The Virgin and The Priest: The Making of The Messiah Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is not guilty of the major crime perpetrated by most 'historical Jesus' works, yet Mark Gibb's book is ground breaking solid scholarship. There is a major problem, in my opinion, with 'historical Jesus' labors -- that area of scholarship which seeks to know the real non-supernatural person who left tangible effects in and especially on history through his actual words and deeds that resulted in the religion and dominant cultural sphere of Christianity. This problem, and wayward deed, is historical Jesus scholarship, mostly inadvertently, reduces Jesus to a clinical end analysis, ignoring the spirit and heart of the man, ignoring his personal yearnings, desires and life-purpose. It lays out the dead body on the autopsy table for inspection, and severs the cadaver into constituent parts: He said this. He didn't say that. He did this. He couldn't have done that. Here is the language he spoke, with its idioms and nuances. Here were his Jewish beliefs. Here is the Hebrew impact. Here are the Greek, and Roman affects. He was a peasant in a discontented illiterate pastoral society, and the like. Lay out each of the body parts on the table for inspection under hot dehydrating lights. All of them are true, yet each of them is dead. Where is the heart? Under what purpose and intention did these parts come together in a real male human with his own personal mission that only he and his "father" knew. How did he suffer trying to share his visions with others? How much was his social situation typical of new religious movements in general, when the founder is typically ostracized, persecuted, prosecuted by the establishment for upsetting the social order. What kind of personal jealousies swirl around a would-be spiritual teacher in his own family setting, among own small circle of friends, and in own neighborhood? How is Jesus like you and me, rather than either set above us, or set about us in pieces? Religions and cultural paradigm shifts do not arise from dead parts. Where is the humanity of Jesus? Are his spirit, intentions, and undisclosed desires something which we, at times, have shared and can identity with? Read Mark Gibbs' "The "Virgin and the Priest" for the marvelous and astonishing historical Jesus.

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For the first time ever in print, The Virgin and The Priest unravels the Infancy Narratives of the New Testament to reveal how they were compiled to protect the truth of Jesus' parentage from those deemed incapable of receiving it. An ancient formula, explaining why "holy births" in the messianic lineage resulted from questionable sexual relationships, was insinuated into the gospel narratives. These trysts of the Old Testament heroes were necessary in order to "purify" Jesus' ancestry and allow his genetic inheritance to be "sinless." Far from advocating a miraculous birth, the New Testament informs us that Zacharias, the priestly father of John the Baptist, was Jesus' biological father.

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Maccabees II Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, how can I say this in a nice way? If I had seen a review on this commentary explaining it in detail, I would not have purchased it.
Let me give my perspective, because I'm sure there are some buyers who might be interested in this type of commentary, but I am a pastor who is working on sermons for preaching in a local Church. I look for commentaries that avoid the endless speculations about who might have originally written what part of the text, and how it might have been modified by someone who might have existed a long time ago.
This commentary never seems to leave that subject behind. The author seems endlessly enamored with textual criticism. So if you love TC, buy this commentary. If it seems irrelevant to you, don't get this one.
Let me focus on the martyrdom of Eleazar in II Mac 6. At first I was really excited. I thought, "Wow-he gives a page of original translation of the martyrdom. Then he gives seven pages of notes!!" His translation is at times easy to understand, but at other times it is difficult to comprehend. One phrase was so unclear I had no idea what it meant. In contrast, my other translations of II Macc were able to help me grasp the meaning the first time through. So that wasn't good, but by the time I finished his notes on a section, I felt I discovered something that would be best for a research paper on redaction theories or something.
On Eleazar's martyrdom, this author seems to have a strong grasp of Ancient Near Eastern background to the Old Testament, with speculative theories about Mardukist Martyrdom texts providing illumination to the Jewish martyrdom texts (I found that implausible). His breadth of interaction reaches in every direction, except into the N.T. It's clear to my mind that Eleazar's martyrdom is a spectacular example of what Peter has in mind when he suggests adding 'Aretes' 'Virtue' to ones faith. Since 'aretes' is the key point of the story, setting up the inspiration of the seven martyred brothers in the next chapter, it seems odd to me that the author would find ties to Marduk, but nothing in common with Peter's writings!! And also given that Maccabees is one of keys sources for the study of Jewish backgrounds of the NT, I was disappointed with Goldstein's failure to tie into New Testament material.
Another thing that I found disappointing was that this commentary does not provide life transforming application of any kind, nor does it focus in an organized way on theological implications from the text.
All that aside, it has value. There are grammatical comments sprinkled throughout dealing with Greek issues that may help the reader grasp nuances more clearly. He also has extensive indexes in the back and ten pencil maps of various scenarios related to Maccabees. He has appendixes with titles like:
How the writers counted time. The Petition of the Samaritans and Antiochus IV's reply. Why it is unlikely that epistle 2 was composed between 67 BCE and 73 CE. (I would say between 67 BC and 73 AD)
His scripture index has a few references to the NT, but not much at all.
Basically, for pastors and Bible teachers who have to bring real life inspiration and transformation into peoples lives on a regular basis, you will not want to purchase this book. If you are into research and are looking for interesting theories to round out a paper for a school project, then this commentary might be your ticket.
BTW-the price printed on the back of this book is $35. I really did not appreciate being charged $10 over list by Amazon. I think if anything this commentary should sell for well below list. I would value it at about $19.95

