The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Gospels
Transcript of The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Gospels
The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Gospels
WORKBOOK
The Credo Courses
The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Gospels© 2014 by Credo CoursesAll rights reserved.
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Printed in the United States of America.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
#1 Widely Held Myths About Ancient Sources 7
#2: The Formation of the Canon and the Choice of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 11
#3: Books Not Included: The Contents of the Apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels 15
#4: The Text of the New Testament, and Especially of the Gospels 19
#5: The Translation of the New Testament, and Especially of the Gospels 23
#6: The Authorship and Dating of the Gospels 27
#7-8: The Reliability of the Oral Tradition 31
#9: The Composition of the Synoptic Gospels 37
#10: The Literary Genre of the Gospels 43
#11: Archaeology for the Gospels 47
#12: Non-Christian Evidence for Jesus 53
#13: The Apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels Further Evaluated 57
#14: The Quests of the Historical Jesus 61
#15: Why Such Diversity Exists and the Criteria of Authenticity 65
#16: The Most Authentic Parts of the Synoptic Tradition 69
#17: The Resulting Identity of Jesus 73
#18: Problems of Harmonization Among the Synoptics 77
#19: Problems of Harmonization between the Synoptics and John 81
#20-21: The Reliability of John 85
#22: A Fourth Quest of the Historical Jesus 91
#23-24: The Knowledge of the Jesus Tradition in the Early Epistles 97
#25-26: The Unique Problem of Miracles 103
#27: The Virginal Conception: Nativity or Naiveté 109
#28: The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction 113
#29: The Jesus We Never Knew 117
#30: Summary and Conclusions 121
TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.)
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SESSION #1
Widely Held Myths About Ancient Sources
Perspectives Unrelated to Any Real Historical Evidence
• The claim that Jesus never existed
• Legends in ancient New Testament Apocrypha
• Medievalfiction
• Modern novels (esp. The Da Vinci Code)
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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Notes:
Distortion of “Recently” Discovered Evidence
• Dead Sea Scrolls
– Two kinds of documents
– What the sectarian documents teach us
• Gnostic Literature (much more to come)
– Gospel of Judas
– “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife”
• “Jesus’ Family Tomb”
09SESSION #1: WIDELY HELD MYTHS ABOUT ANCIENT SOURCES
Notes:
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Chronological Developments
• Second-Century Evidence
– Use by “Apostolic Fathers”
– Marcion and Gnosticism
– Roman Persecution and the Muratorian Canon
– Irenaeus
SESSION #2
The Formation of the Canon and the Choice of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and JohnTHE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
OF THE NT GOSPELS
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• Third-Century Trends
– Tertullian and a novum testamentum
– Origen and seven disputed books
– Other works occasionally proposed
• Fourth-Century Crystallization
– Athanasius
– Councils of Hippo and Carthage
Notes:
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Criteria of Canonicity
• Apostolicity
• Orthodoxy
• Catholicity
• Inspiration
Notes:
SESSION #2: THE FORMATION OF THE CANON
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SESSION #3
Books Not Included: The Contents of the
Apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels
Apocryphal Gospels
• Infancy Supplements
• Infancy Gospel of Thomas
• Protevangelium of James
• Passion Supplements
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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• Gospel of Peter
• Gospel of Nicodemus
• Various Other Fragmentary Works
Notes:
Gnostic Gospels
• Texts of No Value for Understanding Jesus
- Apocryphon of James
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- Gospel of Philip
- Gospel of Mary
- Gospel of Truth
- One Possible Exception (Coptic Gospel of Thomas)
Notes:
SESSION #3: BOOKS NOT INCLUDED
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Textual Criticism of NT
• 200, 300 or even 400,000 variants?
