Evidences Class
The New Gnosticism
"Gnosticism" is the name given to a group of
related religious ideas that were popular around
the time when Christianity was getting its start.
In general, Gnostics claimed to possess knowledge
that others did not have, and they emphasized
knowledge over faith. (The Greek word gnosis
means "knowledge.")
Eusebius points to Simon the Sorcerer
as the first heretic (might be legend).
Things in Common
• Separation of the god of creation from
the god of redemption
• Dividing Christians into categories with
one group being superior
• Stress on secret teachings which only
divine persons could comprehend (1 Cor.
2:7; 2 Pet. 3:15-16)
• Exaltation of knowledge over faith
Some Gnostic Ideas
 The God of the Old Testament is
different than the God of the New
Testament
 Illicit sexual relations were a way of
getting closer to God (Jude 8)
 Celibacy (1 Tim. 4:3)
 The Gospels are not reliable
 Jesus was not God (Jude 4)
 Jesus did not come in the flesh (2 John 7)
Inside or Outside?
I know that after my departure fierce
wolves will come in among you, not sparing
the flock; and from among your own selves
will arise men speaking twisted things, to
draw away the disciples after them.
(Acts 20:29-30 ESV)
The New Gnosticism
 The Da Vinci Code
 The Gospel of Judas
 The “Historical” Jesus
Some of Dan Brown’s Claims




The 4 Gospels are not reliable
The Gnostic “gospels” are reliable
Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife
Sexual relations are a way of getting
closer to God
The “gospel” of Judas
The National Geographic Society
The “Historical” Jesus
 The 4 Gospels are not reliable
 The Gnostic “gospels” are reliable
 Jesus was not divine
 Jesus was the radical teacher of
his day
Why do some believe that the
4 Gospels are not Reliable?
 Don’t like the message
 Deny the supernatural
 Prophecy is an impossibility
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded
by armies, then know that its desolation
has come near. Then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains, and let those
who are inside the city depart, and let not
those who are out in the country enter it,
for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill
all that is written.
(Luke 21:20-22 ESV)
Dating the Gospels
If you believe the Gospels:


Matthew, Mark and Luke (Before A.D. 70)
John (A.D. 80-100)
If you don’t believe the Bible:



Matthew, Mark and Luke (After A.D. 70)
John (A.D. 90-100)
Baur dated John as late as A.D. 170
With constant use a papyrus manuscript
might last only 10 years
Christians and Their Writings Suffer
Emperor Diocletian (245-305 AD)
ordered Christians to sacrifice to the
Roman gods. Christian documents
throughout the empire were confiscated
and/or burned. Those who refused to
comply were executed.
Uncials
Codex Vaticanus
Uncial Romans 1
PAULASERVANTOFCHRISTJESUSCALLED
TOBEANAPOSTLESETAPARTFORTHEGOS
PELOFGODWHICHHEPROMISEDBEFORE
HANDTHROUGHHISPROPHETSINTHEHO
LYSCRIPTURESCONCERNINGHISSON
Our Oldest Bibles (AD 300-450)
Codex Vaticanus
Codex Sinaiticus
Oldest New Testament Fragment
John Rylands Papyrus
1st half of the 2nd century
Disproving Baur
Internal Evidence
• Luke and Acts authored by Luke
• When does Acts end?
 He lived there two whole years at his own
expense, and welcomed all who came to him,
proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching
about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and
without hindrance. (Acts 28:30-31 ESV)
• Why???
Journeys of a Skeptical
Archaeologist
• Sir William Ramsay (Mid-19th Century)
• Student in the German historical school
• Researched Asia Minor
Sir William Ramsay
I may fairly claim to have entered on this
investigation without prejudice in favor of
the conclusion which I shall now seek to
justify to the reader. On the contrary, I
began with a mind unfavorable to it …
St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen
Every person, said Ramsay, was found
just where he ought to be: proconsuls in
senatorial provinces, asiarchs in
Ephesus, politarchs in Thessalonica,
magicians and soothsayers everywhere.
The title politarch (Acts 17:6) is
particularly striking; it was unknown in
other Greek literature until the
discovery of inscriptions, including five
of them in Thessalonica.
The Accuracy of Luke
In those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be
registered. This was the first registration when
Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to
be registered, each to his own town.
(Luke 2:1-3 ESV)
Luke appeared to have got it wrong:
 No census
 Quirinius not governor at that time
 Everyone did not have to return to their
ancestral home
Think Again …
More recent archaeological discoveries
show:
 No census – Romans held censuses every 14
years (9-8 B.C.)
 Quirinius - Governor in both 7 B.C. and 6 A.D.
 Everyone did not have to return to their
ancestral home – Papyrus found in Egypt gives
directions for everyone to return to their own
homes
Dan Brown Says:
The earlier gospels were outlawed,
gathered up, and burned … Fortunately
for historians some of the gospels
Constantine attempted to eradicate
managed to survive. The Dead Sea
Scrolls were found in the 1950’s hidden in
a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert.
And, of course, the Coptic scrolls in 1945
at Nag Hammadi.
Gnostic Gospels
 Mary
 Phillip
 Thomas
 Judas
• Written in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Centuries
• Not authentic
• Few copies (none in the Dead Sea Scrolls!!!)
From The Gospel of Thomas
Peter: Let Mary go away from us because
women are not worthy of life
Jesus: Lo, I shall lead her to make her
male, so that she too may become a living
spirit, resembling you males. For every
woman who makes herself a make will
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Number of copies …
Author
Homer
Herodotus
Thucydides
Plato
Caesar
Tacitus
Book
Iliad
History
History
Gallic Wars
Annals
Book
New Testament
Date Written
800 B.C.
480-425 B.C.
460-400 B.C.
400 B.C.
100-44 B.C.
A.D. 100
Earliest Copies
c. 400 B.C.
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 900
c. A.D. 1100
Date Written
A.D. 50-100
Earliest Copies
c. 114 (fragment)
c. 200 (books)
c. 250 (most of NT)
c. 325 (Complete NT)
Time Gap
c. 400 years
c. 1350 years
c. 1300 years
c. 1300 years
c. 1000 years
c. 1000 years
Time Gap
50+ years
100 years
150 years
225 years
No. of Copies
643
8
8
7
10
20
No. of Copies
5366
Questioning Jesus’ Divinity
The term “Son of Man” simply stressed
the weakness and mortality of the human
condition. He was emphasizing that he
was a frail human being who one day
would suffer and die.
Karen Armstrong – History of God
Jesus establishment as the Son of God
was officially proposed and voted on by
the Council of Nicaea.
Dan Brown – The Da Vinci Code
Son of Man
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the
clouds of heaven there came one like a son of
man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and
was presented before him. And to him was
given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve
him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14 ESV)
Bodmer Papyrus (3rd Century)
Contains parts of the Gospel of John
Similar to our oldest two
Bibles the Codex Vaticanus
and Codex Sinaiticus