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An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts Review

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(More customer reviews)Although entitled 'an introduction' this book appears to be aimed more at the postgraduate Biblical Studies student. It includes an overview of different manuscripts, the various classification systems and how to use them, other witnesses, textual criticism, how to use critical editions and concludes with a brief summary of the various manuscript witnesses for Revelation, the Pauline corpus, Acts and the Catholic epistles and the Gospels.
The author's writing style is clear and scholarly with a vast repository of bibliographic notes which should provide the reader with most of the information they need to find more on a particular subject. The author requires the reader to read Greek, Latin and German to make the most of this book (most citations in those languages are untranslated) and there are particularly large sections of Greek in the final section.
This book served to highlight the importance and complexity of the textual critic's work, of the vast array of different manuscripts and the difficulties in classifying them, of the ways in which textual criticism can influence theology and exegesis and the many areas where further work is required, particularly with regard to postdoctoral research. This was an interesting and helpful book but not for the beginner in textual criticism.

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Causes of Corruption of the New Testament Text Review

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(More customer reviews)A key work on its subject, this book, is one of the best accessible works on the differences between the Textus Receptus documents that underly the King James vs the Critical Text documents that underly all of the other "modern" English language bibles. Author Dean Burgon did extensive research to compare the varying underlying texts visiting the originals to see for himself. Publisher Jay Green SR. of Lafayette Indiana apparently created this summary excerpt of Dean Burgeon's larger works on the subject.
A slow read for those not knowing Greek but it is accessible enough to allow even those not knowing the languages to learn some key differences of these two sources.
What is great about this book is the intellectual weaving by Burgon showing errors by both orthodox and liberal bible text compilers. He admits to a few errors in Textus Receptus while showing the many in the Critical Text.
Examples: Page 30 shows the subtle changes afforded by the critical text that underly feminism and other modern philosophies. Pages 36 & 54 gives lists of old heretics that are quoted as authorities by modern bible scholars. This knowledge helps a person to understand how modern scholars have disassembled the early biblical church beliefs and then created a politically correct secular humanist cartoon church for today's church goers.
Yes, it is possible to find the best originals and translation. After you read this you will see the stupidity of modern day arguments on the subject. Those inserting error are seen as intellectuals in search of a career as they create alternate views throughout history. After Burgon dissects the subject it is seen as no more than a typical argument between those who really want the truth and the hotheads that would rather argue. It is deeply disappointingly to find out the low quality of the critical text that I've been fed much of my life.
Whether you agree with Burgon or not it is irresponsible to not read this if you are a person wanting to know this subject matter - it is that good and important an explanation.

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The Text of the New Testament: From Manuscript to Modern Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)A great advantage of this book is that it is aimed at the general reader, not the trained New Testament scholar. You don't have to understand any Greek or have a seminary education to pick up this book and find a simple, clear discussion that answers your hard questions relating to the validity of and support for the New Testament text.
The book starts with a discussion of how ancient manuscripts were written, with good diagrams that show how papyrus manuscripts were made. It also explain the difference between scrolls and book format and provides the history of the New Testament--from the ancient writers to the process that has brought it to us today.
Greenlee's book is technically accurate while providing a clear and revealing discussion that shows us that the many discoveries and the studies in textual criticism strengthen the proof of the authenticity of the Scriptures


