The Bible

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(No Transcript)
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Whats All the Fuss About?
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What is the Da Vinci Code?

• A handful of biblical scholars today are
  attempting to rewrite Christian history by
  suggesting that there were many forms of
  Christianity in its beginning. Each were
  fighting to become the accepted form. The group
  that won (Proto-Orthodox) had their books put in
  the NT, and the others were burned.
• The Da Vinci Code is a novel written by Dan Brown
  that attempts to present the views of these
  radical scholars in an entertaining manner.
• But the book goes beyond what these revisionist
  scholars are claiming and states as fact a number
  of positions that arent accepted by any major
  scholar.

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Major Claims of The Da Vinci Code

• The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by
  the pagan Roman emperor Constantine.
• The Bible has evolved through countless
  translations, additions, and revisions.
• Christianity borrowed its major doctrines from
  pagan religions (e.g., Son of God, Resurrection).
• Jesus as the Son of God did not become a
  Christian doctrine until it was brought up and
  approved at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. A
  vote was taken and the position that Jesus is
  divine barely passed.
• Leonardo Da Vincis painting of the Last Supper
  and a number of ancient documents provide clues
  that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

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Is Christianity a Grand Conspiracy to Deceive
Others?
Lets examine these major accusations one at a
time.
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Major Claim 1 The Bible, as we know it today,
was collated by the Roman emperor Constantine.
More than eighty gospels were considered for the
New Testament, and yet only a relative few were
chosen for inclusionMatthew, Mark, Luke, and
John among them.The Bible, as we know it today,
was collated by the pagan Roman emperor
Constantine the Great p. 231.who omitted
those gospels that spoke of Christs human traits
and embellished those gospels that made Him
godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed,
gathered up, and burned p. 234.
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Fact Check

• Are there more than eighty gospels as Brown
  claims?
• There are less than 20 books that could be
  considered gospels.
• Are these other gospels earlier than the 4 in
  the NT as Brown claims?
• There is no evidence that any of these other
  gospels were written in the first century AD.
• The earliest of the others is the Gospel of
  Thomas.
• Most scholars date Thomas to the beg-mid of the
  2nd century.
• Nearly all scholars date the 4 NT Gospels to the
  1st century.

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Fact Check (continued)

• Is todays Bible the result of the Roman emperor
  Constantine?

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How did the books letters of the Bible become
one volume?
Why were certain booksleft out?
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First Recognition of NT Writings

• Paul quotes the Gospel of Luke and refers to it
  as Scripture (1 Tim 518).
• Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture
  (2 Pet 316).
• AD 70-150. Apostolic Fathers. Some knew the
  apostles (Peter and John). The AFs specifically
  quote from at least 17 books and letters in the
  NT.
• AD 125. Polycarp quotes Ephesians twice and
  refers to it as part of the Sacred Scriptures.

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Lists of Authoritative Works

• AD 140. Marcion compiled a canon that included
  one Gospel (a large portion of Luke that had been
  heavily altered) and 10 of Pauls letters.
• AD 180. Muratorian Canon Fragment consists of 23
  books and letters.
• AD 185. Irenaeus recognized 22 books and letters
• AD 200. Tertullian recognized 22 books and
  letters
• AD 225. Hippolytus recognized 22 books and
  letters
• AD 230. Origen recognized 24 books and letters
• AD 325. Eusebius lists 22 books and letters
  accepted as canonical
• AD 367. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, lists
  the 27 books and letters of the NT we now have
  today (1st list of the 27 we have today. Notice
  that its after the Counsel of Nicaea.)
• AD 380. Amphilocius of Iconium lists 22 books and
  letters
• AD 382. Synod in Rome. Pope Damascus same 27
• AD 397. 3rd Council of Carthage recognized the 27
  books and letters of the NT
• AD 1442. Council of Florence same 27
• AD 1546. Council of Trent reaffirms 27 books and
  letters.

