripts, no two are

identical• There are over 400,000 transcriptional variants

in the New Testament manuscripts• There are only about 138,000 words in the

whole New Testament• The texts have been copied so many times and

so riddled with errors that it is impossible to know what the original autographs actually said

What About All Those Variations?

400,000 Variants (errors)

What About All Those Variations?

400,000 Variants (errors)

138,000Words in the EntireNT

What About All Those Variations?

5,800 Manuscripts

Average of 69 variants per manuscript

400,000 Variants (errors)

Minor Variations• Minor spelling differences• Confusing similar letters• Skipped words or lines• Repeated words or lines• Changes in word order in a sentence• Dropping an article like “the” before

a proper noun

What About All Those Variations?

Minor Variations69 Variants

per Manuscripts

99%of allVariants

What About All Those Variations?

What’s Left?Less than 1%

69 Variants per Manuscripts

Other Variations• Intentional explanation notes inserted:

− John 5:3-4− Mark 1:2

• Other Scriptural references inserted− Matthew 6:13 (1 Chronicles 29:11)

• Inserted sections:− John 7:53-8:11− Mark 16:9-20

• Unresolved variants (.002% of NT text)− An extremely small handful of passages are left

(and we know what they are!− They make NO difference in our understanding

of any biblical doctrine, belief, or practice

How Do the NT Manuscripts Stack Up?

How Far Away?

Your House

How about at1,400 m.How

about at1,200 m.

60 m. – Could you hear your mom?

How about at500 m.

Gap between original and earliest copies

Your House

Year the Text Was Written

Aristotle1,400 m.Plato

1,200 m.NT60 m.

Homer500 m.

How Many Candy Bars?

Candy Bars

What about 5,800? You would be set for life

Would you be happy with 7 Candy bars?

How about 643?How about

49?

How Many Manuscripts?

Number of Manuscripts

NT 5,800+manuscriptsPlato

7 manuscripts

Homer643 manuscripts

Aristotle 49 manuscripts

How Does the NT Stack Up?Author2 Date

Written Earliest Copy Approximate Time Span between original & copy

Number of Copies

Accuracy of Copies

Pliny 61-113 A.D. 850 A.D. 750 yrs 7 ----

Plato 427-347 B.C. 900 A.D. 1200 yrs 7 ----

Herodotus 480-425 B.C. 900 A.D. 1300 yrs 8 ----

Euripides 480-406 B.C. 1100 A.D. 1300 yrs 9 ----

Aristophanes 450-385 B.C. 900 A.D. 1200 10 ----

Caesar 100-44 B.C. 900 A.D. 1000 10 ----

Tacitus circa 100 A.D. 1100 A.D. 1000 yrs 20 ----

Aristotle 384-322 B.C. 1100 A.D. 1400 49 ----

Sophocles 496-406 B.C. 1000 A.D. 1400 yrs 193 ----

Homer (I liad) 900 B.C. 400 B.C. 500 yrs 643 95%

New Testament

1st Cent. A.D. (50-100 A.D.

2nd Cent. A.D. (c. 130 A.D. f.) less than 100 years 5600 99.5%

Reliability – A Case Study• Muhammad solely records revelations

from “Gabriel” over a period of 23 years (even Muhammad questioned this process at first)

• He wrote down some of the revelations on palm fronds, bones and tablets but the majority was entrusted to certain individuals to be memorized

• After Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr decided to collect all of the revelations into one volume partly because many of the men who had memorized portions had been killed in battle and there was a fear of losing the majority of the revelations

Reliability – A Case Study• Abu Bakr decided what would be

included (during this process several new verses were found and accusations were made that some were changed)

• Throughout the ensuing years, the Caliph of Islam completely controlled the Qur’an and all copies made

• There were other copies with different verses and different orders that were seized and destroyed

• Because of this, there is no guarantee that the Qur’an as it is today is what Muhammad originally revealed

Reliability – A Case Study• On the other hand, from the earliest

days, copying the Bible was freely encouraged so that people could read it and encounter God

• The manuscripts were spread so quickly and widely that despite there being minor manuscript variants, large-scale changing of the text would be rendered impossible because manuscripts could be compared against one another

• It would appear that God once again used human beings (in a slightly messy way) to bring about the best possible circumstances and display his glory

Common Claims• We have no surviving original autographs of the

New Testament• Of the 5,800+ Greek manuscripts, no two are

identical• There are over 400,000 transcriptional variants

in the New Testament manuscripts• There are only about 138,000 words in the

whole New Testament• The texts have been copied so many times and

so riddled with errors that it is impossible to know what the original autographs actually said

The Encouraging News• God always uses human beings in his

plans• This leads to a bit of messiness but

God’s plans are never thwarted−What if some were unfaithful? Will their

unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?  Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. – Romans 3:3-4

• God always leaves room for faith• The New Testament Texts that we

have are incredibly reliable