Robert E. Van Voorst

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Robert E. Van Voorst (born June 5, 1952) is an American theologian and educator.

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He retired in 2018 as a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan, and has published scholarly works in early Christian writings and New Testament Greek. He received his B.A. in Religion from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, his M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He has served at Lycoming College (Methodist) in Williamsport, PA, and was a visiting professor at Westminster College, Oxford, England. He has lectured to PhD students in Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, on methods in biblical study.

Van Voorst has also served as a supply pastor at various PC (USA) churches in north-central Pennsylvania, and for twelve years as pastor at Rochester Reformed Church, New York. [1] [2]

Works

Jesus Outside the New Testament

In Jesus Outside the New Testament (2000), Van Voorst starts by outlining the history of research into extra-Biblical sources for the historical Jesus and its relation to the hypothesis that Jesus did not exist, which he notes is generally rejected by modern scholars. He goes on to consider references to Jesus in classical writings, Jewish writings, hypothetical sources of the canonical Gospels, and extant Christian writings outside the New Testament. The book includes translations of key passages discussed, including the entire Gospel of Thomas . Van Voorst concludes that non-Christian sources provide "a small but certain corroboration of certain New Testament historical traditions on the family background, time of life, ministry, and death of Jesus", as well as "evidence of the content of Christian preaching that is independent of the New Testament", while extra-biblical Christian sources give access to "some important information about the earliest traditions on Jesus". However, New Testament sources remain central for "both the main lines and the details about Jesus' life and teaching". [3]

Allen Kerkeslager called the book a "marvelous achievement" and commended its clear organization. He criticised Van Voorst for using divergences from the canonical Gospels as evidence against the historical value of the New Testament apocrypha, but noted that the author usually offered additional grounds for his conclusions. [4] Darrell L. Bock called the book "an excellent up-to-date survey", "careful and thorough". [5] Helen E. Bond considered Van Voorst's treatment of the New Testament apocrypha particularly strong, [6] while Curt Niccum found his book generally useful but least good on Jewish literature. [7] G. Van Belle criticised Van Voorst's assignment of John 20:20–20:21 to the Signs Gospel against the verdict of two authors cited in the book. [8]

Van Voorst's attitude towards the New Testament provoked divergent judgments. Thomas O'Loughlin, while concluding that the book was up-to-date and generally balanced, thought that an apologetic agenda had led Van Voorst to place the New Testament "almost outside of history" and to simplistically classify non-canonical Christian texts as "gnostic". [9] On the other hand, some reviewers in Evangelical journals criticised what they saw as an over-skeptical attitude towards the New Testament, [10] [11] in one case recommending works by F. F. Bruce and Gary Habermas as superior in this respect. [11]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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Apocrypha are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture. While some might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity, in Christianity, the word apocryphal (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were to be read privately rather than in the public context of church services. Apocrypha were edifying Christian works that were not considered canonical scripture. It was not until well after the Protestant Reformation that the word apocrypha was used by some ecclesiastics to mean "false," "spurious," "bad," or "heretical."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josephus on Jesus</span> Mentions of Jesus in the writings of the 1st-century historian

The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus provides external information on some people and events found in the New Testament. The extant manuscripts of Josephus' book Antiquities of the Jews, written around AD 93–94, contain two references to Jesus of Nazareth and one reference to John the Baptist.

The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events relating to first-century Christianity. The New Testament's background, the first division of the Christian Bible, is called the Old Testament, which is based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible; together they are regarded as Sacred Scripture by Christians.

George Albert Wells was an English scholar who served as Professor of German at Birkbeck, University of London. After writing books about famous European intellectuals, such as Johann Gottfried Herder and Franz Grillparzer, he turned to the study of the historicity of Jesus, starting with his book The Jesus of the Early Christians in 1971. He is best known as an advocate of the thesis that Jesus is essentially a mythical rather than a historical figure, a theory that was pioneered by German biblical scholars such as Bruno Bauer and Arthur Drews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gospel of Nicodemus</span> Apocryphal gospel, also known as the Acts of Pilate

The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate, is an apocryphal gospel claimed to have been derived from an original Hebrew work written by Nicodemus, who appears in the Gospel of John as an associate of Jesus. The title "Gospel of Nicodemus" is medieval in origin. The dates of its accreted sections are uncertain, but the work in its existing form is thought to date to around the 4th or 5th century AD.

