New Testament History Lecture Two The New Testament

New Testament History Lecture Two The New Testament in Our Modern World

Modern Translations ¨ Latin Vulgate – Produced by Jerome in late 4 th Century – Vulgate—means “common” or “commonly used” • Renders scripture in the common Latin of the Western Roman Empire • Becomes THE Bible of the Catholic Church – Western Roman Empire Soon Falls • Education/literacy go in decline • New languages develop in Europe • No new translations for 1, 000 years

Modern Translations ¨ English Translations – John Wycliffe • “Morning Star” of the Reformation • Desired to make Bible accessible – Only the high educated know Latin – Church opposes any new translation • Produced first complete English Bible in 1384 – Translated from Jerome’s Latin – Version is condemned by the church in 1408 – 40 years after his death, Wycliffe is declared a heretic

Modern Translations ¨ English (continued) – Johannes Gutenberg • Invented moveable type printing press in 1455 A. D. • Produces the first “published” Bible – Martin Luther • Started the Protestant Reformation in 1517 A. D. – A protest against administrative corruption – Becomes instantly popular throughout Europe • Produced a German translation (1522 -1534 A. D. ) – Translates from original Hebrew and Greek – 1 st complete European Bible from original languages

Modern Translations ¨ English (continued) – William Tyndale • 1 st English translator to work with original languages • Produced first published English N. T. from the original Greek (1525 A. D. ) – Persecution prevents him from finishing O. T. – Branded a heretic and burned at the stake in 1536 A. D. – Miles Coverdale • Produced the first publish English Bible with both the Old and New Testaments • Work based on: – – Tyndale Luther Zwingli Latin

Modern Translations ¨ King James Version – Authorized by King James I • Appoints 54 scholars to do the work • Assignments takes 7 years – Finished in 1611 A. D. – Relied on the oldest manuscripts available – Result is the most popular English of all-time • The Bible of Shakespeare • Still popular today

Modern Translations ¨ 1 st Revision of the KJV published in England in 1881 & 1885 ¨ American Standard Version published in 1901 ¨ Revised Standard Version published in 1946 & 1952 ¨ New International Version completed in the 1970’s

Modern Studies of the New Testament ¨ Lower Criticism – Only one type…Textual Criticism – Evaluates the available text(s) of the N. T. • Before the N. T. was a collected canon, the various books existed as individual manuscripts • We have no “autographs” (original manuscripts) – Everything we possess is a copy – No 2 copies are exactly alike – Goal: To determine which of the variant readings is closest to the original

Modern Studies of the New Testament ¨ Higher Criticism – Questions: authorship, sources, editing, transmission, historical influences – Types • Source—Seeks to answer two questions: – Who were the authors? – What sources did they use when writing? – Focuses on the Gospels, specifically the “Synoptic Gospels” • “synoptic” means “similar” • Matthew, Mark and Luke are the “similar” or “synoptic” Gospels

Modern Studies of the New Testament ¨ Source Criticism (continued) – Relationship Between the Synoptic Gospels • Share similar structure – – – Baptism & Temptation of Jesus Ministry in Galilee Confession of Peter Journey to Jerusalem Trial, crucifixion, resurrection • Also dissimilar – 8% of Mark is unique to Mark – 50% of Matthew is unique to Matthew – 59% of Luke is unique to Luke

Modern Studies of the New Testament ¨ Source Criticism (continued) – Results • Most now believe Mark was 1 st written Gospel • Mark was probably the primary source of both Matthew and Luke • Matthew and Luke both had access to another unknown source – Referred to as the “Q” source (from the German word “quelle” meaning “source”) – Explains the 200 -250 verses in Matthew & Luke that are uniquely similar

Modern Studies of the New Testament ¨ Types of Higher Criticism (continued) – Form Criticism • Seeks to discover history of Gospel materials during their oral/pre-literary stage • Studies the form/setting of these oral materials – DEATH OF THE PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY – Isolated materials were collected by the early church • Would be retold during sermons, Lord’s Supper, etc. • Collection grew as various questions arose

Interpreting the New Testament in a 21 st Century World ¨ Comprehending the Culture of the N. T. – All writings are “cultural” writings – Importance of values & norms • Norms: what is proper, right/wrong in a community – Norms are a reflection of values • Values: glue that holds a community together • Values of the New Testament World – Honor & shame • Ascribed honor • Acquired honor – Dyadic social personality – World of limited good

Interpreting the New Testament in a 21 st Century World ¨ Basic Interpretive Tools – Hermeneutics: the science of interpreting ancient documents – “Timely” versus “timelessness” – Basic interpretive principles • • Grammatical principle Contextual principle Historical principle Theological principle