• But > 5700 Gk. texts and 20,000 in other ancient languages, lectionaries, major Church Fathers
• = 8-16 variants per manuscript on average
SESSION #4 The Text of the New
Testament, and Especially of the Gospels
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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• Sizable majority affect only spelling
• All carefully copied vs. casual scrawls
• Greater frequency before 4th century but not in any increasing trajectory
• About 1400 in standard Gk. NT. edition of UBS
• About 300-400 in most English translations
• Only two dozen affect a verse or more
• Only two involve an entire passage
• Mark 16:9-20
• John 7:53-8:11
• No doctrine depends on any disputed text
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Notes:
SESSION #4: THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
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A Brief Overview of English Bible Translations
• Pre-KJV
• KJV and NKJV
• Formal Equivalence: ASV—NASB; RSV—NRSV and ESV
SESSION #5 The Translation of the New Testament, and
Especially of the Gospels
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• Dynamic Equivalence: NLT and others
• Optimal Equivalence: NIV and others
Notes:
What Many Don’t Understand About Bible Translations
• The difference between editions and versions
• How similar all translations are
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• How frequently one translation theory shades into another in a given version
• Thesignificanceof inclusivelanguage
Notes:
SESSION #5: THE TRANSLATION OF THE NT
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External Evidence
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
Notes:
SESSION #6 The Authorship
and Dating of the Gospels
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Internal Evidence
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
Notes:
29SESSION 6: THE AUTHORSHIP AND DATING OF THE GOSPELS
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Were the Gospel Writers Interested in Preserving History?
• The effect of belief in an imminent end
- Mark 9:1, Mark 13:30, Matt. 10:23
- Psa. 90:4 in Jewish and Christian thought
- The ethical topics of Jesus
SESSIONS #7 & #8 The Reliability of the
Oral Tradition
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- The example of Qumran and the DSS
Notes:
• The effect of an ideological bias
- The example of Holocaust historians vs. revisionists
- The nature of early Christian theological commitment and the role of hostile eyewitnesses
Notes:
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• The issue of early Christian prophecy
– But see Rev. 2:1, Acts 11:28, 21:10-11
– The principle of 1 Cor. 14:29
– The “missing sayings” (i.e., topics) of Jesus
• E.g., on circumcision
• E.g., on speaking in tongues
Notes:
SESSIONS 7-8: THE RELIABILITY OF THE ORAL TRADITION
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Were the Gospel Writers Able to Preserve Reliable History?
• Short period of oral tradition
• Use of note-taking by rabbis
• Tendency to abbreviate
• Existence of center of leadership
• Difficultsayingsof Jesus
• Distinctions as in I Cor. 7:10-12
Notes:
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• The guarded tradition and the role of memorization in ancient Mediterranean cultures
• Informal,controlledtraditionandflexibilityof transmission withinfixedlimits
• Social memory and its strengths and weaknesses
Notes:
SESSIONS 7-8: THE RELIABILITY OF THE ORAL TRADITION
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The Synoptic Problem
• Verbatim Parallelism
• In Greek
• Parenthetical comments
• Order of episodes
• Luke 1:1-4
SESSION #9
The Composition of the Synoptic Gospels
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Notes:
Markan Priority
• Vividness
• Grammar and Style
• Potentially embarrassing or misleading details
• Shortest Gospel with most detailed passages
• Little not paralleled in Matthew and Luke
• Aramaisms
• What is not in Mark
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• Resulting theological emphases in Matthew & Luke
Notes:
Q, M, and L?
• Q?
– 235 verses in Matthew and Luke but not Mark
– Mostly “sayings,” a popular genre
– Not as closely parallel or one Gospel consistently “earlier” as if one directly used the other
Notes:
SESSION #9: THE COMPOSITION OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
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• M and L?
