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Posts tagged ‘New Testament’

Jul 7

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Codex Sinaiticus Goes Online

Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book.

From the press release: Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important witnesses to the Greek text of the Septuagint (the Old Testament in the version that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians) and the Christian New Testament. No other early manuscript of the Christian Bible has been so extensively corrected. A glance at the transcription will show just how common these corrections are. They are especially frequent in the Septuagint portion. They range in date from those made by the original scribes in the fourth century to ones made in the twelfth century. They range from the alteration of a single letter to the insertion of whole sentences.

One important goal of the Codex Sinaiticus Project is to provide a better understanding of the text of the Codex and of the subsequent corrections to it. This will not only help us to understand this manuscript better, but will also give us insights into the way the texts of the Bible were copied, read and used. By the middle of the fourth century there was wide but not complete agreement on which books should be considered authoritative for Christian communities. Codex Sinaiticus, one of the two earliest collections of such books, is essential for an understanding of the content and the arrangement of the Bible, as well as the uses made of it.

The Greek Septuagint in the Codex includes books not found in the Hebrew Bible and regarded in the Protestant tradition as apocryphal, such as 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 1 & 4 Maccabees, Wisdom and Sirach. Appended to the New Testament are the Epistle of Barnabas and ‘The Shepherd’ of Hermas. The idiosyncratic sequence of books is also remarkable: within the New Testament the Letter to the Hebrews is placed after Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians, and the Acts of the Apostles between the Pastoral and Catholic Epistles. The content and arrangement of the books in Codex Sinaiticus shed light on the history of the construction of the Christian Bible.

The ability to place these ‘canonical books’ in a single codex itself influenced the way Christians thought about their books, and this is directly dependent upon the technological advances seen in Codex Sinaiticus. The quality of its parchment and the advanced binding structure that would have been needed to support over 730 large-format leaves, which make Codex Sinaiticus such an outstanding example of book manufacture, also made possible the concept of a ‘Bible’. The careful planning, skillful writing and editorial control needed for such an ambitious project gives us an invaluable insight into early Christian book production.

Codex Sinaiticus Online

Nov 8

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Where Is the Kingdom of God?

It’s fascinating to see how divisive the interpretation of a single line of the Bible can be. People ask, “How should a line be translated? What was the original intent?” as if there is some secret decoder key. The exact intent is important only when you begin to base your entire ideology on the literal interpretation of the Bible. Then, an exact translation is very important. Otherwise, you are not sure what to believe in. Read more

Apr 3

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An Interview with June Singer

Back in 1998 I interviewed one of my favorite Jungian authors, June Singer, for the old Jung Index web site. The interview is no longer available on the internet and it would be a shame to lose it. The format of the interview was collaborative – over email – so many people participated and were able to ask questions. So, here is the original interview from November 1998 – a tribute a great woman, who brought Jung’s psychology within my reach.
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May 12

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The Canonization of the New Testament

I few weeks ago I discussed my views on the Gospel of Judas and how the final cannon was decided. I found an excellent audio clip from a lecture on the Canonization of the New Testament by Bart Ehrman (a New Testament scholar) that may help clear up exactly how this happened. You can also read a great article on this here. You can hear the lecture below:

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Apr 6

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The Gospel of Judas

This week in Washington D.C., National Geographic released the The Gospel of Judas to the public. It has been translated from the original Coptic. This is an exciting time for Biblical archeologists and a troubling time for the orthodoxy because of the contents for the new gospel.
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Jun 2

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John 3:16

Today seemed full of strange coincidences. Jung used to call this synchronicity – like the popular 80′s tune by The Police. I decided to come up to Philly on a trial basis to see just how messed up this organization is. If it’s beyond repair, I told them I would give them some recommendations and be on my way.

Anyway, as I get into the heart of Philadelphia, ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ starts playing on my iPod … out of the 8,000 + songs. There were some other weird things, too, but none of these events seemed to contain any real meaning. These seemed more to make sure I was paying attention. Then, I check into my hotel room – room 316. Last night I was reading an old yearbook.

My freshman science teacher was a retired minister. He signed my yearbook, John 3:16. He was always trying to preach to me … in a good way. I was never turned off by his message. His intentions were too pure. So, here I am … hit over the head with 316′s. Obviously, synchronicity only works if you’re paying attention and making connections. Whether they are caused by something supernatural is another discussion. The key is that the connections are meaningful to us. It usually means that something deep inside of us is trying to communicate a thought or an idea. So, why would the one key passage to the New Testament be a message that something inside of me wanted heard?

3:16 is too literal to be taken as purely symbolic, though the passages before it are about being born again: dying to our past and being reborn. Nicodemus asks how it’s possible for an old man to be born again. Jesus’ response is that being reborn is dying to the flesh and being reborn to spirit … only then does 3:16 apply. I think that means that you have to be willing to die, yourself, before you can be reborn. I guess that makes sense. Those that stop short of really being willing to die, are never really saved. Of course, only God would know who the tricksters are. I guess baptism could be a sort of symbolic drowning. So, back to me… I’ll keep you posted. I’m not sure what it means. ;-)