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What the lists had in common

• All accepted the 4 NT Gospels as the true
  Gospels.
• All accepted Pauls letters as authoritative.

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4 NT Gospels were considered authoritative by the
early Church

• Justin (c. AD 150)
• 15 times referred to the Gospels as the memoirs
  of the apostles.
• In several of these references he cites stories
  or quotes found in the 4 Gospels.
• When referring to the memoirs, he never cites a
  story that occurs in another Gospel.
• Irenaeus (c. AD 185)
• Gospel is quadriform

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Even the heretics accepted the 4 NT Gospels

• Ebionites used Matthew (2nd cent)
• Marcion used Luke (AD 140)
• Certain Gnostics used Mark (2-3rd cent)
• Valentinus used John (AD 110)
• Tatian (Gnostic) combined Matthew, Mark, Luke,
  John into the Diatessaron, the first attempt to
  combine the four into one continuous Gospel.
  None of the other Gospels were included. (AD
  172)
• All of these predated the Council of Nicaea by
  153-215 yrs!

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Certain Gospels were specifically rejected by the
Church prior to Nicaea

• Origen (AD 185-254) I know a certain gospel
  which is called The Gospel according to Thomas
  and a Gospel according to Matthias, and many
  others have we read. Nevertheless, among all
  these we have approved solely what the church has
  recognized, which is that only the four gospels
  should be accepted.

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What about the lost booksof the Bible?

• Gospel of Thomas
• Gospel of Peter
• Apocalypse of Peter
• Gospel to the Hebrews
• Gospel of Barnabas
• Gospel of Phillip
• Gospel of Mary
• etc.

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Not Considered Authoritative

• The only book thought to exist prior to the
  middle of the 2nd century is the Gospel of
  Thomas. All the others were written more than
  100 years after Jesus.
• Teachings in these differ from what we know the
  apostles taught
• Never quoted by any known author during first 300
  years after Christ
• Never read in Christian assemblies
• Not included in the lists of accepted books
  letters
• Not the subject of commentaries
• Some were specifically rejected by the Church

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Why does the Catholic Bible have more books?

• The difference is that the Catholic OT contains
  what is called the Apocrypha (hidden)
• These Jewish documents were respected by Jews for
  historical significance, but never considered by
  them to be inspired.
• When the Hebrew OT was translated into Greek in
  Alexandria Egypt, the Apocrypha was also
  translated and included in the Greek OT
  (Septuagint).
• When the Catholic Church translated the OT into
  Latin (Vulgate), they used the Greek Septuagint
  rather than the Hebrew OT. Thus, the Apocrypha
  was naturally included.
• Protestants believe the Hebrew OT is more
  reliable than the Greek OT, since it was the
  original language. Thus, our English translation
  does not include the Apocrypha.

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Fact Check

• No evidence that other Gospels existed before
  mid-2nd century (lone exception of Thomas),
  whereas all 4 NT Gospels were written in 1st
  century.
• 4 Gospels Pauls letters were recognized as
  authoritative since the 2nd century 100-150 yrs
  prior to Council of Nicaea
• Debate over the other books letters wasnt
  solved with Constantine at Nicaea. Rather, it
  went on for several more centuries.

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Major Claim 2 The Bible has evolved through
countless translations, additions, and revisions.

• Multiple checks balances have ensured this did
  not occur.

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Biblical Manuscripts
The Basis of our Biblical Text
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New Testament

• 5,000 Greek Manuscripts (some very early)
• 25,000 manuscripts in other languages (e.g.,
  Latin, Coptic, Syriac)
• 30,000 quotations of New Testament within 300
  years of Jesus from Church Fathers

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In Romans Total Words 7,125 Words Certain 6,912
(97) Words in Question 213 (3) Of Those in
Question A Certain 66 B Almost Certain
42 C Difficult to Determine 104 D Great
Difficulty in Determining 1
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Variant Readings

• Let us pursue (diw,kwmen) the things that make
  peace.
• We pursue (diw,komen) the things that make
  peace.
• Pursue (diw,kete) the things that make peace.

