Thinking to Believe

In The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited Scot McKnight argues that the gospel being preached in evangelicalism today is a truncated or distorted version of the original.  Some think the gospel is justification by faith, while others identify it as the saving work of Christ.  However it is characterized, the gospel is understood to be all about personal salvation.  While that is surely part of it, the gospel is much more.[1]

McKnight argues that the gospel as preached in the NT consists of four elements:

1. The story ofIsrael
2. The story of Jesus
3. The plan of salvation
4. The method of persuasion

We cannot make sense of the method of persuasion apart from the plan of salvation, and we cannot make sense of the plan of salvation apart from the story of Jesus, and we can’t make sense of the story of Jesus apart from the story ofIsrael.  All four elements were integral to the preaching of the gospel in the early church.  

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Daniel Wallace revealed some additional details regarding some early NT papyri manuscripts in a video interview with Michael Licona, one of which is the highly touted first century fragment of Mark. 

In a nutshell:

• Number: There are 7 papyri manuscripts of the gospels and Paul’s letters
• Size: All manuscripts are less than 1 leaf
• Dates: 1 is probably 1^st century, 4 from the 2^nd century, and 2 that are probably 2^nd century but could be dated to the 3^rd century
• NT Books represented:
  • 1 = Matthew
  • 1 = Mark (possibly 1^st century)
  • 1 = Luke
  • 1 = Romans
  • 1 = First Corinthians
  • 2 = Hebrews

I can’t wait to find out more about the collection in 2013!