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Can We Trust the New Testament? News on Upcoming Debate + Recommended Reading

I’m excited for a debate happening October 1, called “Can We Trust the Text of the New Testament?”

The debate will feature Dr. Daniel B. Wallace and Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, who present cases ‘for’ and ‘against’ whether we can trust our New Testament manuscripts to tell us about Jesus and the early Church.

Since I can’t make it to the debate I will probably buy a DVD. Here’s why I’m excited: while I’m a professing Christian who trusts the New Testament, I only began to trust the Bible near the time I began to trust Christ. And I know plenty of people who trust neither. Some people I know are convinced by Dr. Ehrman’s arguments, or similar ones, so I’ll listen to the debate with one ear tuned to its value for apologetics. But I’m intrigued by these scholars’ points of view anyway; I expect Dr. Ehrman to give all the best evidence against trusting the New Testament, and I expect Dr. Wallace to have clear, excellent counter-arguments.

Below you’ll find event details, debater profiles, and a short list of recommended reading on whether we can trust the New Testament.

 

Attending the SMU Debate

WHEN October 1, 2011, 7pm CDT.
WHERE Dallas, TX, at Southern Methodist University’s McFarlin Memorial Auditorium.
WHAT A debate for general audiences, featuring cases ‘for’ and ‘against’ trusting the text of the New Testament.”

 

Learn more about the DVD Release

Can’t make it to Dallas in person? A DVD of the debate will become available for purchase. Details are forthcoming, so to stay up-to-date visit smudebate.com or find SMU Debate on Facebook.

 

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Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Stott

 

John R. W. Stott

The Zondervan family wishes to express our sincere condolences on the passing of Reverend John Stott. Reverend Stott is widely regarded as one of the great evangelical leaders of his time and he has left a significant lasting legacy having played a major role in shaping 20th-century evangelical Christianity through his writing, preaching and global ministry efforts. He was a prolific writer and author and Zondervan was privileged to publish several of his influential books and to help share his voice with the world.


Reverend Stott was credited with having a great heart and passion for supporting and mentoring Christian scholars and leaders. We have also been fortunate to publish some of those great voices he mentored, including the talented Dr. Christopher Wright,

 

As the world grieves the loss of this great and humble man, we should also celebrate his full and rich life which was fully devoted daily to serving God and the church through his tireless work.

We would like to share with you two excerpts by Reverend Stott. We feel they exemplify his vibrant hope in Christ, and his passionate pursuit of better knowing, sharing, and living the Gospel.


From Understanding the Bible:

Whenever we read the Bible, we must look for Christ. And we must go on looking until we see and so believe. Only as we continue to appropriate by faith the riches of Christ which are disclosed to us in Scripture shall we grow into spiritual maturity, and become men and women of God who are “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).


From Issues Facing Christians Today:

It seems to me that we [Christians] need to repent of two particularly horrid sins. The first is pessimism, which is dishonoring to God and incompatible with Christian faith. To be sure, we do not forget the falleness, indeed the depravity, of human beings. We are well aware of the pervasiveness of evil. We are not so foolish as to imagine that society will ever become perfect before Christ comes and establishes the fullness of his rule. Nevertheless, we also believe in the power of God – in the power of God’s gospel to change society. We need to renounce both naïve optimism and cynical pessimism and replace them with the sober but confident realism of the Bible.

The second sin of which we need to repent is mediocrity, and the acceptance of it. I find myself wanting to say, especially to young people: “Don’t be content with the mediocre! Don’t settle for anything less than your full God-given potential! Be ambitious and adventurous for God! God has made you a unique person by your genetic endowment, upbringing and education. He has himself created you and gifted you, and he does not want his work to be wasted. He means you to be fulfilled, not frustrated. His purpose is that everything you have and are should be stretched in his service and in the service of others.”

 

We would love to hear how John Stott has touched your life. Share your reflections in a comment.


-Zondervan

 

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Wayne Grudem Interview: “Politics According to the Bible”

I recently stumbled on an interesting interview with Wayne Grudem, the author of Politics According to the Bible. Grudem sketches five common mistakes that Christians can make in their posture toward government and politics. The antidote, says Grudem, is growing to understand how the gospel can (and should) change our political sentiments. 

The full interview with Wayne Grudem was originally published by the Acton Institute’s periodical Religion & Liberty. Here’s an excerpt that made me excited:

The gospel, when it is truly proclaimed, will result in changed lives. And I think Jesus wants us to have changed marriages and changed ideas of parenting and changed schools and changed neighborhoods and changed businesses and workplaces, and certainly, that would include changed governments as well.

