And that’s just one of the several delights readers encounter as the book opens. He is particularly unimpressed by the ‘most recent fad to greet us’, the Coherence Based Genealogical Method. Elliott makes it abundantly clear that he has little patience for the latest fads of New Testament textual criticism. There are also a bibliography, and indices of modern authors and ancient sources as well as a list of figures. Jesus in Print: Erasmus and the Beginnings of Textual Fundamentalism.Jesus and the Beginnings of the Christian Canon of Scripture.The Sexual Jesus: Straight, Gay, or Married?.Jesus and Judas: Making Sense of the Gospel of Judas.Cross Purposes: From Matthew to the Gospel of Peter.Jesus and Doubting Thomas: On the Genesis and Age of a Syrian Gospel (Part 2).Jesus and Doubting Thomas: On the Genesis and Age of a Syrian Gospel (Part 1).The Autographic Jesus: How Long Were Antique Books in Use?.How Old and How Many? The Oldest Witnesses to Jesus.Comprised of 12 chapters, the present volume seeks to introduce readers to primary texts related to the Gospels and Acts and their importance for the most basic of all biblical studies tasks: textual criticism. This has resulted in incredible damage being done to both theology and scripture studies and that damage has manifested itself in the wider society such that many who have zero ability or understanding of the Bible have been viewed by people as persons to be trusted and heeded.Īnd things will only get worse until the biblical languages regain their rightful place as the ONLY sufficient foundation for bible study.Įnter Evans’ book. Recently, too many pastors and biblical scholars have turned from primary sources and adopted the absurd notion that reading biblical texts in translation is sufficient for preaching and teaching. Evans argues that the evidence suggests that most of these autographs remained available for copying and study for more than one hundred years and thus stabilized the text.Īd Fontes! That was the Reformers cry and that was the cry taken up by biblical scholars for the centuries afterward. Of special interest is the question of how long the autographs of New Testament writings remained in circulation. He also argues that Secret Mark, like the recently published Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, is probably a modern forgery. Evans argues that the Gospel of Thomas is not early or independent of the New Testament Gospels but that it should be dated to the late second century. This book critically analyzes important texts and quotations in their original languages and engages the current scholarly discussion. This diverse literature includes the familiar Gospels of the New Testament, the much less familiar literature of the Rabbis and of the Qur’ān, and the extracanonical narratives and brief snippets of material found in fragments and inscriptions. Evans, introduces readers to the diversity and complexity of the ancient literature that records the words and deeds of Jesus.

Jesus and the Manuscripts, by popular author and Bible scholar Craig A.

Jesus and the manuscripts