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Love Truth

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What is the most foundational pursuit?
  • To love, seek, and do what is true.
  • John 3:16-21
  • John 4:1
    • Culture of truth
    • Context of truth is universal.
    • Truth is loved, sought, held to
    • Encourage honest discussions
    • Questions answered with truth in a spirit of love
    • Never settle
    • All levels of seekers welcome
    • Spread culture to all spheres of influence
      • Questions
      • How do you teach someone the gospel if they don’t believe there is a God or the Bible is His word?
      • What evidence convinces you the Bible is from God and that there is a God?
      • What evidence is there that the texts are the words of God and have been copied accurately?
        • How were the Bible texts originally composed?
        • Hebrews 1:1-2 – Transmission history of about 1000 years (1000 years for the Old Testament, 50 years for the New Testament).
        • How?
          • God speaking to us through prophets, Jesus, and apostles.
            • Composition of the Old Testament
            • Purpose of the New Testament
            • Ten commandments – Deuteronomy 10
            • Moses wrote the words of the law in a book.
            • The “law of Moses” became a formal law.
            • Torah (first 5 books)
            • Historical books – 1, 2 Samuel, 1, 2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles
            • The proverbs
            • The psalms
            • Writings of the prophets
              • Composition of the New Testament
              • Christians did not have a compiled New Testament for about 400 years after Jesus’ time.
              • At first, the gospel spread orally.
              • Move from oral to written transmission follows the needs of the church
              • Period of composition: 30s AD to just before the end of the first century
              • Authors: primarily apostles
              • Purpose of the writings
                • The “Original Bible”

                • Production of the autographs was recorded in the Bible.

                • The Old Testament and New Testament both state they were inspired by God

                  • I Chronicles 28:19

                  • Jeremiah 21:1; 36:1-2

                  • II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 3:15-16

                  • Why don’t we have the originals?

                    • Original materials wore out.
                      • Witnesses to the Old Testament text

                      Greater weight:

                      Primary sources; Copies of ancient Hebrew manuscripts

                      Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic text

                      Secondary sources; Versions: ancient translations into other languages

                      Septuagint; Latin vulgate

                      Tertiary sources: Paraphrase of the Hebrew text

                      Lesser weight:

                      Quaternary sources: Quotations of the Hebrew text in Greek

                      Dead Sea Scrolls
                      • Probably produced in Hasmonean period (152-63 B.C.) and early Roman period (63 B.C. – 68 A.D.).
                        • Witnesses to New Testament text

                        Greater weight

                        Manuscripts

                        Written in Greek

                        To date, 5745 known manuscripts.

                        New Testament versions

                        Translations into other languages

                        15,000-20,000 such documents, ranging in date from 3rd to 16th centuries AD

                        Lesser weight

                        Citations

                        Citations of the New Testament in sermons, commentaries, letters, etc.

                        Over 1 million known citations, ranging in date from 1st to 13th centuries AD

                        Textual criticism
                        • Process of diligent appraisal and comparison of texts.
                          • Recovering the Old Testament text

                          • Two basic steps:

                            • Look at Masoretic text

                            • Compare Dead Sea Scrolls

                              Recovering the New Testament text
                              • Compare available manuscripts
                                • Reference materials
                                • Randall Price, Searching for the Original Bible
                                  • Conclusion
                                  • III John 1:1-4
                                    • ...more
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                                    ScriptureStreamBy Mark Watson
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