– Some homogeneity of unparalleled material
– But could be composite of oral and written sources and, for Matthew, memory
Notes:
41SESSION #9: THE COMPOSITION OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
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Major Proposals for Gospel Genres
• Aretalogies—Greco-Roman lives of divine men
• Comedies or Tragedies (like drama)
• Epic narratives or sagas (like Homer)
• Extended parable or apocalypse
• Midrash
SESSION #10
The Literary Genre of the Gospels
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• Sui generis (one of a kind)
• Biographies
Notes:
Characteristics of Ancient Biographies
• Selectivity in narrating portions of a life
• Use of narrative time for indicating importance
• Topical as well as chronological arrangements
• Paraphrase, abbreviation, and explanation of speakers’ words in world without quotation marks
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• Rewording sources to make them one’s own
• Lessons to be learned
Notes:
SESSION #10: THE LITERARY GENRE OF THE GOSPELS
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Insights Into Specific Imagery
• Millstones
• Cornerstones
• Immersion pools
• “Moses’ seat” in the synagogue
• Thatched roofs
• Winepresses
SESSION #11
Archaeology for the Gospels
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Notes:
Actual Sites of Jesus’ Ministry
• Sidewalks, steps, shops surrounding Temple Mt.
• Magdala (and now Dalmanutha?)
• Khersa/Qursi
• Gethsemane and Mt. of Olives
Notes:
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Comparatively Recent Finds
• The Pilate inscription
• The Johanan ossuary
• The “Jesus-boat”
• Caiaphas’ tomb
• The ossuary of “James son of Joseph brother of Jesus”
• First-century house in Nazareth
Notes:
SESSION #11: ARCHAEOLOGY FOR THE GOSPELS
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Helpful Artifacts
• Corban
• Temple porticoes
• Coins with Caesar’s image
• “for what you are here” on a beaker
• Vineyard with walls, winepress, tower
• Nazareth decree against grave robbing
• Ornate tombs in Kidron Valley
Notes:
51SESSION #11: ARCHAEOLOGY FOR THE GOSPELS
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Greco-Roman Sources
• Thallus
• Pliny the Younger
• Suetonius
• Tacitus
• Lucian of Samosata
• Mara bar Serapion
SESSION #12
Non-Christian Evidence for Jesus
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Notes:
Jewish Sources
• Talmud
– Calling oneself God or Son of Man
– Details of trial of bar Kochba
– A sorcerer who led Israel astray
– Son of Pandera/Panthera
– Hanged on Passover Eve
• Josephus
– Information about John the Baptist
– James, “brother of Jesus, the one-called Christ”
– The Testimonium Flavianum
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Notes:
SESSION #12: NON-CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE FOR JESUS
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Evaluating the Non-Canonical Gospels by Twelve Key
Criteria of Historical Reliability
1. Textual Criticism
2. Authorship
3. Dating
4. Ideological Intention
SESSION #13
The Apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels Further
Evaluated
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5. State of the Oral Tradition
6. Literary Dependence
7. Genre
8. Hard Sayings: Anti-Semitism and Misogyny
9. The Key Missing Topic: Jesus’ Humanity
10. Non-Christian Testimony
11. Archaeology
12. Other Early Christian Testimony
Notes:
59SESSION #13: THE APOCRYPHAL AND GNOSTIC GOSPELS
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SESSION #14
The Quests of the Historical Jesus
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM)
• The “Old” Quest (as summarized by Albert Schweitzer)
• Rudolf Bultmann and the Period of “No Quest”
• The New Quest (begun by Ernst Käsemann and James M. Robinson
• The Third Quest of Today
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• Problems with This Schematization
Notes:
Contemporary Historical Jesus Portraits
• Prioritizing Jesus’ Deeds
– Eschatological Prophet
– Charismatic Holy Man
– Social Reformer
– Proactive Peacemaker
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– Failed Zealot
– Marginalized Messiah
• Prioritizing Jesus’ Teachings
– Incarnation of Divine Wisdom
– Sociopolitical Liberator
– Cynic Sage
– Oriental Guru
– Messianic Herald of the Kingdom
Notes:
SESSION #14: THE QUESTS OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS
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SESSION #15
Why Such Diversity Exists and the Criteria of
Authenticity
Why Such Diversity?
