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Historical Reliability of the New Testament Documents

This course covers accuracy of New Testament texts, media's impact on interpretations, critical thinking. It focuses on textual criticism, Gospel writers' motivations, oral traditions, translations and highlights archaeology, early Christian writings, verifying narratives.
Number of lessons: 6
Total length: 2 hours and 29 minutes
format: Video and Audio
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About This Class

This course covers the accuracy of Biblical texts, the impact of popular media on interpretations, and the importance of critical thinking. You'll explore Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and its effect on religious history perception. Controversial findings like the gospel of Judas and Jesus' family tomb are discussed. The lesson focuses on textual criticism, the motivations of Gospel writers, oral traditions, and the nuances of biblical translations. It examines the compilation of the Gospels, difficult sayings of Jesus, and what is missing from the texts. The lesson highlights archaeology, early Christian writings, and their role in verifying biblical narratives. It explores genealogies, martyrdom of apostles, sequencing of the Gospels, and digital preservation of ancient...

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About the Professor

Craig Blomberg

Craig Blomberg is one of the most highly respected evangelical scholars in the United States. He has authored fifteen books as well as co-authored/edited ten more, with over 150 journal articles to his credit. A Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado, Craig also serves on the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version.
Craig Blomberg

Lessons

  • 1. Introduction and the First Three Questions
    Learn about the impact of fiction on historical perceptions, the authentication of ancient texts, and the reliability of the Gospels through scholarly textual criticism and historical context.
  • 2. Authors' Intent
    Explore the motivations and principles that drove the Gospel writers to preserve Jesus's teachings, how Jewish tradition and the art of memorization influenced the Gospels, and how social memory shaped the oral storytelling techniques they used.
  • 3. Questions & Answers (Part 1)
    Understand the profound impact of translation types, especially paraphrase Bibles, on interpreting and understanding Scripture, while acknowledging the importance of context, curiosity, and knowledge in navigating biblical complexities.
  • 4. The Gospels
    You learn about the Gospel writers' methods, focusing on Luke's detailed compilation process, the historical reliability of the texts, the complexities of Jesus' sayings, and the corroborative testimony from non-Christian sources about Jesus' existence and key aspects of his life.
  • 5. More Reasons to Believe the Bible is Credible History
    Discover the Bible's credibility through archaeological evidence and early Christian writings, highlighting tangible evidence and oral traditions that support biblical narratives, culminating in reflections on the rationality of faith based on historical evidence.
  • 6. Questions & Answers (Part 2)
    Understand the significance of genealogies in the New Testament, the martyrdom of apostles, the order of the Gospels, the credibility of ancient documents, the meticulous copying of manuscripts, the complexity of the canonization process, and the availability of original manuscript facsimiles.

Class Resources

Recommended Books

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering the Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs (B&h Studies in Christian Apologetics)

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering the Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs (B&h Studies in Christian Apologetics)

Questions about the reliability of the New Testament are commonly raised today both by biblical scholars and popular media. Drawing on decades of research, Craig Blomberg...

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament: Countering the Challenges to Evangelical Christian Beliefs (B&h Studies in Christian Apologetics)

About Biblical Training

BiblicalTraining wants every Christian to experience a deep and loving relationship with Jesus by understanding the life-changing truths of Scripture. To that end, we provide a high-quality Bible education at three academic levels taught by a wide range of distinguished professors, pastors, authors, and ministry leaders that moves from content to spiritual growth, all at no charge. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit funded by gifts from our users. We currently have over 180 classes and seminars, 2,300 hours of instruction, registered users from every country in the world, and in the last two years 1.4 million people watched 257 terabytes of videos (11 million lectures).
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