The historicity of Jesus is the question of whether Jesus historically existed. The question of historicity was generally settled in scholarship in the early 20th century. Today scholars agree that a Jewish man called Jesus of Nazareth did exist in the Herodian Kingdom of Judea and the subsequent Herodian tetrarchy in the 1st century CE, upon whose life and teachings Christianity was later constructed, but a distinction is made by scholars between 'the Jesus of history' and 'the Christ of faith'.

The term "historical Jesus" refers to the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted through critical historical methods, in contrast to what are traditionally religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure, and the idea that Jesus was a mythical figure has been consistently rejected by the scholarly consensus as a fringe theory. Scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the biblical accounts, with only two events being supported by nearly universal scholarly consensus: Jesus was baptized and Jesus was crucified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudepigrapha</span> Falsely attributed works

Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. The name of the author to whom the work is falsely attributed is often prefixed with the particle "pseudo-", such as for example "pseudo-Aristotle" or "pseudo-Dionysius": these terms refer to the anonymous authors of works falsely attributed to Aristotle and Dionysius the Areopagite, respectively.

<i>Forged</i> (book) Book by Bart D. Ehrman

Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are is a book by American New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman, published in 2011 by HarperCollins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M source</span> Hypothetical source for Matthews Gospel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ myth theory</span> Fringe theory claiming that a historical Jesus did not exist

The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that the story of Jesus is a work of mythology with no historical substance. Alternatively, in terms given by Bart Ehrman paraphrasing Earl Doherty, it is the view that "the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce M. Metzger</span> American biblical scholar (1914–2007)

Bruce Manning Metzger was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society and United Bible Societies. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament, and New Testament textual criticism, and wrote prolifically on these subjects. Metzger was an influential New Testament scholar of the 20th century. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1986.

The unknown years of Jesus generally refers to the period of Jesus's life between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry, a period not described in the New Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mara bar Serapion on Jesus</span> Ancient letter by a Stoic philosopher

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Benjamin Smith</span>

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Historiography of early Christianity is the study of historical writings about early Christianity, which is the period before the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Historians have used a variety of sources and methods in exploring and describing Christianity during this time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oral gospel traditions</span> Oral stage in the formation of the gospels

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F. David Farnell is an American New Testament scholar, Christian minister, and is the new pastor of theological training at Redeemer Bible Church in Phoenix, Arizona. He was formerly professor of New Testament studies at The Master's Seminary. He promotes a conservative approach to New Testament studies. Farnell's works include the book The Jesus Crisis: The Inroads of historical Criticism into Evangelical Scholarship and The Jesus Quest: The Danger from Within. His writings on biblical inerrancy have been endorsed by John F. MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and Paige Patterson. He is also the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Oxnard, California.

References

  1. ↑ "Robert E. Van Voorst". Western Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Pastor's Bible Study: Volume Three: Meet the Contributors". The New Interpreter's Bible. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  3. ↑ Robert E. Van Voorst (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence . Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. pp.  217. ISBN   0-8028-4368-9.
  4. ↑ Allen Kerkeslager (April 16, 2001). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament" (PDF). Review of Biblical Literature. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  5. ↑ Darrell L. Bock (July–September 2001). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Bibliotheca Sacra. 158 (631): 381.
  6. ↑ Helen K. Bond (April 2001). "Jesus: Evidence and Significance". Expository Times. 112 (7): 238–239. doi:10.1177/001452460111200710. S2CID   170714127.
  7. ↑ Curt Niccum (2004). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Restoration Quarterly. 46 (2): 120–122.
  8. ↑ G. Van Belle (December 2000). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses. 66 (4): 503–504.
  9. ↑ Thomas O'Loughlin (January 2001). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Catholic Biblical Quarterly . 63 (1): 163–164.
  10. ↑ John Goertzen (December 2001). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society . 44 (4): 731–732.
  11. 1 2 William Varner (Fall 2000). "Review of Jesus Outside the New Testament". Master's Seminary Journal. 11 (2): 270–272.

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