I think that pastors have an obligation to explain to their congregations how biblical teachings impact the government. In addition to that, there are many passages in the Bible that talk about God’s purpose for government. Another answer to this view that says we should do evangelism and not politics is that it fails to understand the great influence that Christians have had on governments since the early history of the Church. Early in the Roman Empire, it was Christian influence that led to outlawing infanticide, child abandonment and abortion in the Roman Empire. Christian influence led to outlawing the gladiatorial contests in 404 A.D. Christian influence led to granting property rights and other protections to women at various times through history…

 

Learn More about Politics According to the Bible Read Excerpt
Learn More

While I’m all for pastors preaching on values that could affect our voting decisions — for example, “What is a fair wage?”  — I’m unsettled by the idea of pastors regularly giving their congregations specific voting instructions. In my experience, this situation often carries a subtext that there’s only one valid Christian way to vote. I believe our voting decisions today are only rarely as clear-cut as when Christians in ancient Rome influenced the outlawing of infanticide.

But what do you think? Should churches discuss voting decisions from the pulpit, or is that something better left among friends?

Has your church become involved in political projects? And when conflict over politics erupts, how has your church handled it? I’d love to hear your comments.

(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)


About Wayne Grudem
Wayne Grudem is Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds degrees from Harvard (BA), Westminster Seminary (MDiv), and Cambridge (PhD). He is the author of over fifteen books including the bestselling Systematic Theology and the related Making Sense Of… series.

 

 

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3 New Features on Bible Gateway Inspire an NIV & KJV Bible Giveaway

 

THE PRIZE: NIV & KJV Side-by-Side Bible
Learn More about NIV & KJV Side-by-Side Bible

UPDATE: The winners are Sarah B., Andy M., and Eric D. Thank you to everyone who entered! Follow Zondervan Blog for more opportunities to win books, and for original content from your favorite Zondervan authors.

 

BibleGateway.com has been revamped, and three of the new features have Zondervan Blog especially excited. We’re going to celebrate by giving away three NIV and KJV Side-by-Side Bibles (with a tan and black cherry leatherbound cover). Find out how you can enter to win under the Feature #1 section below.

 

Feature #1: Parallel Translations

Learn more about parallel translations

When you’re reading a particularly insightful or challenging verse in Scripture, do you ever wonder how other translations render that passage? Now it’s easy to compare different versions. When you’re viewing a verse, just click the “Add parallel” link to find your other translation options. This feature inspired Zondervan Blog to host this giveaway:

 

ENTER TO WIN: NIV & KJV Side-by-Side Bible

  1. Search for your favorite verse on Biblegateway.com.
  2. Add a parallel translation next to the verse. (Click the “Add parallel” link on the right side of your screen. You can pick any translation you like.)
  3. Copy both versions of the verse and paste them into a comment here on Zondervan Blog.

Leave your comment on this post by 3PM (EDT) on Monday, June 13.
You have 3 chances to win: We’ll pick a comment at random on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Each of those three commenters will receive an NIV and KJV Side-by-Side Bible. Enter now before you keep reading!

 

You can learn more about setting up parallel translations on the Bible Gateway Blog.

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Enter to Win the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible & Brother Bear Tote

 

Enter Sweepstakes
Enter the Giveaway

The Berenstain Bears are hosting a giveaway. Ten winners will receive a Berenstain Bears Holy Bible and a Brother Bear Tote! Enter now, because the giveaway closes on Saturday morning, May 29, 9:59AM EDT!

Enter the Giveaway

 

Illustrated by Mike Berenstain, the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible is in the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV), written at a third-grade reading level and specifically designed to help early readers discover the Bible for themselves.

 

Enter Sweepstakes
Each winner will receive a Brother Bear Tote and the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible

The features of The Berenstain Bears Holy Bible include:

  • Book introductions that provide each book’s main themes, plus an outline of the contents
  • Dictionary that defines key Bible words for quick reference
  • Reading plan for 150 famous stories of the Bible
  • Presentation page for personalization and gift giving
  • 18 full-color pages that highlight virtues taught by God’s Word, such as respect, courage and friendship. Here’s a sample:

 

 

This giveaway reminded me of how much I loved the Berenstain Bears books when I was a kid. So after you enter the giveaway, I’d like to swap stories about lessons we learned from the Berenstain Bears books we read as children.

A Lesson I Learned from the Berenstain Bears
I was 6 when I read The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare. If you haven’t read it, it’s a good book about dealing with bullies and peer pressure. In this story, Brother Bear falls in with a gang of cruel but charismatic bullies. They pressure Brother Bear to steal a watermelon from Farmer Ben’s patch, and while Brother Bear knows this would be wrong, he really wants to impress his new friends. Brother Bear caves, gets caught in the act, and his new “friends” run away. Fortunately, Farmer Ben has grace on the young cub and shares some wisdom about how Brother Bear can stand up for what he knows is right.

