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Apologetics
25. Questions about Origins of the New
Testament
(Why
you can be happy with it)
A
series that helps consider the foundations for faith
Contents:
Introductory
Comments
•
Setting
the framework - how it came into being
1.
When was the New Testament Written?
•
A look at
each book in order
2.
Why was the New Testament Written?
•
What prompted
it to come into being.
3.
How was the Teaching First Used?
•
How the early
church developed
it.
4.
What does Canon mean and how did it come to be?
•
Why these
particular books
5.
What Rules were Used to Assess Canonicity?
•
Why not others.
6.
What Ancient N.T. Manuscripts do we have Today?
•
The treasure
in museums around the world
7.
How do they Date these Documents
•
Basic things
looked at.
8.
What Additional Historical Evidence is there to Support these Documents?
•
Support from
outside the Bible
Summary
•
A round up
of this page
This page
is about the fundamental questions about how the New Testament
came into being.
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.
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| 1.
When was the New Testament Written? |
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!!!
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2.
Why was the New Testament Written?
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|
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.
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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.
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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. |
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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
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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
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7.
How do they Date these Documents?
|
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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.
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8.
What Additional Historical Evidence is there to Support these
Documents?
|
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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.
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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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