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Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
New Testament Textual Studies is the process of attempting to ascertain the original wording of the Greek New Testament text by way of internal and external evidence.
WHNU reads καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ (and they shall call his name Immanuel). This is supported by the...
Generally speaking, if either Ἰησοῦς or Χριστός was alone in a reading, the scribal tendency was to expand either of them by adding the other. It would seem that this is not the case with this verse, as we ...
We have textual traditions, or families of texts, which grew up in a certain region. For example, we have the Alexandrian text-type, which Westcott and Hort called the Neutral text that came from Egypt. Then, there is the Western text-type, which came from Italy and Gaul as well as North Africa and elsewhere. There was also the Caesarean text-type, which came from Caesarea and is characterized by a mixture of Western and Alexandrian readings. The Byzantine text-type, also called the Majority Text, came from Constantinople (i.e., Byzantium).
Explore the debate surrounding the authenticity of New Testament texts. What do scholars believe?
Alexandrian Text: the Greek text was produced in Alexandria, Egypt, where there was a high degree of scholarship due to the famous library and museum. This was undoubtedly responsible in large part for the more meticulous care taken in the copying of manuscripts. The chief manuscripts representing the Alexandrian text are Codex Vaticanus, also designated... Continue Reading →
"Collecting manuscript evidence is a laborious process, but it is straightforward in comparison to the evaluation process. In the collection process, the goal is to gather as much evidence as possible concerning various readings of a specific text. In the evaluation process, the aim is to determine which reading has the best support as the original reading. The evaluation process is complicated by the fact that scholars disagree about some of the evaluation principles and their relative importance." - Dr. Don Wilkins
One of the greatest tragedies in the modern-day history of Christianity [1980 - present] is that churchgoers have not been educated about the history of the New Testament text. In fact, they are so misinformed that many do not even realize that the Hebrew text lies behind our English Old Testament, and the Greek text lies behind our English New Testament. Sadly, many seminaries that train the pastors of today’s churches have also required little or no studies in the history of the Old or New Testament texts.
As Luke, Paul, Peter, Matthew, James, or Jude handed their authorized text off to be copied by others, i.e., published, what would it have looked like? What is the process that the New Testament writers would have followed to get their book ready to be published, that is copied by others? Once they were ready for publication, how would they be copied throughout the centuries, up until the time of the printing press of 1455 C.E.? Why was it so hard to be a secretary in the first century C.E.? How was such work done? What writing materials were then in use? How were the NT books made?
Dive into the mindset of agnostic scholar Bart D. Ehrman for insights.