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Conclusions to New TestamentTextual Criticism

• Text is 97 pure.
• When guidelines of textual criticism are applied,
  scholars can reproduce a text that is roughly
  98.5 pure to what the original said.
• The remaining 1.5 is mostly matters of spelling
  and word order and impact no major doctrine or
  practice.

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Old Testament

• Masoretic Text
• Samaritan Pentateuch
• LXX
• Dead Sea Scrolls
• OT citations in the NT

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Conclusions to Old Testament Textual Criticism

• Approximately 90 of OT is without variation
• When textual criticism applied, scholars can
  reproduce a text that is 95 pure to the
  originals.
• The remaining 5 is mostly matters of spelling
  and word order and impact no major doctrine or
  practice.

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What about all those translations?

• KJV
• NKJV
• NASB
• NIV
• TNIV
• NLT
• ESV
• Amplified Bible

• The American Bible
• RSV
• NRSV
• The Living Bible
• NWT
• Phillips Translation
• The Jerusalem Bible
• New Century Version

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Purpose of Translation

• NASB
• ESV
• NIV
• NLT
• Living Bible
• Amplified Bible
• NWT

• Very literal translation
• Literal but smoother
• 20th cen. US English
• Simpler than NIV
• Paraphrase
• Expands meaning
• Deceive the naïve ?

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Fact Check (Major Claim 2 The Bible has
evolved through countless translations,
additions, and revisions.)

• The Bible we have today is a near perfect
  representation of what was originally written.
  No part in question impacts any major doctrine or
  how we practice our faith.
• For the most part, translations are fresh
  attempts at presenting the biblical text from
  different angles.

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Major Claim 3 Christianity borrowed from other
religions.
Nothing in Christianity is original. The
pre-Christian God Mithrascalled the Son of God
and the Light of the Worldwas born on December
25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then
resurrected in three days (232).
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Fact Check

• It is true that accounts exist of pagan gods who
  rose from the dead.
• None of these pre-date Jesus
• None of these are contemporary w/Jesus
• All post-date Jesus by at least 100 years
• Whos copying who?

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Even Sunday for worship was borrowed from pagan
religions
Even Christianitys weekly holy day was stolen
from the pagans.Originally, Langdon said,
Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of
Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide
with the pagans veneration day of the sun. He
paused, grinning. To this day, most churchgoers
attend services on Sunday morning with no idea
that they are there on account of the pagan sun
gods weekly tributeSunday (232-33).
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Fact Check

• First Christians were Jews. They already
  worshipped on Saturday.
• If some Christians were so picky about shunning
  paganism that they wouldnt eat meat sacrificed
  to idols (1 Cor 10), they wouldnt change their
  day of worship in conformity w/pagan practice!
• Nearly every scholar agrees that the change from
  Saturday to Sunday worship was to celebrate the
  resurrection of Jesus.
• By the mid 1st-century this change had occurred
  (1 Cor 162 Acts 207).

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Quick Review

• The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by
  the pagan Roman emperor Constantine.
• The Bible has evolved through countless
  translations, additions, and revisions.
• Christianity borrowed its major doctrines from
  pagan religions (e.g., Son of God, Resurrection).

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Major Claim 4 The doctrine that Jesus is the
Son of God was invented and approved at the
Council of Nicaea in AD 325 (p. 233).
Speaking of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325
My dear, Teabing declared, until that moment
in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as
a mortal prophet . . . A great and powerful man,
but a man nonetheless. A mortal. Not the
Son of God? said Sophie Right, Teabing
said. Jesus establishment as the Son of God
was officially proposed and voted on by the
Council of Nicaea. Hold on. Youre saying
Jesus divinity was the result of a vote? A
relatively close vote at that, Teabing added.
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Questions to Ask

• Did Christians view Jesus only as a great man and
  prophet until the Council of Nicaea in AD 325?
• Was the vote a close one?

