New Testament Greek Manuscripts

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Greek03“Today we know of more than 5600 Greek New Testament manuscripts. Among these, 800 Pauline manuscripts, 700 manuscripts of Acts and the general letters, and about 325 manuscripts of Revelation. These numbers do not include the lectionaries, over 2000 of them, that are mostly of the Gospels. At the same time, not all the manuscripts are complete copies. The earlier manuscripts are fragmentary, sometimes covering only a few verses. The later manuscripts, however, generally include at least all four Gospels or Acts and the general letters or Paul’s letters or Revelation.”

– Dr. Dan Wallace (from the article “The Number of Textual Variants: An Evangelical Miscalculation“)

Jesus vs. the Pope

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pope_francisThere’s Jesus who says, “whoever does not believe will be condemned.” .. and then there’s the Pope who says “you don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven.”

hmmm.. its a tough one.. but… I am with Jesus on this one.

Here below are the actual words of Pope Francis, translated into English:

Dear Dott. Scalfari,

I would cordially like to reply to the letter you addressed to me from the pages of “La Repubblica” on July 7th, which included a series of personal reflections that then continued to enrich the pages of the daily newspaper on August 7th.

First of all, thank you for the attention with which you have read the Encyclical “Lumen fidei”. In fact it was the intention of my beloved predecessor, Benedict XVI, who conceived it and mostly wrote it, and which, with gratitude, I have inherited, to not only confirm the faith in Jesus Christ, for those who already believe, but also to spark a sincere and rigorous dialogue with those who, like you, define themselves as “for many years being a non-believer who is interested and fascinated by the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth”. Continue reading →

Feedback

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What-Abouts-Cover-LgAn author is always grateful to receive positive feedback concerning something he has written. I wrote the “Twelve What Abouts” book with the hope that those new to the subject of Sovereign Election, would be able to grasp the concepts clearly. If that goal was achieved then I give great thanks to the Lord.

I just received this letter today from a gentleman named William.

Pastor Samson,

I wanted to thank you so much for you latest book ‘Twelve What Abouts.’ I just finished reading it and I was so blessed by it.

I am a Reformed Baptist with an MDiv from Southern Seminary and I found your short book to be one of the best responses to objections to Reformed Theology. Not that you have new information, but that you package it in a small, quick book that is to the point.

There are many books on Reformed theology, but most of them are very technical and are not accessible to the average layperson. I loved that your book is very easy to read and your arguments are very easy to follow.

I especially appreciated your chapters on 2 Pet 3:9 and 1 Tim 4:10. I had always heard the two wills theory and just found it somewhat lacking. Hearing your explanation fits the context so much better than other ones. Your explanation of common grace in 1 Tim 4:10 was good as well.

I really like the way you address traditions throughout the book, challenging the reader to consider whether their tradition matches what the text really says.

While I know your book will be read by many within the Reformed community, I hope that its brevity and style might appeal to those on the “other side”.

Thank you again for your work and I pray that God will continue to bless your ministry.

Grace be with you,

William Sandell