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

2. Modern Translations Latin Vulgate
Produced by Jerome in late 4th 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

3. 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

4. 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 ( A.D.)
Translates from original Hebrew and Greek
1st complete European Bible from original languages

5. Modern Translations English (continued) William Tyndale
1st 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

6. 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

7. Modern Translations
1st 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Modern Studies of the New Testament
Source Criticism (continued)
Results
Most now believe Mark was 1st 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 verses in Matthew & Luke that are uniquely similar

12. 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

13. Interpreting the New Testament in a 21st 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

14. Interpreting the New Testament in a 21st 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