Peter Gurry, Ph.D., is assistant professor of New Testament at Phoenix Seminary where he teaches courses in Greek Language and New Testament literature. His research interests range across Greek grammar, the history and formation of the Bible, and the history of New Testament scholarship. Gurry is the author of A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in New Testament Textual Criticism and A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (co-authored with Tommy Wasserman). Follow Dr. Gurry on Twitter at @pjgurry.
Elijah Hixson, Ph.D., is research associate in New Testament Text and Language at Tyndale House, Cambridge, where he is working with Dirk Jongkind to produce a textual commentary on the Greek New Testament. Hixson is the author of Scribal Habits in Sixth-Century Greek Purple Codices and editor of Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (co-edited with Peter Gurry). He has served as a tutor in biblical studies at the University of Edinburgh and has written articles for Journal of Theological Studies, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Lexham Bible Dictionary.
Questions to Discuss
1. What’s the primary point of this new book, Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism?
2. Here’s a claim that appears in one popular apologetics books: “Two factors are most important in determining the reliability of a historical document: the number of manuscript copies in existence, and the time between when it was first written and the oldest existing copy. When it comes to the New Testament, there are more than five thousand seven hundred Ancient Greek manuscripts in existence from as early as the second century A.D.” What about this statement is right, and what is wrong?
3. Here’s another common claim: “A fragment of John’s Gospel survives from 125 A.D., only three decades from the time the Gospel was written.” What is right and wrong about this claim?
4. What would you say to the apologist who is excited by all of this and who thinks they might want to become a textual critic?
Links to Click
If you want to dig deeper into the historical integrity of the New Testament, one great place to start is In Defense of the Bible, edited by Terry Wilder and Steven Cowan. To download a sample chapter, visit http://www.bhacademic.com
B and H Academic
Reformed Dogmatics, volume 4: book by Herman Bavinck
The Institutes of the Christian Religion: book by John Calvin
Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism: book edited by Peter Gurry and Elijah Hixson
Evidence That Demands a Verdict: book by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell
Reinventing Jesus: book by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel Wallace
How We Got the Bible: book by Timothy Paul Jones
Misquoting Truth: book by Timothy Paul Jones
5150: album by Van Halen
The Best of Both Worlds: album by Van Halen
Balance: album by Van Halen
"Eruption": song by Van Halen
"Running with the Devil": song by Van Halen
"Love Walks In": song by Van Halen
"I Can't Drive 55": song by Sammy Hagar
"Give to Live": song by Sammy Hagar
"When It's Love": song by Van Halen
"Judgment Day": song by Van Halen
"Learning to See": song by Van Halen
"Affirmation": song by Sammy Hagar & The Circle
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Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Good Times with the End Times and Eschatology (Part 1) + “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (R.E.M.)
Food Trucks in Babylon: Moral Apologetics, Prayer, and the Impassibility of God
Mary Jo Sharp: A Former Atheist Looks at the Problem of Evil + “One of Us” (Joan Osborne)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Job, Jesus, and the Existential Problem of Evil + "You Found Me" (The Fray)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: The Evidential Problem of Evil + “God’s Love” (Bad Religion)
Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: The Logical Problem of Evil + Pop (U2)
Three Chords and the Truth Goes to the Movies: Soul
Josh Chatraw: Blaise Pascal and Apologetics that Appeals to the Heart + “Superstition” (Stevie Wonder)
Sean McDowell: Getting the Gospel to Generation Z + "Baba O'Riley" (The Who)
Josh Chatraw and Stephen Presley: How to Do Apologetics Like the Early Church
Alisa Childers: The False Gospel of Progressive Christianity + "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Foreigner)
Russell Moore: The Search for a Satisfying Story + “He Went to Paris” (Jimmy Buffett)
Timothy Paul Jones and Garrick Bailey: How to Do Apologetics in a Skeptical Age
Ted Cabal: Creation, Evolution, and the Age of the Earth + "Let There Be Rock" (AC/DC)
Lisa V. Fields: Apologetics through Eyes of Color + “Crossroads” (Robert Johnson)
Vocab Malone: Barry versus the Black Hebrew Israelites + "One Vision" (Queen)
J.V. Fesko: Reforming Apologetics + "Freewill" (Rush)
Matthew Levering: Why Reason and the Physical Resurrection of Jesus Matter + "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin)
Robert Plummer: Do the Gospels Tell the Truth? + "Truth, Goodness, and Beauty" (The Cure)
J. Warner Wallace: A Cold-Case Detective Looks at the Gospels + “Another Brick in the Wall” (Pink Floyd)
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