• Many parts of many portraits complementary
• Presuppositions and ideological commitments
• Starting points and central points
• Which portions of Gospel tradition accepted?
• Positions on the burden of proof
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• Otherreligiousparallelsandtheirsignificance
Notes:
The Criteria of Authenticity
• Traditional
– Multiple Attestation
– Double Dissimilarity
– Coherence
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– Palestinian Environment
• Recent Proposals
– A Continuum Approach (Double Similarity)
– Double Dissimilarity and Double Similarity
Notes:
SESSION #15: WHY SUCH DIVERSITY EXISTS
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SESSION #16
The Most Authentic Parts of the Synoptic
Tradition
The Historical Jesus of the Synoptics
• Interaction with John the Baptist
• Calling Twelve Disciples (as Family!)
• Teachings on the Kingdom (esp. in Parables)
• Exorcisms and Physical Healings
• Table Fellowship with Sinners
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• Legal Controversies (esp. about Sabbath)
• Peter’s Declaration of Jesus’ Identity
• Royal Entry into Jerusalem
• Temple Incident
• Last Supper
• Blasphemy and Jesus’ Final “Examination”
• Roman “Examination” and Execution
Notes:
71SESSION #16: THE MOST AUTHENTIC PARTS OF THE SYNOPTIC
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SESSION #17
The Resulting Identity of Jesus
The Resulting Christology of the Jesus
• Jesus’ Relationships
– Greater than John the Baptist
– Challenging Jewish Leaders about Law
– Creating a new, freed Israel with disciples
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• Non-titular Christology
– Kingdom’s arrival implies king’s presence
– Metaphors applied to YHWH in OT
– Responses to Jesus determine eternal state
– Implications of forgiving sins
– Abba and Amen
–Messianicdemonstrationsof finalweek
• Titular Christology
– Son of Man
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– Other Titles
Notes:
SESSION #17: THE RESULTING IDENTITY OF JESUS
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SESSION #18
Problems of Harmonization
Among the Synoptics
Kinds of Apparent Contradictions
• ConflictingTheologies?
• The Practice of Paraphrase
–TheologicalClarification
– Representational Changes
– Synecdoche
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– Partial Reports
Notes:
• Chronological Problems
• Omissions
• Presupposing what is explicit elsewhere
• Excerpting different parts of a longer original
• Following conventional standards of speech
• Compressing or telescoping a narrative
• Composite Speeches?
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• Apparent Doublets
• Variations in Names and Numbers
Notes:
SESSION #18: PROBLEMS OF HARMONIZATION
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SESSION #19
Problems of Harmonization between the Synoptics and John
Problems Between John and the Synoptics
• Omissions and Singly Attested Material
• Theological Differences
– Christology
– Other Themes
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• Chronological Problems
– Overall Outline of John
–SpecificDislocations
– Passion Narrative
• Alleged Historical Discrepancies
• Johannine Style
– Extended Discourses
• Kernel Synoptic Sayings
• The Johannine Thunderbolt
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• Abbreviations with Careful Structure
• Numerous Conceptual Parallels
– Language Indistinguishable Throughout
• Role of Holy Spirit/Paraclete
• John’sYearsof Preaching(influencedby Jesus?)