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The Text of the New Testament is a brief introduction for the lay person into the process whereby the New Testament came to be. It describes the basics of ancient writing tools, manuscripts, the work of scribes, and how to think about differences in what the various manuscripts say. This is a revised and expanded edition with a completely new chapter on how contemporary English translations fit in with our understanding of the New Testament text.Geared to the lay person who is uninformed or confused about textual criticism, Greenlee begins this volume by explaining the production of ancient manuscripts. He then traces the history of the development of the New Testament text. Readers are next introduced to the basic principles of textual criticism, the concept of variant readings, and how to determine which variant has the greatest likelihood of being the original reading. To illustrate the basic principles, several sample New Testament texts are examined. The book concludes by putting textual criticism in perspective as involving only a minute portion of the entire New Testament text, the bulk of which is indisputably attested by the manuscripts.

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Talmud of Jmmanuel Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a book that must have a place in your library. This is a rare book that slowly made its way to the US. I got my version years ago from a guy selling it in India.
At the beginning of the book, it tells of how this massive collection of scriptures were found where Jesus was supposedly to be buried. Which would make these More Valuable than the Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
But sadly this book is only one third of its full version. Why? Because Christians were so threatened by this book, that they set fire to the tent that this book was resting in. Fortunately, a third of the text had already been transcribed and sent off to England for study. It makes me so mad that a religion that preaches love and humbling yourself can house so much hate and resentment to any new text that could threaten their level of security in a religion. So sadly this is what is left of this amazing find.
But onto the book, this is a treasure trove of interesting stories that even clear up the ones that are vaguely and poorly represented in the 4 synaptic gospels. Jesus has never sounds so intelligent in these pages. It almost seems like the Jesus in the Holy Bible was somewhat dumbed down in order to appeal to the masses. Something that either Paul or Constantine could be blamed for.
This gospel even clarifies on what happened when Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and night. Just as with the Buddha sitting under the Boddi Tree, worlds began to open up in front of him and the knowledge of the universe poured from out of these realms.
Finally we get a gospel, worthy of calling a gospel. Unedited by time, priests, governments, and the like. This is finally a Jesus I can relate to. Do not pass up this book. This is a rare gem and it should be sitting beside your Nag Hammadi Scriptures, The Jesus Sutra's, and the Nicolas Notovich's: Jesus in India book.


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The Talmud )teachings) of Jmmanuel (christ) may be the truetestament of Jesus. This ancient document was discovered in 1963 after being encased in resin and buried for 19 centuries. This translation from Aramaic what was written by the scribe to Jammanuel (Mathew 1 vs 23). Read what astonishing truths have been witheld and why the church does not want this information out.

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The Making of the New Testament: Origin, Collection, Text & Canon Review

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(More customer reviews)This book offers some good information for considering different aspects about the new testament literature. However, I'd recommend "Fortress Introduction to the Gospels" by Mark Allan Powell as a place to start, rather than this book.
Patzia sometimes makes incredible statements of fact, which in reality are points of debate among scholars. For example, in one half sentence, Patzia declares (with no backing) that the Gospel of John was written in Ephesus in the late 1st Century. Contrast that with Powell's two page discussion of the when and where questions of that same gospel.
Basically, there is not enough discussion of the reasoning of the scholars on particular points. In one odd twist, the Patzia states that the authorship of some of Paul's letters is questioned. This includes, among others, 2 Thessalonians. A couple of pages later, though, he makes the statement that "Paul himself" gives (in 2 Thessalonians) an explanation about how to tell that the letter is authentic. Of course, if Paul didn't write 2 Thessalonians, then the explanation is bogus, a point that Patzia seems to miss.
I have to admit that I was surprised that the book didn't contain more information about the decision making process for what was considered canon. This work only gives the Council of Carthage of 397 brief treatment.
The book does contain some valuable information, but it wouldn't be my first choice. It's too bad the author (or editor) didn't spend a little extra time refining the material.

