15 thoughts on “An Introduction to the New Testament – Reserve Reading #1”
on page 11 it says “considerable fragments remain of papyrus copies of books of the New Testament dated from 100 to 200 years earlier still”….what I don’t get is this. If they are just fragments like the picture you have below…then how can we say that we have a full manuscript dating back that far when we just have fragments. If we do just have mainly fragments then how can we claim some of the stuff we claim about NT writings?
okay. i have 2 questions.
on page 5 where it says that Revelation was written during the time of the Flavian emperors.. who are the Flavian emperors and how exactly did they relate to Christians at that time?
and. on page 10 it says that historians have been more trusting of the NT than theologians. why?
okay Senor Webster (supposed to be an accent mark above the n in Senor). What does the word historicity mean? (pages 2 and 3)
Ha i love Russells name first off, anyways on to the question it says that acts is a continuation of luke, was acts written right after luke or was there some time in between them?
Yeah on page 1 well Chapter 1 page 1 it says “a man who accepts and folows that teachingcan be a true Christian even if he believes that Christ never lived at all. I just find myself really struggling with this statment and wondering how this can possibly be true?
I kept finding “MSS” throughout the text and was confused on what that meant.
not sure if this is the right place to post this. but you’ll find it i’m sure.
it’s annoying and yet reassuring at the same time to see how much more skepticism there is of the historical reliability of the NT compared to any other ancient, secular text.
annoying because people just really really want to prove christians wrong whenever they get the chance,
reassuring because it passes every test with flying colors. even the most disgruntled and determined atheist can’t deny this.
it’d be interesting to compare the historical reliability of the koran. does it endure the same volleys that the new testament does, as it is also a sacred text?
kinda feel like a nerd.
On Pg. 10 it says there are over 5,000 different manuscripts of the NT in whole or in part. If this is the case then how do we know if our translations are definitively accurate?
On page one, the article says, “the real essence of Christianity”… Which sounds like no reason for a question, but it made me think about different variations of Christianity.. Catholic, Protestant, etc. Do the differences make them wrong? I don’t mean wrong in like a bad way.. But my grandpa is Episcopalian, and I know he prays and gives every thought to God. He truly worships Him and rests all his anxieties on the Lord. I feel as though our form of Christianity is too exclusive? I’m not sure. I just feel like judgement is too strong on certain things, like forms of Christianity, that may not necessarily be a life or death issue..
It says on page 5 that 13 books in the NT were letters, written by Paul, to different churches and individuals. Were these the only letters Paul wrote to these people, and if there were more then why were these 13 letters chosen to be put into the NT over other letters and why are they significant.
what does it mean when it says there is a fragment of a papyrus codex? on page 12?
First, who were the Flavian emperors mentioned on the bottom of page 5?
Second, Who were “Lightfoot, Tischendorf, Tregelles…” mentioned on page 9??” (These sound more like names from the Lord of the Rings than ancient historians or scholars or whoever they were.)
Question: What errors do exist in the new testament, and how are we to treat these errors?
If the evidence for the historical reliability of the Old Testament is so solid why is it continually questioned?
I totally bought a commentary on Hebrews by F.F. Bruce at Eerdman’s.
Also, I’ve been reading Apocryphal books for my Cultures and Literature of the New Testament World class. It’s crazy stuff.
Anyway, I’m very glad you’re teaching this class, it’s really important stuff to understand. Send along my encouragements to the students of this class.
on page 11 it says “considerable fragments remain of papyrus copies of books of the New Testament dated from 100 to 200 years earlier still”….what I don’t get is this. If they are just fragments like the picture you have below…then how can we say that we have a full manuscript dating back that far when we just have fragments. If we do just have mainly fragments then how can we claim some of the stuff we claim about NT writings?
okay. i have 2 questions.
on page 5 where it says that Revelation was written during the time of the Flavian emperors.. who are the Flavian emperors and how exactly did they relate to Christians at that time?
and. on page 10 it says that historians have been more trusting of the NT than theologians. why?
okay Senor Webster (supposed to be an accent mark above the n in Senor). What does the word historicity mean? (pages 2 and 3)
Ha i love Russells name first off, anyways on to the question it says that acts is a continuation of luke, was acts written right after luke or was there some time in between them?
Yeah on page 1 well Chapter 1 page 1 it says “a man who accepts and folows that teachingcan be a true Christian even if he believes that Christ never lived at all. I just find myself really struggling with this statment and wondering how this can possibly be true?
I kept finding “MSS” throughout the text and was confused on what that meant.
not sure if this is the right place to post this. but you’ll find it i’m sure.
it’s annoying and yet reassuring at the same time to see how much more skepticism there is of the historical reliability of the NT compared to any other ancient, secular text.
annoying because people just really really want to prove christians wrong whenever they get the chance,
reassuring because it passes every test with flying colors. even the most disgruntled and determined atheist can’t deny this.
it’d be interesting to compare the historical reliability of the koran. does it endure the same volleys that the new testament does, as it is also a sacred text?
kinda feel like a nerd.
On Pg. 10 it says there are over 5,000 different manuscripts of the NT in whole or in part. If this is the case then how do we know if our translations are definitively accurate?
On page one, the article says, “the real essence of Christianity”… Which sounds like no reason for a question, but it made me think about different variations of Christianity.. Catholic, Protestant, etc. Do the differences make them wrong? I don’t mean wrong in like a bad way.. But my grandpa is Episcopalian, and I know he prays and gives every thought to God. He truly worships Him and rests all his anxieties on the Lord. I feel as though our form of Christianity is too exclusive? I’m not sure. I just feel like judgement is too strong on certain things, like forms of Christianity, that may not necessarily be a life or death issue..
It says on page 5 that 13 books in the NT were letters, written by Paul, to different churches and individuals. Were these the only letters Paul wrote to these people, and if there were more then why were these 13 letters chosen to be put into the NT over other letters and why are they significant.
what does it mean when it says there is a fragment of a papyrus codex? on page 12?
First, who were the Flavian emperors mentioned on the bottom of page 5?
Second, Who were “Lightfoot, Tischendorf, Tregelles…” mentioned on page 9??” (These sound more like names from the Lord of the Rings than ancient historians or scholars or whoever they were.)
Question: What errors do exist in the new testament, and how are we to treat these errors?
If the evidence for the historical reliability of the Old Testament is so solid why is it continually questioned?
I totally bought a commentary on Hebrews by F.F. Bruce at Eerdman’s.
Also, I’ve been reading Apocryphal books for my Cultures and Literature of the New Testament World class. It’s crazy stuff.
Anyway, I’m very glad you’re teaching this class, it’s really important stuff to understand. Send along my encouragements to the students of this class.