Notes:
SESSION #19: PROBLEMS OF HARMONIZATION
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SESSIONS #20 & #21
The Reliability of John
Global Features
– Authorship
– Date
– Audience
– Possible Sources, but Redactional Unity
– Purposes
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– Literary Genre
– Two Kinds of Interlocking
• Presupposing Knowledge of “Kerygma”
– John 3:24
– John 11:2
– John 18:24, 28
• Explaining Cryptic Parts of Synoptics
– John 2:19
– John 18:31
– John 1:35-42
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Notes:
Section by Section
– Jesus and John the Baptist (chaps. 1, 3)
– Water into Wine (chap. 2)
– Jesus and Nicodemus (chap. 3)
– Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (chap. 4)
– Discourse on Father and Son (chap. 5)
SESSIONS #20 & #21: THE RELIABILITY OF JOHN
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– Bread of Life Discourse (chap. 6)
– Living Water and Light of the World (chaps. 7-9)
– The Good Shepherd (chap. 10)
– Resurrection of Lazarus (chap. 11)
– Footwashing (chap. 13)
– Farewell Discourse (chaps. 14-16)
– High-Priestly Prayer (chap. 17)
– Passion Narrative Distinctives (chaps. 18-19)
– Resurrection Narrative Distinctives (chaps. 20-21)
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Notes:
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SESSION #22
A Fourth Quest of the Historical Jesus
Details in John Often Deemed Historical
• Jesus’ initial association with John the Baptist
• Jesus’firstencounterswithdisciples-to-be
• Jesus’ inaugural temple cleansing
• Overall three-year chronology
• Centrality of Sabbath healings
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• Attempted revolt in the wilderness
• Prophetic agency
• Additional details in passion, resurrection stories
Notes:
Jesus the Purifier
• Jesus and John the Baptist
• Six Stone Jars
• Temple Cleansing
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• Born of Water and the Spirit
• Living Water vs. Well Water
• At the Pool of Bethesda
• Ritually Unclean in the Wilderness
• Rivers of Living Water from Within
• At the Pool of Siloam
• AttheFeastHonoringPurificationof Temple
• TheUltimatePurificationof Lazarus
• Mary’s Anointing
• Footwashing
• Pruning the Vine
SESSION #22: A FOURTH QUEST OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS
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• PrayerforSanctification
• Minor Details in Passion, Resurrection Stories
Notes:
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SESSIONS #23 & #24
The Knowledge of the Jesus Tradition in the
Early Epistles
Paul’s Knowledge of Jesus’ Teachings
• The Clearest References
– 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
– 1 Corinthians 9:14
– 1 Corinthians 7:10
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– Romans 12:14, 17-19
– Romans 13:7
– Romans 14:13-14
– Romans 15:1-3
– 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16
– 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5
– 2 Thessalonians 2:3-6
• Other Possible Allusions
– 1 Cor. 13:2, 1 Cor. 1-2, 1 Thess. 4:8, Gal. 1:15-16,
1 Cor. 5:1-5, Gal. 5:14, Col. 1:5-6, 2 Cor. 1:17
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– Flesh vs. Spirit, Christ as Servant
• James and the Sermon on the Mount
Notes:
Paul’s Knowledge of Other Elements in the Gospels
• A Summary of the Key Items
• Other Possible Details
SESSIONS #23 & #24: THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE JESUS
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• A Comparison of Key Themes
• JustificationbyFaithandKingdomof God
• The Role of the Law
• Gentile Women
• The Church
• Christology
• Eschatology
Notes:
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Key Reasons for the Remaining Silence
• Epistolary Audiences
• Absence from Later Letters by Other NT Authors
• Genre of Epistles
• Centrality of Death and Resurrection
• Presuppositions of Letter Writers’ Theology
• Role of Inspiration
• Paul’s Tension with Jerusalem Apostles?
Notes:
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SESSIONS #25 & #26
The Unique Problem of Miracles
Miracles are Natural if God Exists, but Does He?
• The Ontological Argument
• The Cosmological Argument
• The Teleological Argument
• The Moral Argument
• The Experiential Argument
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• A “Science-of-the-Gaps” Response!
• The Issue of Faith
Notes:
Issues With Miracles, if God Exists
• The historical-philosophical argument
• Thescientificissues
• The comparative religions question
– How close are the parallels?
– What is the chronological sequence?
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• The NT purpose
• Non-Christian testimony
Notes:
Miracles Outside the New Testament
• In the NT apocrypha
• Greek and Roman heroes or gods
– Apollonius of Tyana
– Mithras
– Horus
SESSIONS #25 & #26: THE UNIQUE PROBLEM OF MIRACLES
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• Magic and exorcisms
• Jewish backgrounds
Notes:
Support for the NT Miracles
• Multiple attestation
• Multiple literary forms
• Double dissimilarity and double similarity
• Coherence with parables and kingdom of God
• The nature miracles
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Notes:
SESSIONS #25 & #26: THE UNIQUE PROBLEM OF MIRACLES
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SESSION #27
The Virginal Conception:Nativity or Naiveté
General Issues
• The comparative religions question
• The illegitimacy of Jesus?
• Is Matthew a midrash?
• Commonalities between Matthew and Luke
Notes:
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Specific Problems
• Thespecificsupernaturalphenomenainthenarratives besides the conception
• TheflighttoEgypt
• Nazareth vs. Bethlehem
• Herod’s pogrom
• Quirinius’ census
Notes:
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Positive Support
• Historical verisimilitude
• Luke 1:1-4 vs. the rest of chapters 1-2
• The restrained nature of the predictions
• Lack of later theological use in NT
• Anti-Christian polemic in 2nd—5th centuries
Notes:
SESSION #27: THE VIRGINAL CONCEPTION: NATIVITY OR NAIVETÉ
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SESSION #28
The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction
The Inadequacy of Alternate Explanations
• The swoon theory
• Jesus’ disciples stole the body
• The women went to the wrong tomb
• Mass hallucination (subjective visions)
• Legendary or mythological explanations
– The lack of actual parallels
– The uniqueness of the Christian claim
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Notes:
Evidence for a Bodily Resurrection
• The testimony of Paul
• Jewish belief
• Change from Sabbath to Sunday worship
• Womenasfirstwitnesses
• Restrained descriptions compared to Apocrypha
• No tomb venerated in early centuries
• Deut. 21:23 “contradicted”
• No Jewish expectation of resurrection before Judgment Day
Notes:
115SESSION #28: THE RESURRECTION: FACT OR FICTION
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SESSION #29
The Jesus We Never Knew
Timely Lessons For Today’s Evangelicals
• Jesus’ Humanity
– The Gradual Disclosure of the Messiah – Luke 2:52
• Jesus the Jew – Issues • “Badges of National Righteousness” • Legalism, Nomism, and Ethnocentrism
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– Hostility • Matt. 8:10-12 • Mark 11:15-19
• Compassion for Social Outcasts • Jesus’ Friends • Jesus’ Enemies
• Money Matters – The Goodness of Possessions – The Dangers of Possessions – The Stewardship of Possessions
• Creating Community – Biblical “Family Values” – The Importance of Unity
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Notes:
SESSION #29: THE JESUS WE NEVER KNEW
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SESSION #30
Summary and Conclusions
Key Take-away Points
• Ancient Sources for a Knowledge of Jesus
• The Reliability of the Text of the Gospels
• The Accuracy of Translations of the Gospels
• First-Century, First- or Second-Hand Authors and Dates
• ASufficientlyReliableOralTradition
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• The Composition of the Gospels
Notes:
• The Literary Genre of Ancient Biography
• TheSignificanceof Archaeology
• Ancient Non-Christian Testimony to Jesus
• The Diverse Quests of the Historical Jesus
• The Most Authentic Parts of the Gospels
• The Jesus who Emerges from These Parts
• Can the Gospels Be Harmonized?
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Notes:
• Distinctive Issues with John’s Gospel
• The Jesus Tradition in Paul (and James)
• Good Reasons for Believing the Gospel Miracles
• Unique Issues Surrounding the Virginal Conception and the Resurrection
• A Jesus who Challenges Everyone
Notes:
SESSION #30: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
124 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
125SESSION #30: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
126 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
ALL COURSES & RESOURCES:
CREDOCOURSES.COM
127