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What motivated the early Christians to commit teaching and events and visions to papyrus?How were the stories and sayings of Jesus circulated, handed down and shaped into Gospels?Why were four Gospels included instead of one?What do we know about ancient letter writing, secretaries and "copy shops"?Would a first-century librarian have known how to classify a Gospel, an Acts or an Apocalypse?How were Paul's letters, sent here and there, gathered into a single collection?Are there other documents that almost made it into the New Testament but didn't?The narratives and letters of our New Testament were shaped by worn pens gripped by calloused, ink-stained fingers. Their authors' ears were more likely assaulted by the urban clatter of busy intersections and bustling markets than attuned to a still small voice. Scrolls that bumped across cobbled Roman roads and pitched through rolling Mediterranean seas found their destination in stuffy, dimly lit, crowded Christian house churches in Corinth or Cenchreae. There they were read aloud and reread, handled and copied, forwarded and collected, studied and treasured. Their ordinary story is true to their extraordinary message: the mystery of the Word that became flesh.In The Making of the New Testament Arthur Patzia retells that story. His textbook study of the origin, collection, copying and canonizing of the New Testament documents answers a myriad of questions--cultural, historical, geographical, linguistic and spiritual.

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The Invention of Hebrew (Traditions) Review

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(More customer reviews)Why has everyone from Haile Selassie to Martin Luther felt the bible was speaking to them, and why do we continue to find it powerful today? In this book, Seth Sanders combines anthropology and biblical studies to describe how Hebrew came to be used so widely, and to explain the unique status of the bible as a written document. According to Sanders, the bible was the first document to combine local Hebrew traditions of history telling and prophecy with imported Assyrian practices of addressing conquered people -- as a result the bible put a people, rather than a king, at the center of history. Because it was one of the first books ever to speak directly to its readers, it makes anyone who reads it feels it is directed to them.
This book is extremely clearly written for an academic book, and even has a certain flair to it. It is also extremely short -- 170 pages without the footnotes. Although at times it gets pretty technical, readers can easily skip the heavily epigraphic or theoretical bits and still keep up with the main argument because of the book's clarity and structure. While over-educated Jews will realize that this book is actually a gigantic drosh on the shema, it will appeal to many, many other audiences as well: biblical scholars could read it, as could anthropologists -- but the book is also perfectly approachable by anyone who studies the ancient near east or the bible seriously (not a little, but seriously) as a hobby. If it were available in softcover, or if you taught only certain chapters, it could be used in upper-level undergraduate courses in history, ancient near east, sociolinguistics, religion, political science, sociology -- the list goes on and on.
In my opinion, this book is great. It combines so many fields that have been kept separate, compares ancient Israel with so many others cultures and societies. Reading Sanders's book, you feel as if your eyes have been opened and the fog has lifted on a lot of ancient history. If you study the bible or the ancient near east, the book is a must-read. And if you do not, now is your chance to start: Sanders's vision of the relation between politics and language is too good for anyone to pass up.

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The Invention of Hebrew is the first book to approach the Bible in light of recent findings on the use of the Hebrew alphabet as a deliberate and meaningful choice. Seth L. Sanders connects the Bible's distinctive linguistic form--writing down a local spoken language--to a cultural desire to speak directly to people, summoning them to join a new community that the text itself helped call into being. Addressing the people of Israel through a vernacular literature, Hebrew texts gained the ability to address their audience as a public. By comparing Biblical documents with related ancient texts in Hebrew, Ugaritic, and Babylonian, this book details distinct ways in which Hebrew was a powerfully self-conscious political language. Revealing the enduring political stakes of Biblical writing, The Invention of Hebrew demonstrates how Hebrew assumed and promoted a source of power previously unknown in written literature: "the people" as the protagonist of religion and politics.

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Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament Review

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(More customer reviews)This volume provides an insightful commentary on the Greek text of the United Bible Societies' 4th edition Greek New Testament. In producing a copy of the Greek New Testament many variant readings have to be analyzed and decided upon. Metzger has provided in this commentary an answer as to why one reading was chosen over another. In doing so he seeks to highlight the problem(s) involved with each set of alternative readings and also provides an explanation of the Bible Committee's evaluation and resolution of those problems.
A helpful introduction is provided wherein the history and basic rules of textual criticism are canvassed in order to show how the committee made their decisions. Metzger provides a brief introduction to the art and science of textual criticism. He provides an "outline of criteria" which was used by the committee. External evidence evaluates such things as the date of the textual witnesses, the geographical distribution of the manuscripts, the relationship of text families, and the understanding that witnesses should be weighed not counted. Under the internal evidence he highlights that the more difficult and shorter reading is to be preferred and that there needs to be a consideration of the context of each author and what they probably would have written.
The commentary itself follows a verse-by-verse canonical approach and provides a comment on the many textual variants found in the UBS4. About 30% (225 pages) of the commentary is on the book of Acts given the difficulty of the two differing text types in early circulation (Western and Alexandrian). Helpful discussion is also provided on such controversial passages as the ending of Mark's Gospel and 1 John 5:7.
The art and science of textual criticism is an important task for both scholars and preachers in seeking to establish the text of the New Testament. This tool will help aid that task immensely. However it should not be used as a substitute for doing the hard work first. This tool should be used as a check in confirming one's own work. Nevertheless this tool provides the "voice" of many scholars in how they decided one text over another - a gift for the student of the Greek New Testament.

