Jackson Gordon

3 How We Got the New Testament

5 min read

Previous Lecture | Next Lecture

  1. Introduction
    1. The Skeptical View:
      1. Claim: New Testament stories are embellished, fabricated, and unreliable.
      2. Skeptics: Bart Ehrman, Reza Aslan, portray the NT as “fantasy”, “fairy tales”.
    2. The Telephone Game Analogy:
      1. Skeptical argument: Stories of Jesus got distorted from person to person over time.
    3. Counter Argument: The New Testament stories are rooted in eyewitness accounts, not fabricated.
      1. Point: The stories could be traced back to witnesses and their close associates.
      2. Point: These stories circulated at a time and place where people cared deeply about preserving accurate testimony.
  2. The Timeline and Oral Culture
    1. Early Writings:
      1. Paul’s letters (Galatians, Thessalonians): Written around 49-50 AD, about 20 years after the crucifixion.
    2. Memory Culture:
      1. The difference: That 20-year gap seems long to us today, but not in the ancient world.
      2. Oral Tradition: Stories were passed down through memorization rather than writing.
      3. Memorization Culture: People were trained to memorize teachings and traditions.
        1. Example: Philo’s description of Jewish teaching practices.
        2. Explanation: Teachers would “linger” on their teaching & use repetition to imprint it on the minds of the hearers.
    3. Emphasis on Eyewitness Testimony:

      1. Luke’s Gospel: Luke stressed his reliance on eyewitnesses.

        Luke 1,1-4 1 Since many have attempted to compile an account concerning the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning passed on to us, 3 it seemed best to me also--because I ^[Here "because" is supplied as a component of the participle ("have followed") which is understood as causal] have followed all things carefully from the beginning--to write them ^[Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation] down in orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty concerning the things about which you were taught.

      2. Papias: Early church leader who sought out firsthand accounts from those who knew the apostles.

        1. Goal: To preserve direct eyewitness testimony, avoiding later embellishments.
        2. Era: He lived in a time when he could speak to people who were mentored by the apostles or people who had known Jesus.
  3. The Importance of Eyewitnesses and Corrective Measures
    1. Consequences for Embellishment:
      1. Example: The fictional “Acts of Paul” and Thekla story.
      2. Result: The author was removed from his leadership position when the story’s falsehood was unmasked.
        1. Reason: Christians cared deeply about maintaining accuracy of the teaching about Jesus & his messengers.
    2. Eyewitnesses Still Alive:

      1. Circulated among Churches: The oral stories of Jesus circulated while many eyewitnesses were still alive.

      2. Identified Sources: Sources, in many cases, were mentioned by name.

      3. Example:

        1 Cor 15,3-8 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance ^[Literally "among the first things"] what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised up on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, 6 then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, the majority of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all, as it were to one born at the wrong time, he appeared also to me.

        1. Paul names some of the resurrection witnesses (Cephas, James, the Twelve, over 500 others, etc.)
        2. Point: These lists of witnesses are as if to suggest & to encourage the audience to check out these claims for themselves by going to those people.
    3. Early Oral Histories:
      1. Paul’s Preservation: 1 Corinthians 15, a key early oral history about Jesus’s death and resurrection.
      2. Terms Used: “Passed on” and “received” are technical terms indicating a memorized tradition.
      3. Time and Place: Possibly learned from Peter in Jerusalem shortly after Paul’s conversion.
      4. Point: This shows the short time gap between the events and the earliest reports.
    4. The Telephone Game Revisited:
      1. Not Distorted: The stories were not distorted or garbled because of accountability due to the continued presence of & reliance on eyewitnesses.
      2. Validation Check: Like the game, the accuracy was checked with the original source, so, unlike in the game, any fabrication or embellishment could be corrected.
  4. The Writing of the Gospels
    1. Transition: From oral testimonies to written texts.
      1. Early letters: Addressed specific issues in specific communities (did not tell the story from scratch)
      2. Shift: Persecutions (Nero) in the 60s led to the loss of eyewitnesses, requiring written texts.
    2. The Gospels:
      1. Papias Source: Papias provides vital information about the origins of the Gospels.
      2. Mark’s Gospel:
        1. Peter’s testimony: Mark wrote based on Peter’s recollections (being Peter’s translator).
        2. Possible translation: Mark took down Peter’s words from Aramaic to Greek.
        3. Aramaic snippets: Various Aramaic words in Mark give credence to the story.
      3. Matthew’s Gospel:
        1. Aramaic origins: Matthew was written in the Aramaic language (later translated to Greek).
        2. Overlap with Mark: Matthew’s gospel was likely combined with Mark’s when the Greek translation of the gospel was produced.
        3. 97% overlap: Much content overlap with Mark is explained in this way.
      4. Luke’s Gospel:
        1. Investigation: Collected information from eyewitnesses.
      5. John’s Gospel:
        1. Eyewitness Account: John is explicitly identified as one of Jesus’ actual disciples.
    3. Conclusion: The NT, including gospels & Acts, was written while eyewitnesses were alive.
      1. Point: The New Testament stories have a direct line of connection to actual historical witnesses.
  5. Conclusion
    1. The New Testament: Rooted in history, not fantasy.
      1. Reliability: Testimonies trace back to real eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus.
    2. Final Word: The New Testament is a trustworthy account of what happened.

Graph View

Backlinks