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Fact Check

• Nearly every scholar holds that the Gospels and
  Pauls letters were written in the 1st cent. If
  these Gospels and letters refer to Jesus as the
  divine Son of God, then we know Christians
  thought of him this way more than 225 years prior
  to Nicaea.
• The earliest reference to Jesus as Son of God is
  by Paul in Romans 13-4
• Was born from the seed of David according to the
  flesh, was declared the Son of God with power
  according to the Spirit of holiness by his
  resurrection from the dead Jesus Christ our
  Lord.
• Paul wrote Romans in AD 60. So, we know that
  Jesus was being thought of as the Son of God by
  then. But, scholars recognize that these verses
  are an earlier oral tradition which Paul included
  in his letter, which means the belief that Jesus
  is the Son of God is even earlier than AD 60.

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But we can go back even to Jesus!
Mark 121-12 Then Jesus began telling them
stories "A man planted a vineyard, built a wall
around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape
juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased
the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to
another country. At grape-picking time he sent
one of his servants to collect his share of the
crop. But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat
him up, and sent him back empty-handed. "The
owner then sent another servant, but they beat
him over the head and treated him shamefully.
The next servant he sent was killed. Others who
were sent were either beaten or killed, until
there was only one left -- his son whom he loved
dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking,
'Surely they will respect my son.' "But the
farmers said to one another, 'Here comes the heir
to this estate. Let's kill him and get the estate
for ourselves!' So they grabbed him and murdered
him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
"What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard
will do?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you -- he will
come and kill them all and lease the vineyard to
others. Didn't you ever read this in the
Scriptures? 'The stone rejected by the builders
has now become the cornerstone. This is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see.'" The
Jewish leaders wanted to arrest him for using
this illustration because they realized he was
pointing at them -- they were the wicked farmers
in his story. But they were afraid to touch him
because of the crowds. So they left him and went
away.
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What did Jesus say in this parable?

• Vineyard Israel
• Owner God
• Tenants Jewish Leaders
• Servants Prophets
• Son Jesus is greater than the prophets. He is
  the Son of God.

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Did Jesus really say this parable? Yes.

• If this parable was invented by the Church after
  the death of Jesus, we would expect the Jesus in
  the parable to say God would vindicate him by
  raising him from the dead.
• The parable is consistent w/life in Palestine
  during the time of Jesus.
• Even the Jesus Seminar believes Jesus uttered
  this parable. (Mikey Life Cereal)

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Fact Check

• Da Vinci Code The doctrine that Jesus is the Son
  of God was invented and approved at the Council
  of Nicaea in AD 325 (p. 233).
• Facts
• Jesus himself claimed to be the Son of God.
• Within 30 years of Jesus crucifixion, Paul and
  even earlier tradition were presenting Jesus as
  the divine Son of God.

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Was it a close vote at Nicaea?

• In AD 318 in Alexandria Egypt, Arius argued that
  Jesus was created by God. (His teaching on Jesus
  was adopted 1,500 years later by the Jehovahs
  Witnesses.)
• There was a Christian bishop there named
  Alexander who later that year called a meeting of
  100 bishops to discuss the subject.
• They all voted that Arius was a heretic and
  removed him from his position of leadership in
  the Church.
• Arius wasnt quiet over the matter and continued
  to spread his teaching that Jesus was created.
• The main subject for discussion at Nicaea was
  Arius teachings about Jesus.
• 318 bishops were present Only 28 sided with
  Arius.

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Major Claim 5 Jesus was married to Mary
Magdalene it was covered up.

• The Bible does not say that marriage is sinful.
• Paul opposes those who forbid marriage then says
  everything created by God is good (1 Tim 43-4).
• Paul said it is not a sin to marry (1 Cor 736)
  mentioned that the other apostles and Jesus
  brothers were married (1 Cor 95).
• Being single has the advantage of allowing one to
  be completely focused on ministry
• Paul (1 Cor 728-35).
• Jesus said if one wants to remain single for the
  sake of the kingdom, he or she should do so (Matt
  1912).
• The NT seems to imply that Jesus was single.
• His mother, father, brothers, and sisters were
  mentioned. Jesus being married or having a wife
  was never mentioned.
• Jesus was always portrayed as being single.
• Although it was typical for Jewish men to marry,
  some of those who didnt to better serve God were
  regarded highly (Josephus on the Essenes).
• In the absence of good evidence that Jesus was
  married, the most plausible position is that he
  was single.