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This companion to the Greek New Testament discusses textual variations based on the critical apparatus. It contains a thorough explanation of each textual decision that appears in UBS4.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel Review

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(More customer reviews)How the Bible Became a Book by William Schniedewind discusses not only when the bible may have come about, but also the importance of how and why it was written. Schniedewind cites a broad range of evidence to support his theses. He also utilizes a realistic look at the different time periods of ancient Israel to help explain his view. Although Schniedewind postulates that the Bible was written down between 8th to 6th century BCE, his endeavors in writing the book are not based around this concept. He gives insight to the history of writing and the alphabet to demonstrate the evolution of the primarily oral ancient culture, to one that relies on a singular book to relate to God. It is a well written, informative piece of work. Schniedewind's ideas and theories come across clearly and articulately. He does an excellent job of citing relevant evidence that not only proves his own postulates, but also disproves those that he is refuting.
This book is definitely worth a read. Whether you are interested in the history of ancient Israel, writing or different viewpoints of how, when and why the Bible came about, it's all covered.


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The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is about one group of Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries who, writing before the canon had been set, fought heatedly against sects of Christians it considered heretical. This group - the 'proto-orthodox' - modified its scriptures to avoid alternative interpretations of Jesus, and in so doing, ironically corrupted its own sacred texts.
'Corruption' sounds negative, but it's a technical term. It just means that the original text has been modified. Ehrman is not trying to make swiss cheese out of the New Testament. He states that "by far the vast majority of [textual variants] are 'accidental'." But some of them have too much relevance to the intense theological disputes of the pre-canonical period to be random error.
The 4 heretical positions discussed are 1) adoptionism, 2) separationism, 3) doceticism, and 4) Patripassianism.
Adoptionism is the belief that Jesus was a man who was 'adopted' by God to carry out one of his plans. When God adopted a man, the man became a 'Son' only at that moment to the Father. When an adult David was crowned king, he was adopted by God. When Jesus is declared 'Son of God' at his baptism - it did NOT mean he was himself divine, although he certainly had a special relationship to God. Jesus was not divine- just a great man in God's eyes, chosen for a task.
Separationism is a Gnostic view that Jesus was a man, and the Christ was a divine spirit - and that at Jesus' baptism (again!) the Christ entered him, empowered him to accomplish miracles, and then left him on the cross (helps make sense of Mark 15:34). Jesus the man was thus separable from the Christ, a divine spirit.
Docetism is the view that Jesus only appeared to have a real, fleshly human body, but being God, really did not. Jesus' body is more like a phantom or temporary body, a rental. This sounds strange - but surely Jesus couldn't have an erection, or defecate? The discomfort we might feel here shows the docetic in all of us. Gnostics were VERY big on docetism - since they thought that the material realm was tainted and evil.
Patripassianism is the belief that the trinity is false, that there is only ONE god. So this entails that Yahweh HIMSELF was crucified, arrested, beaten, etc.
Most of the corruptions are surprisingly subtle and minor in appearance - most of them are a change in one or two words in a single passage. For example, changing a reference from reading 'Jesus' to 'Jesus Christ' was born in a manger affirms that Jesus was divine from BIRTH, that he was UNIFIED in his being as well. This one corruption could be used by orthodoxy to maintain an interpretation that resists adoptionist or separationist attack. .
But the four heresies are, after all, pretty simple to grasp. For a book that can be meticulous and involved in its argument, the basic ideas are straightorward. In fact, there are only 6 chapters - an intro, a chapter for each heresy, and a conclusion. Very simple organization. Each chapter has substantial footnotes that can be very interesting to read themselves, as well as sources for further information.
Ehrman's book is not dry, but it is detailed and involved in parts. I don't know New Testament Greek, but he frequently quotes Greek phrases with a translation. However, there are numerous cases where he does NOT translate, and that gets a bit rough. I had to reread perhaps 5 of his passages several times to get the flow of his argument. Once he sets it up, most of the corruptions are easy to see coming. In fact, sometimes it gets a little tedious. He presents an argument for each corruption, some of them truly fascinating, though. Many of them are speculative in nature, and he acknowledges that.
The most crucial class of corruptions are the ones that Ehrman thinks have made it into the canon. These he argues very carefully, and the context he provides is terrific. Some examples are 1) the adoptionist hints in Luke 3:22 (baptism again!), Jesus' bloody sweat (Luke 22:43-44), Luke's version of the Last Supper (22:19-20), Peter's visit to the tomb in Luke 24:12, and the title 'Son of God' in Mark 1:1.
The vast majority, however, of the corruptions he lists have NOT made their way into the modern bible, at least not the NSRV Oxford bible that I own. He gives his reasons for each of these in full.
Importantly, none of the corruptions themselves were carried out in a systematic way - the orthodox church never seemed to have a policy of corruption. Ehrman is careful not to attribute any malicious intention to the orthodox scribes, as well. Rather, it comes off that a scribe here and there would see the potential misreading, and then insert his own modification to 'clarify' what (he) thought was obviously already there in the text.
Interestingly, some of the corruptions themselves cause further problems! A corruption that helps emphasize Jesus' humanity, and thereby removes a docetic threat - can also open the text up to adoptionist readings. One can't help see the tighrope walk involved for the orthodox - and Ehrman hints that this refusal to yield to either side's heresy forced the orthodox sect to embrace that paradoxical understanding of Jesus' nature - all God AND all human, one god BUT three 'aspects.' (This helped explain to me, at least, the bizarre Trinity. It's always seemed like a construct - trying to have one's theological cake and eat it too.)Learning to spot those ancient heresies helped me read the bible more carefully. Far from being a unified, flawless block of dead doctrine, the New Testament now brims with the tensions and questions of its overlapping and also competing Christological perspectives. The bible is a complex collection of writings - Ehrman's book helped the New Testament become much more of a living book to me.