I thought I was taking this lesson to heart, but I was mistaken. I closed the book still thinking the bullies were really cool. I remember thinking, “Maybe if I just don’t bully other people then I can still do bad things and everything will be okay.” This sounded reasonable to me, so I created a new “cool guy costume” (complete with black fingerless gloves, which I made myself) and I went out looking for trouble. I did the baddest thing my six-year-old imagination could think of: I stripped some branches off of a tree.

Within minutes I began to cry. I remember thinking, “Farmer Ben was right!” I learned that day that being bad, even in secret, is not cool.

How about you, did you learn any lessons from the Berenstain Bears books?
(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)

 

 

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Easter Story Cast, Clips, and Thanks

We hope you enjoyed the Easter Story Blog Series as much as we did! Would you like to hear more audio clip experiences on Zondervan Blog? Leave your thoughts, suggestions or questions as comments on this blog post.

Subscribe to Zondervan Blog

Some exciting stuff is coming up on Zondervan Blog (including guest posts from Zondervan authors, book giveaways, and a few surprises…) Subscribe to Zondervan Blog in your favorite reader to keep up on the action!

(If you subscribed to the Easter Story Series RSS, that’s only for audio clip posts. We recommend you add this RSS to your reader so you’ll get everything worth reading.)

 

 

The Cast of the Easter Story

Did you recognize any of these voices from the Bible Experience clips?

  • Luke (Narrator) – Terry Crews
  • John (Narrator) – LeVar Burton
  • Matthew (Narrator) – Wren T. Brown
  • Mark (Narrator) – Victor Love
  • Jesus – Blair Underwood
  • God the Father – Samuel L. Jackson
  • Mary Magdalene – Tisha Campbell Martin
  • Mary, the mother of Jesus – Nia Long
  • Simon Peter – Kirk Franklin
  • Judas – Cuba Gooding, Jr.
  • Pilate – Charles S. Dutton
  • The Psalm Reader – Christopher Morgan
  • Angel of the Lord – Angela Bassett

 

If you had trouble with the audio this week, use these links:

We’ve heard the audio player didn’t work for some of you. We’re very sorry about that! Here are direct links to each of the audio clips. (They’re MP3 files and should open in your computer or device’s default audio player.)
Palm Sunday
Fig Monday
Holy Tuesday
Spy Wednesday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Holy Saturday
Easter Sunday

 

The Easter Story Blog Series was brought to you by The Bible Experience: The Complete Bible, Zondervan Blog, and every one of you who participated. Thank you for joining us this Easter! (-The Editors of Zondervan Blog)

 

About the Audio Clips

This series uses audio clips from The Bible Experience: The Complete Bible. This award-winning audio Bible is fully dramatized, featuring a cinematic musical score and voice talent from stars including Blair Underwood, Jeffrey Wright, Kirk Franklin, Nia Long, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and many more.

You can purchase The Bible Experience in The Complete Bible on Audio CD or The Complete Bible, Audio MP3 Downloads on CD.

 Bible Experience: Complete Bible

Related  Resources

Companion Bible
Companion Bible

Old Testament Audio CDs
Old Testament

New Testament Audio CDs
New Testament

   
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Easter Story: Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday … "Do not be afraid …"

 

Listen to the Story

Listen to the Story

If the audio doesn't load when you click this link, click your browser's "Refresh" button or try this link.


Read Along (Matthew 28)

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

 

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Easter Story: Holy Saturday

On Holy Saturday (And Whenever Trouble Is Near)…

 

Listen to the Story

Listen to the Story

If the audio doesn't load when you click this link, click your browser's "Refresh" button. That will start the Easter Story player.

 

Read Along (Psalm 22)

[Many scholars believe that when Christ exclaimed from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," he was alluding to Psalm 22. Listen to the psalm and see if you agree.]

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
   so far from the words of my groaning?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
   by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
   you are the praise of Israel.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
   they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
   in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

 

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Easter Story: Maundy Thursday

The plot for Jesus' life comes to a head on Maundy Thursday. Listen to it here.

 

On Maundy Thursday…
"This is my blood…"

 

Listen to the Story

Listen to the Story

-Audio from The Bible Experience

 

Read Along (Luke 22:7-65)

Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked. He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there." They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

 

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!" They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

 

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Easter Story: Spy Wednesday

Listen to the fourth part of the Easter Story Blog Series. 

 

On Spy Wednesday …
"What Will You Give Me For Him?"…

 

Listen to the Story

Listen to the Story

-Audio from The Bible Experience

 

Read Along (Matthew 26:1-16)

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, "As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

 

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. "But not during the festival," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

 

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