Thankful for Larry W. Hurtado
Well, it’s Thanksgiving Day, 2021. And there’s much to be thankful for this year, like any other year. But, I want to take a moment to remember my friend, mentor and Doktorvater, Larry W. Hurtado. After all, today marks the two-year anniversary of his passing (Nov 25th, 2019).
While most of the readers of this blog will be familiar with Larry and his scholarship, just a quick word for those who are not. Larry retired in 2011 from his post as Professor of New Testament, Language, Literature, and Theology at the University of Edinburgh (where he had served since 1996). Prior to that time, he was a professor … Continue reading...
Were Early Christian Scribes Untrained Amateurs?
In the ongoing debates about the reliability of early Christian manuscripts, and whether they have been transmitted with fidelity, it is often claimed that early Christian scribes were amateurs, unprofessional, and some probably couldn’t even read.
In Michael Satlow’s book, How the Bible Became Holy (Yale, 2014), this same sort of argument appears (for my full review, see here). Satlow’s book argues that both the OT and NT canons were late bloomers, and that they bore no real authority until the third or fourth century CE. And part of the evidence for this claim comes from Satlow’s assessment of the NT manuscripts. He states:
The copies of early Christian … Continue reading...
Were Early Christian Scribes Untrained Amateurs?
In the ongoing debates about the reliability of early Christian manuscripts, and whether they have been transmitted with fidelity, it is often claimed that early Christian scribes were amateurs, unprofessional, and some probably couldn’t even read.
In Michael Satlow’s book, How the Bible Became Holy (Yale, 2014), this same sort of argument appears. Satlow’s book argues that both the OT and NT canons were late bloomers, and that they bore no real authority until the third or fourth century CE. And part of the evidence for this claim comes from Satlow’s assessment of the NT manuscripts. He states:
…The copies of early Christian manuscripts from around the second century CE
Continue reading...
What Do Manuscripts Tell Us About the Origins of the NT Canon? A Response to John Meade
Over at Evangelical Textual Criticism, John Meade has posted an article reviewing chapter seven of my book, Canon Revisited. In particular, he challenges a number of the arguments I use to show how NT manuscripts may illumine our understanding of the development of the NT canon.
Meade focuses his comments on two issues, namely the number of manuscripts and the use of the codex. Before offering a response to those issues below, let me begin by making a simple observation about the purpose of this chapter. If one understands the flow of the argument in the book, and sets chapter seven in the larger context of the prior … Continue reading...
Mark, Manuscripts, and Monotheism: A Festschrift for Larry Hurtado
It is now public knowledge that there is a new Festschrift coming out for my friend and doktorvater at the University of Edinburgh, Larry W. Hurtado. It is entitled: Mark, Manuscripts, and Monotheism (T&T Clark, 2014). Originally the big announcement was going to be made at SBL this November (with all the contributors present), but the cat was accidentally let out of the bag early.
The collection of essays in this new volume, edited by my fellow Edinburghers, Chris Keith and Dieter Roth, are centered around the themes of the Gospel of Mark, ancient Manuscripts, and early Christology–three subject areas that have dominated Larry’s research. While most of the … Continue reading...