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Victors not only write history: they also reproduce the texts. Bart Ehrman explores the close relationship between the social history of early Christianity and the textual tradition of the emerging New Testament, examining how early struggles between Christian "heresy" and "orthodoxy" affected the transmission of the documents over which many of the debates were waged. He makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of the social and intellectual history of early Christianity and raises intriguing questions about the relationship of readers to their texts, especially in an age when scribes could transform the documents they reproduced. This edition includes a new afterword surveying research in biblical interpretation over the past twenty years.

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The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration Review

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(More customer reviews)Dr. Metzger has given the reader an invaluable resource for the study of the text of the New Testament. The book is divided into three major parts. Part one begins with a detailed description of the ancient method of bookmaking. Next, Metzger lists the major Greek manuscripts and codices as well as a basic description of each. He also lists the major non-Greek witnesses (e.g. Syriac, Coptic, Latin, etc.) and discusses the role of quotations from the early church Fathers. Part two is devoted to the history of the printed editions of the Greek New Testament from the time of the Complutensian Polyglot and the Textus Receptus (the text used for the KJV) through Westcott and Hort until the present day. Part three is an instruction manual for textual criticism, including the many theories of criticism and the method of conjectural emendation. In this section, Metzger also discusses the many types of errors and deliberate changes made by the scribes. He then gives an analysis of several textually difficult passages (e.g. Mark 16 and Acts 20:28). The book also includes 16 photo plates that show selected manuscripts. A working knowledge of Greek is helpful because Metzger often cites Greek words in the text and footnotes without an English translation. If one wishes to learn the basics (and more) about textual criticism, then this is the book to buy.

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This comprehensive work on the text of the New Testament provides information about ancient and newly discovered manuscripts, and offers various interpretations of the significance of manuscript evidence. It contains references to more than one hundred and fifty additional books and articles dealing with Greek manuscripts, early versions and critical studies of witnesses to the text of the New Testament. Designed for the student, the author discusses a variety of textual problems, simple and complex. He also gives an objective account of the several schools of textual methodology, while indicating what in his view is the most satisfactory procedure for beginners to practice. For this third (and first paperback edition), the author has added an appendix describing recent advances in the textual criticism of the New Testament since 1964.

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Whose Word is it?: The Story Behind Who Changed The New Testament and Why Review

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(More customer reviews)I should declare an interest as a militant atheist but having said that, the author of this book certainly started off as a devout christian. This therefore is no Dawkins/Hitchens/Harris-type rant but rather a well laid out historical account of how the new testament came to take its present form.
Haven't you ever wondered how you could be sure that the NT was an accurate history of anything given how many times it must have been copied - by hand, remember - and also translated from one language to another to another to another.... etc etc. Most of us after all will be reading it in translation into languages that effectively didn't even exist at the time e.g. English.
Ehrmann shows well how the texts have been altered over time, sometimes accidentally and often quite intentionally in some quite substantial ways to present a particular picture of jesus and his beliefs.
It would appear arguments began to rage very soon after the death of jesus even about who he was - was he entirely divine, was he entirely human, was he both - and also about the "true" meaning of his teachings so that the texts of the gospels began to change to reflect an emerging orthodoxy and to counter opposing views of which there seem to have been several.
I came away from this book even more strongly of the view that as an accurate history of jesus, his family and companions, and his beliefs and teachings, the new testament is absolutely worthless. We have absolutely no way now of knowing who this man really was - leaving aside the vexed question of whether he even existed , at least as the person most christians imagine him to have been - nor what his teachings were.
The new testament simply represents the outcome of what might best be seen as propaganda wars in which various factions sought to have their version of history prevail over the others.
I strongly recommend this book to believers and non-believers alike.

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With the advent of the printing press and the subsequent publishing culture that reproduces exact copies of texts en masse, most people who read the Bible today assume that they are reading the very words that Jesus spoke or St. Paul wrote. And yet, for almost 1, 500 years manuscripts were copied by hand by scribes many of them untrained, especially in the early centuries of Christendom who were deeply influenced by the theological and political disputes of their day. Mistakes and intentional changes abound in the competing manuscript versions that continue to plague biblical scholars who determine which words, phrases, or stories are the most reliable and, therefore, merit publication in modern Bibles. Whose Word Is It? is the fascinating history of the words themselves. Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman shows us where and why changes were made in our earliest surviving manuscripts, changes that continue to have a dramatic impact on widely-held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself. Many books have been written about why some books made it into the New Testament and why - others didn't (canonization) or about how the meaning of words change when translated from Aramaic to Greek to English. But this is the first time that a leading biblical scholar reveals for the general reader the many challenging even disturbing early variations of our cherished biblical stories and why only certain versions of those stories qualify for publication in the Bibles we read today.

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Preaching Mark in Two Voices Review

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(More customer reviews)Great book, gentlemen! I had always rushed through Mark (maybe it was his writing style:) and missed most of the theology that was packed in this Gospel. Thanks for bringing so much of Mark's message to light.
Norm Minnick
Louisville, KY

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Blount and Charles team up to introduce us anew to Mark's Gospel. Reinterpreting Mark through sermons preached out of very different socio-cultural contexts, Blount draws parallels between Mark's message and his African American church heritage of slavery and oppression and Charles wrestles with making the gospel relevant to well-educated white suburbanites. Each chapter begins with an exegetical study and sermon by one author. Then, the other preacher responds from his own context, offering a different view of the text.

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The Ongoing Feast (Pueblo Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)Luke 24 is one of my favorites, and Just does admirably well in tracing through table fellowship as an expression of eschatological kingdom.
The pattern that develops is sacramental and incarnational, centering of course on Christ. Thus, Christology is front and center and prominent.
The author finds five meal sequences in Luke's Gospel which he thus harmonizes and develops into its fullness in Jesus opening the eyes at the Emmaus meal.
Will benefit anyone serious about contemplating the meaning of the Easter event as well as Good Friday and communion koinonia today from the Lukan viewpoint.

