Dead Sea Scroll Detectives Airs Tonight (U.S.)

With apologies to Pete Head for the double post today, I thought U.S. readers may like to know about the following episode of NOVA airing tonight on PBS.

Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, these fragile parchment relics have intrigued scholars, religious leaders, and profiteers alike. The 2,000-year-old scrolls include the oldest-known versions of the Hebrew Bible and hold vital clues about the birth of Christianity. While certain scrolls have survived intact, others have been ravaged by time—burnt, decayed, or torn to pieces—and remain an enigma. Now, scientists are using new technologies to read the unreadable, solve mysteries that have endured for millennia, and even discover million-dollar fakes. (Premiering November 6, 2019 at 9 pm on PBS)

More info here

Meade on Canon on Camera

My sources tell me that John Meade is currently hiding out in the outer banks, camping or some such thing. Lucky for you, he was recently captured on camera talking about all things canon with several faculty from Southeastern. Take a watch.

New Film: ‘Fragments of Truth’

Faithlife, producers of Logos Bible Software, have a new film (what don’t these people do??) coming out about New Testament manuscripts. It looks apologetic-y and is hosted by Craig Evans. Below is the description and the promo video. You may see some familiar faces. I don’t know what “groundbreaking new evidence” there will be, but the production quality here seems great. The manuscripts sure do look cool in the trailer.

In this new Faithlife original film, Dr. Craig Evans takes this claim [?] head on, traveling the globe to track down the most ancient New Testament manuscripts. Along the way, he highlights groundbreaking new evidence that is changing the debate. Hear from scholars who have devoted their lives to learning the truth, and discover how the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts is stronger than ever. Coming soon exclusively on http://FaithlifeTV.com

An ‘Unanticipated Discussion of CBGM and P45’

Some of my students brought this video to my attention yesterday. It is James White, a well-known apologist and debater in the States, discussing the CBGM on his show The Dividing Line. Starting at about the 19:19 mark (video below), he mentions the Text und Textwert volumes, the difficulty of grasping the CBGM, the new THGNT as a kind of methodological push back against the CBGM, the correct (longer) reading at Mark 1.1, James Royse and singular readings, his own dissertation on P45, and some of the apologetic value of the CBGM and its data. He covers quite a bit.

Along the way, he says that the primary problem of the CBGM for most people is still the basic one of understanding it. I think he’s right about this and I have obviously been working to remedy that problem in my writing. But there is more work to be done, especially in explaining the method to pastors and laypeople. I will keep trying and, in the meantime, I say kudos to White for his efforts to understand the CBGM and explain it to his audience. For an “unanticipated” discussion of the method, he does a pretty good job describing it. May his tribe increase.

Tyndale House Greek New Testament intro video

Crossway has produced a nice video with Pete and Dirk introducing and explaining the new Tyndale House edition of the Greek New Testament.

Video: Cutting Open the Qumran Copper Scroll

This has been floating around my Facebook feed the last few days and I thought it was worth sharing here. It's from 1955. Watch it here.

Utrecht Psalter

I think the two YouTube videos below are the first ones that I know of that deal with a biblical manuscript. Quite creative.

The content of the second one is of slightly less quality than the first one, but interesting nonetheless.

1. Journey of the Utrecht Psalter

2. About the Utrecht Psalter

Video Clip Featuring Trajanos Gagos and the Michigan Papyrus Collection

One of our readers, "Donna" left a comment on our announcement of the tragic death of "Traianos Gagos (1960-2010)" which I thought deserves a main post:

We are deeply saddened to hear this news.
Here is a short video we produced about the U of M Papyrus Collection featuring Traianos. He could not have been more helpful - a wonderful spirit!

Our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Many generations of scholars and papyrologists worldwide will benefit from his progressive work through the internet.

Link to the Video Clip:

http://www.ootb.tv/dvd/epi203/Papyrus.mov

At one point in the clip, Gagos characteristicially says: "Well, I am a big believer in sharing information, dissemination, 95% of the collection is free on the internet."

CSNTM Video on CNN and American Airlines

Eearlier this week we posted the news that the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) will be featured on CNN and Delta and American Airlines in May and June. The one-minute video has now become available on You Tube here: