| The Reliability of the New Testament Handout |
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| Written by John Feakes |
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The Reliability of the New Testament (These notes go along with my 45 minute lecture on the reliability of the New Testament) i) Bibliographic Test – it has more manuscript support than any other ancient document (24,970 ancient copies; 36,000 + quotations from writers who lived between the 1st and the 4th centuries) conclusion: The New Testament has not been changed ii) Internal Evidence – eyewitness claims are made, indicators of an early date of writing (i.e. the mention of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemas – prominent Jewish council members) * The conversion of Saul is inexplicable apart from an encounter with the risen Saviour * James began as an unbeliever (John 7:5). What caused him to not only believe in Jesus as the risen Saviour, but assume a place of prominence in the early church? * Evidence of accuracy and an early date of writing – The Book of Acts: * Acts has shown to be amazingly accurate in its description of 1st century: * Cultural Milieus, * Geopolitical Divisions, * Names and titles of Rulers, * Legal System, * Nautical Knowledge * Since these things are never static, but always changing, the writer of the Book of Acts must have been the most clever, thoughtful forger ever, or he was indeed the 1st century traveling companion of the apostle Paul known as Luke. * Acts appears to have been written before AD 62 (No mention of the deaths of James and Paul, no mention of the fire in Rome, the Jewish uprising or the razing of Jerusalem) * Acts is part 2. The Gospel of Luke is part 1. If Acts was completed by AD 62, then Luke was completed even earlier – about 30 years after the crucifixion * Luke is the last of the Synoptic Gospels to be written. Matthew and Mark were written first. The means there was multiple attestation to the life of Jesus well within 30 years of the crucifixion. * How much legend can develop within such a short time? The earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written 400 years after his death – yet most agree they are basically reliable. iii) External Evidence Several writers from the 1st and 2nd centuries mention Jesus and Christianity * Josephus (37-100) – mentions Jesus twice in his writings * Tacitus (the father of Roman History) mentions Jesus’ crucifixion and the persecution of Christians under Nero * Pliny the Younger (AD 110) mentions Jesus and gives a brief character sketch of the Christians in his community. * Christians in ancient times (and still today) face unspeakable persecution. If compelling evidence against Christianity’s historic claims was available, why didn’t the church’s enemies make use of it? How did so many people come to believe in the Jesus of the New Testament if His death and victorious resurrection were not historic facts? |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 20 September 2008 14:48 |