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Crown of Aleppo: The Mystery of the Oldest Hebrew Bible Codex Review

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(More customer reviews)Millions kiss the Torah scroll as it is taken around the synagogue during services, but do not know the history of the Torah text, why it is written in a scroll and not a book, why no vowels are allowed in the scroll, and are there scrolls that have some words with different spellings. This short well-written book answers many of these questions and dramatically tells the fascinating story of the composition of the earliest currently-existing copy of the Hebrew Bible, a volume composed as a book, called a codex, and not a scroll, in the ninth century.
The Torah was copied by hand and, because of human nature and despite careful examinations, errors crept into the text, mostly spelling differences. These small differences were noted and during the first millennium decisions had to be made which scrolls contain the correct wording and which had mistakes. A group of people called Masorites, a word meaning "traditionalists," worked on the Torah texts to determine the traditional or, more precisely, the correct wording.
The Masorites were biblical scholars and scribes who are generally thought to have lived in Israel between about the seventh and the early twelfth century. Masorites studied the wording and spelling of scriptural words and determined the correct Torah text. They also created vowel signs to facilitate the reading of the Torah and show how it should be read, vocalization signs to demonstrate how each term should be pronounced, and accentuation markings indicating how the text should be parsed and chanted. The Masorites also wrote thousands of notations concerning the proper spelling of biblical words, how frequently such spellings occurred and other characteristics of the text. Unfortunately, not all the Masorites agreed and their notations differ.
The most famous and most respected Masorite was Aharon ben Moshe ben Asher of the tenth century. He lived and worked in Tiberias in Israel. The city flourished until the arrival of the Crusaders in the early twelfth century, when it was destroyed.
Ben Asher is considered the creator of the Masoretic notes to the most authentic version of the Torah. Maimonides saw his codex - a codex is a book, in contrast to a scroll - and stated that it is the correct text of the Bible. Jewry accepted Maimonides' decision and the Ben Asher codex became the accepted version of the Torah. Other Torah manuscripts were compared with it to determine whether they were correct.
The manuscript was taken from Tiberias to Aleppo in Syria; therefore people named it the Aleppo Codex. Since the Jews of Aleppo called their city Aram Tzova, and since they considered the codex the "crown" of their city - crown is keter in Hebrew - they also called the Ben Asher codex Keter Aram Tzova. The Keter was placed in a box in the Aleppo synagogue for safekeeping.
Tragically, in 1947, because of the tensions leading up to the reestablishment of the State of Israel, which was founded in 1948, the Syrian government encouraged its citizens to destroy Jewish holy sites. The synagogue that housed the treasured Keter was burned and only parts of the codex were saved from destruction. The first and last parts of the Bible, as well as individual pages from the middle, including virtually all of the Pentateuch, were lost.
Scientists who examined the remains of the codex are convinced that the codex was not damaged by the fire. Thus it is possible that some people found the codex after the synagogue was destroyed and stole parts of it either to sell the fragments, because they felt that possession of parts of the codex would bring them luck, or for some other nefarious or foolish reason.
Tawil and Schneider describe the history of the codex from the time of its composition until now and tell many interesting additional facts in their book, such as the following. Was the scribe Shlomo ben Buya'a, who wrote the consonants in the Crown, and Aharon ben Asher, who added the Masoretic notes, Karaites and not rabbinically-minded Jews? What is the weird story of the involvement of the famous self-aggrandizing forger Abraham Firkovich, what are some of his adventures, and how was he involved with the Crown? How did the Aleppo community fail to preserve the codex properly during the more than 400 years (1478-1957) that it was in their possession and how did this negligence damage the book? Why was a famous Bible scholar mistakenly convinced that the Aleppo codex was not the one approved by Maimonides? Why did some misguided person change Maimonides' writing about the codex? How did Murad Faham rescue the codex while putting his life in danger by the Syrian government? How did the leaders of the Aleppo community persecute Faham, including instituting legal proceedings against him? What are the curious superstitions that surround the codex?
All in all, although the book is small, it contains a wealth of information that people kissing and otherwise extolling the Torah should know.


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What He Said: The Words of Christ in the Four Gospels Review

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(More customer reviews)I never set out to read the Bible before. Perhaps the only extended passages I ever read were the Christmas and Easter stories (and, OK, those were read to me). But I've always been curious about the essence of Christianity -- what did Jesus do and say? Well, that's only addressed in the New Testament and there only in bits and pieces.
I'd heard of other presentations of Jesus' words called out from the rest of the Bible's text and had even asked for the King James Bible for my birthday once, where Jesus' words are in color. But WHAT HE SAID is so much better -- it's just the four Gospels and keeps Jesus' quotes in order and context. I am enjoying it very much and recommend it to others curious about the faith.

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