Is P.Oxy. 5575 the Only Manuscript that Mixes Synoptic Material with the Gospel of Thomas?
Back in September of 2023, I published an article on the newly discovered “gospel” manuscript from Oxyrhynchus: “New ‘Gospel’ Manuscript Discovered? (What it Is and Why it Matters).”
That manuscript, labelled P.Oxy. 5575, is a small papyrus manuscript dated to the second-century that exhibits a most notable feature, namely that it apparently contains a conglomeration of material from Matthew (6:25-26, 28-33) and Luke (12:22, 24, 27-31), and this Matt/Luke material is laid alongside portions from the Gospel of Thomas (27, 36, 63).
Indeed, it is this feature that has generated all the online buzz. Why? Because this is purportedly the only known manuscript that mixes Synoptic material with material from … Continue reading...
RTS Charlotte 2023 Year in Review
Well, it’s New Year’s Eve. It’s the time of the year to be inundated with “Best of” stories and “Year in Review” segments, dutifully cataloging everything that happened in pop culture or politics.
But, what if a “Year in Review” was about more than celebrities or sports teams? What if we did a year in review about what God had done in the prior year? Or, more to the point, about how God has been at work in our ministries this year?
Of course, God has been at work in countless ways around the globe this year, most of which I could never know about. But, I can speak to … Continue reading...
Think You Know the Christmas Story?
Bah, humbug.
That’s probably one of the most well-known lines in literary (and now, cinematic) history. Everybody immediately recognizes the curmudgeonly voice of Ebeneezer Scrooge as he pours cold water all over our Christmas spirit.
And his point is still made today by some, albeit in different words. It’s that the Christmas story just isn’t true. It’s rubbish. It’s made up. It’s all in our heads.
While now is not the time for a full-scale defense of the historicity of the Christmas story, Scrooge’s skepticism does prompt us to wonder whether we’ve gotten the story right. Are we telling the story that really was, or are we just telling the
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One of the Most Remarkable Features of Early Christian Manuscripts
One of my favorite electives I teach here at RTS Charlotte is “The Origin and Authority of the New Testament Canon.” We cover a lot of ground in that course: why we have a NT canon, what is the earliest evidence for a canon consciousness, what were the factors that led to the church receiving just these 27 books, etc. (To take this class online, see RTS Global).
But I think my students particularly enjoy a sub-module of that course where we study high-resolution photographs of early Christian manuscripts. In particular, we spend some time working through images of P66, one of our earliest (nearly complete) copies of … Continue reading...
Next Week I’m Headed to San Antonio for ETS and SBL—Here’s What I’ll Be Up To
Next week I’m headed to San Antonio, TX, for the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)—two of the largest gatherings for biblical scholars in the world. In addition to the normal meals, gatherings, and meeting with old friends, here’s a little preview of what I will be up to.
1. Time with the Executive Committee. As a former president of ETS (2019), I am still serving on the Executive Committee (though this is my final year) which now consists of Al Mohler, D.A. Carson, Timothy George, Gregg Allison, Craig Keener, Karen Jobes, and Craig Blomberg. And I should not forget
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