TFA 2008: ‘Other Gospels’ Master Class
The media, books, and the internet provide a barrage of misinformation about the Bible and much of this gets into the very fabric of society’s thought. For example, one of the widespread and false claims (found in the Da Vinci Code and numerous other sources) is that a set of ancient texts discovered in Egypt in 1945 shows: (1) other gospels should be included in the Bible; (2) Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene; (3) Jesus was very different from how he is described in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Another frequently made claim is that differences in manuscripts of the New Testament show that scribes changed parts of the New Testament to suit their own theological tastes.
The TFA is rising to this challenge by arranging a conference with two young scholars who are leading experts in the relevant areas.
Dr Simon Gathercole, is Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He is author of various works including a book on the Gospel of Judas (published by Oxford University Press) and is currently writing about the Gospel of Thomas.
Dr Dirk Jongkind, Research Fellow Tyndale House and Fellow of St Edmund’s College Cambridge, is an expert on the manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. He carried out his doctoral research on the oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament, Codex Sinaiticus.
The masterclass will be held in Cambridge in mid October. Watch this space for more information.