Apologetics25

We hope you will find it useful in painting a picture showing how and why you can have greater confidence in the New Testament than in any other ancient documents.

Because there is so much material available for this subject, we have to warn you that this page is really no more than an introduction to the subject, but we hope it will give you sufficient to feel confident about using the New Testament.

There will be more about the actual content of the New Testament on the following page.

1. When was the New Testament Written?

Answer:

a) The Books in order of your New Testament

*Books*	*Author*	*When written*
Matthew	Matthew, the apostle	Probably between AD60 –AD65
Mark	Peter, the apostle, to John Mark	Between AD55 – AD65
Luke	Luke, the doctor	About AD60, from Rome or possibly Caesarea
John	John the apostle	Probably between AD85 – AD90
Acts	Luke, the doctor	Between AD63 – AD70
Romans	Paul	About AD57 from Corinth
1 Cor	Paul	About AD55 possibly from Ephesus
2 Cor	Paul	About AD55 – AD57 from Macedonia
Gal	Paul	About AD49 from Antioch
Eph	Paul	About AD60 from Rome
Phil	Paul	About AD61 from Rome
Col	Paul	About AD60 from Rome
1 Thess	Paul	About AD51 from Corinth
2 Thess	Paul	About AD51/52 from Corinth
1 Tim	Paul	About AD64, possibly from Macedonia or Rome
2 Tim	Paul	About AD66/67, from Rome
Titus	Paul	About AD64, possibly in Macedonia
Philemon	Paul	About AD60 from Rome
Hebrews	Uncertain	Some time before AD70
James	James, brother of Jesus	Probably AD49
1 Pet	Peter, the apostle	Probably between AD62 - AD64, possibly from Rome
2 Pet	Peter, the apostle	About AD67, possibly from Rome
1 John	John the apostle	Probably between AD85 - AD90 from Ephesus
2 John	John the apostle	About AD90 from Ephesus
3 John	John the apostle	About AD90 from Ephesus
Jude	Jude, brother of Jesus & James	About AD65
Revelation	John the apostle	About AD95 from Patmos

b) The Books in possible Chronological order

Books	Author	When written
Gal	Paul	About AD49
James	James	Probably AD49
1 Thess	Paul	About AD51
2 Thess	Paul	About AD51/52
1 Cor	Paul	About AD55
Mark	Peter	Between AD55 – AD65
2 Cor	Paul	About AD55 – AD57
Romans	Paul	About AD57
Luke	Luke	About AD60
Eph	Paul	About AD60
Col	Paul	About AD60
Philemon	Paul	About AD60
Matthew	Matthew	Probably between AD60 –AD65
Phil	Paul	About AD61
1 Pet	Peter	Probably between AD62 - AD64
Acts	Luke	Between AD63 – AD70
1 Tim	Paul	About AD64
Titus	Paul	About AD64
Jude	Jude	About AD65
2 Tim	Paul	About AD66/67
2 Pet	Peter	About AD67
Hebrews	Uncertain	Some time before AD70
John	John	Probably between AD85 – AD90
1 John	John	Probably between AD85 - AD90
2 John	John	About AD90
3 John	John	About AD90
Revelation	John	About AD95

Note:

Mark, Luke & Matthew were written about the same period, John much later.
Most of John's writings were very late in his life.
A number of Paul's letters were written from prison – good use of time!!!

2. Why was the New Testament Written?

Answer:

A simple observation of the contents suggests the following reasons:

The Gospels - to establish a base account of Jesus' ministry.

Acts – to establish a base account of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the expansion of the early church.

Paul's letters – either largely doctrinal to establish doctrine (e.g. Romans) or to correct failures in the early church (e.g. Galatians) is simply pastoral to his team or friends (e.g. Timothy, Philemon).

Jude – to warn against godless men.

James, Peter & John – to encourage the early church as it face worldly hostility.

Revelation – pure prophetic revelation.

3. How was the Teaching First Used?

Answer:

Initially it would appear that ‘sayings' were formulated and used within the Christian church, e.g.

1 Tim 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance : Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

1 Tim 4:9,10 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

2 Tim 2:11-13 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Tit 3:4-8 When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.

Some, close to him, had clearly taken notes of the Lord's sayings and of what had happened.

These, with the sayings, were used in the early church.

The apostles' letters were received and publicly read, and were exchanged between churches and then copied.

The synoptic Gospel writers compiled those writings already being circulated and added their own recollections.

John subsequently (see next page) wrote his recollections, clarified by the passing of years.

As the years passed, the question of authority was considered.

