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Even though millions of people read the Bible, few know what experts who have devoted their lives to historical scholarship on it have to say about it, or, even more important, why they say it. In this episode we talk about how scholarship on the New Testament has developed over the centuries, decades, and recent years, how critical scholarship actually works to make better *sense* of the NT and opens up important ways of interpreting the text, and whether and how this kind of academic approach to the NT can or should affect a person's faith commitments.
Megan asks Bart:
-Last month in my interview with Robyn Walsh she talked about how modern understandings of the New Testament are deeply rooted in a long history of scholarship. It seems that to understand the critical views of scholars today about the NT you have to know something about the history of the field of study. Does that seem right to you?
-Was there anything comparable to NT scholarship in the ancient world, or were people who wrote about the NT more interested in theological issues?
-When did modern NT scholarship, as we know it, start?
-How were these more critical examinations received, by both other scholars and the general public?
-So once they have a grasp on the written sources, does that solve the problems they were having?
-What is form criticism, and how does it differ from other forms of textual study?
-Did these scholars have any actual *evidence* that Christian story tellers were altering and even inventing stories and sayings of Jesus?
-We’ve been talking about the Gospels; do the same kinds of developments happen for the rest of the New Testament, the book of Acts, the letters of Paul, and so on?
-What has been happening since the mid-20th century?
-What would be the big takeaways for a lay person interested in knowing more about the NT?
-Does all this scholarship detract from the religious importance of these texts?