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The Da Vinci Code, p. 245-46
These are photocopies of the Nag Hammadi and
Dead Sea scrolls, which I mentioned earlier,
Teabing said. The earliest Christian records.
Troublingly, they do not match up with the
gospels in the Bible. Flipping toward the
middle of the book, Teabing pointed to a passage.
The Gospel of Philip is always a good place to
start. Sophie read the passage And the
companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene.
Christ loved her more than all the disciples and
used to kiss her often on her mouth. The words
surprised Sophie, and yet they hardly seemed
conclusive. It says nothing of marriage. Au
contraire. Teabing smiled, pointing to the first
line. As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the
word companion, in those days, literally meant
spouse. Langdon a Harvard University professor
concurred with a nod. Sophie read the first line
again. And the companion of the Saviour is Mary
Magdalene.
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Fact Check

• The actual text quoted has many gaps that Brown
  filled in with an obvious agenda
• And the companion of the Mary Magdalene.
  her more than the disciples kiss her
  on her head? hand? cheek? mouth?. (Gospel of
  Philip 6332-36)
• Brown refers to the Nag Hammadi mss Dead Sea
  Scrolls as The earliest Christian records.
• Dead Sea Scrolls are all Jewish documents not
  one is Christian or even mentions Jesus.
• Nag Hammadi manuscripts were all written in 4th
  century AD. Many are Gnostic. Gospel of Philip
  composed in latter half of 3rd century200 yrs
  after four NT Gospels!
• Although companion meant spouse in Aramaic,
  the Nag Hammadi mss were not in Aramaic. They
  were in Coptic. The word for companion was
  borrowed from Greek (koinonos). This word means
  a joint owner, partner, colleague, accomplice,
  companion (2 Cor 823 1 Pet 51). The word for
  wife or spouse is gyne.

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John Meier on Nag Hammadi MSS
the material about Jesus is sometimes on the
level of the fanciful apocryphal gospelsThis is
the stuff of The Last Temptation of Christ, not
the historical Jesus. (A Marginal Jew, pp.
123-24)
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Bart Ehrman on The Da Vinci Code
Browns a novelist, not a scholar of history.
. . . Even though he claims that his
descriptions of . . . documents . . . are
accurate, in fact they are not. (Truth and
Fiction in The Da Vinci Code, 189-90)
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Whats All the Fuss About?
If you enjoy reading conspiracy theories, youll
like The Da Vinci Code. If youre looking for
anything that serves as a criticism of Jesus
irrespective of truth, youll find The Da Vinci
Code fulfilling. But as a historical account of
Jesus and the early Church, it is unsalvagable.
A book that contains a ton of untruths about
Jesus, is demonstrably wrong, and promotes some
positions held by only a few scholars.
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Questions?
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What language did Jesus speak?

• 4 languages in 1st century Palestine
• Latin least used almost exclusively by Roman
  officials
• Greek main language used in the Roman empire.
  Palestine in Jesus day heavily influenced by
  Greek culture. Jesus probably could speak and
  read Greek but would not be prolific in it.
• Hebrew used by educated Jews. Jesus probably
  familiar w/Hebrew.
• Aramaic Most common language of 1st century
  Palestine.
• Jesus primary language was Aramaic. He was
  probably tri-lingual, being able to converse in
  Greek and Hebrew.
• Bi-tri-lingual followers would have understood
  Jesus in Aramaic and been able to share his
  teachings w/others in Greek. NT written in Greek
  b/c it was the most common language of the world
  at that time.