4. What does Canon mean & how did it come to be?

Answer:

a) Meaning of Canon

The Greek word kanon means a rule or measuring rod.

Canon first means the collection of books for which prescribed tests have been applied to determine whether they are considered authoritative and worthy of being part of the sacred Scriptures.

Canon also means all the books collectively. The Canon is thus all the Scriptures that constitute the ‘rule of faith' by which all doctrine is tested.

b) How it came about

50-100 AD

The NT books and letters written

100-200 AD

These collected and read in the churches

200-300 AD

Carefully examined and compared with dubious writings

300-400 AD

Complete agreement as to which books to be included.

5. What Rules were Used to Assess Canonicity?

Answer:

Each of the writings were subjected to the following tests:

1. Authority of the writers

• only known and accepted apostles and their close associates were accepted.

2. External Evidence

• the churches had to feel they were historically accurate.

3. Internal Evidence

• contents conformed to known apostolic teaching, and

• each book had to have a self-authenticating nature, as having a sense as from God

6. What Ancient N.T. Manuscripts to we have Today?

Answer:

Earliest Greek manuscript copies available still today:

• a fragment about 114 AD

• complete books about 200 AD

• most of the NT about 250 AD

• complete NT about 325

There is a total here of nearly 5,400 manuscripts.

The student should not be put off by the gap in time between originals and copies. In the case of most ancient classical Greek manuscripts that historians are quite happy with, the time lapse varies from 400 years to 1400 years!

The time lapses for the NT copies is therefore considered extremely good.

Add to those early manuscripts all the other later manuscripts in our possession around the world today and we have just under 25,000!

Translations into Syriac and Latin were made around 150 AD and there are more than 15,000 existing copies of the various versions.

Some of the best classical Greek documents have at best 643 copies (Homer's The Iliad) and frequently less than ten copies!!!!

F.F.Bruce, an acknowledged expert said, “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament .”

He also stated, “ ...the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the NT may be regarded as finally established .”

F.J.A.Hort, one of the greatest textual critics ever wrote: “In the variety and fullness of the evidence on which it rests, the text of the NT stands absolutely and unapproachably alone among ancient prose writings ”

7. How do they Date these Documents?

Answer:

a) Dating Documents

The art of dating documents includes examining the following:

• the materials used

• the letter size and form

• the nature of the punctuation

• how the text is divided up

• what ornamentation might be included

• the colour of the ink

• the texture and colour of the parchment

b) Confirming Existence of Documents

The existence of the original documents having existed are confirmed by:

• the incredible number of copies

• the number of copies of translations (as noted above)

• over 2000 copies of lectionaries (texts for Sunday readings used in the early church) going back to the sixth century,

• quotations from the NT by the early Church Fathers (leading Christians in the early centuries – see later pages) in excess of 36,000 quotes. One scholar wrote, “ These quotations are so extensive that the New Testament could virtually be reconstructed from them without the use of New Testament manuscripts .”

8. What Additional Historical Evidence is there to Support these Documents?

Answer:

References to the Christians was made in the writings that have survived of

• Tacitus – a first century Roman

• Seutonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian

• Josephus – a Jewish non-Christian historian

Josephus made specific reference to Jesus being the brother of James who was martyred, the high priest Ananias, and John the Baptist.

In addition:

• Thallus who wrote about 52 AD is quoted by subsequent writers and obviously made reference to Christ's crucifixion

• Pliny the Younger, a Roman author and administrator in a letter about 112 AD to the emperor Trajan, describes early Christian worship practices with references to Christ.

• The emperor replied with references to Christians.

• Talmudic writings between 70 AD and 200 AD make reference to Jesus being crucified at Passover

• Lucian , a second century Greek writer, made sarcastic comments about the worship of the Christians.

• A Syrian, Mara Bar-Serapion, wrote to his son somewhere between the late 1 st century and early 3 rd centuries making reference to the Jews executing their wise king and the teaching about him that lived on.

• Gnostic writers of the second century made various references to Jesus.

Thus through a whole variety of writings, the historical existence at least of Jesus has been confirmed outside the New Testament, including his death and supposed resurrection, and the existence of the early church.

Apart from documentary support, archaeology provides innumerable supports for the history of the New Testament and the student who desires to see careful summaries of this can do no better that read the appropriate passages in Josh McDowell's New Evidence that Demands a Verdict , that has been referred to at the beginning of this series.

9. Summary

On this page we have noted in respect of the New Testament:

• when it was written and why it was written,

• how and when it came into being,

• the tests that were used for canonicity,

• the incredible number of manuscripts still available today that point back to the originals,

• how they were dated,

• additional support for the N.T. from outside the Bible.

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