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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.
ISBN:
ISBN-13:
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.)
06 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
07
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
08 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
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:
10 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
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
12 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• 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:
13
Criteria of Canonicity
• Apostolicity
• Orthodoxy
• Catholicity
• Inspiration
Notes:
SESSION #2: THE FORMATION OF THE CANON
14 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
15
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
16 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• Gospel of Peter
• Gospel of Nicodemus
• Various Other Fragmentary Works
Notes:
Gnostic Gospels
• Texts of No Value for Understanding Jesus
- Apocryphon of James
17
- Gospel of Philip
- Gospel of Mary
- Gospel of Truth
- One Possible Exception (Coptic Gospel of Thomas)
Notes:
SESSION #3: BOOKS NOT INCLUDED
18 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
19
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
21
Notes:
SESSION #4: THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
22 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
23
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
24 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• 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
25
• 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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27
External Evidence
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
Notes:
SESSION #6 The Authorship
and Dating of the Gospels
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
28 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
Internal Evidence
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
Notes:
29SESSION 6: THE AUTHORSHIP AND DATING OF THE GOSPELS
30 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
31
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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:
33
• 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:
35
• 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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37
The Synoptic Problem
• Verbatim Parallelism
• In Greek
• Parenthetical comments
• Order of episodes
• Luke 1:1-4
SESSION #9
The Composition of the Synoptic Gospels
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
38 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
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
39
• 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
40 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• 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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43
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT 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
45
• 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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47
Insights Into Specific Imagery
• Millstones
• Cornerstones
• Immersion pools
• “Moses’ seat” in the synagogue
• Thatched roofs
• Winepresses
SESSION #11
Archaeology for the Gospels
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT 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:
49
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
50 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
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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53
Greco-Roman Sources
• Thallus
• Pliny the Younger
• Suetonius
• Tacitus
• Lucian of Samosata
• Mara bar Serapion
SESSION #12
Non-Christian Evidence for Jesus
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
54 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
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
55
Notes:
SESSION #12: NON-CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE FOR JESUS
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57
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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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61
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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
63
– 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
64 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
65
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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• Otherreligiousparallelsandtheirsignificance
Notes:
The Criteria of Authenticity
• Traditional
– Multiple Attestation
– Double Dissimilarity
– Coherence
67
– Palestinian Environment
• Recent Proposals
– A Continuum Approach (Double Similarity)
– Double Dissimilarity and Double Similarity
Notes:
SESSION #15: WHY SUCH DIVERSITY EXISTS
68 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
69
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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
72 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
73
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
74 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• 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
75
– Other Titles
Notes:
SESSION #17: THE RESULTING IDENTITY OF JESUS
76 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
77
SESSION #18
Problems of Harmonization
Among the Synoptics
Kinds of Apparent Contradictions
• ConflictingTheologies?
• The Practice of Paraphrase
–TheologicalClarification
– Representational Changes
– Synecdoche
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
78 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
– 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?
79
• Apparent Doublets
• Variations in Names and Numbers
Notes:
SESSION #18: PROBLEMS OF HARMONIZATION
80 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
81
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
82 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
• Chronological Problems
– Overall Outline of John
–SpecificDislocations
– Passion Narrative
• Alleged Historical Discrepancies
• Johannine Style
– Extended Discourses
• Kernel Synoptic Sayings
• The Johannine Thunderbolt
83
• 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
84 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
85
SESSIONS #20 & #21
The Reliability of John
Global Features
– Authorship
– Date
– Audience
– Possible Sources, but Redactional Unity
– Purposes
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
86 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
– 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
87
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
88 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
– 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)
89
Notes:
90 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
91
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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
93
• 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:
95
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97
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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
99
– 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:
101
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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103
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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?
105
• 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
107
Notes:
SESSIONS #25 & #26: THE UNIQUE PROBLEM OF MIRACLES
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109
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:
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
110 CREDO COURSES - HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
Specific Problems
• Thespecificsupernaturalphenomenainthenarratives besides the conception
• TheflighttoEgypt
• Nazareth vs. Bethlehem
• Herod’s pogrom
• Quirinius’ census
Notes:
111
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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113
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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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117
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
THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITYOF THE NT GOSPELS
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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
119
Notes:
SESSION #29: THE JESUS WE NEVER KNEW
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121
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?
123
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