Monday, January 05, 2009

Williams vs. Ehrman on the Reliability of the NT Manuscripts

On January 2 Peter Williams faced off with Bart Ehrman on the UK's Premiere Christian Radio program, Unbelievable, debating the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts. You can listen to the whole program online. (Denny Burk has more links: You can sign-up for the podcast or download the mp3.)

Peter Williams is the Warden (=President) of the Tyndale House at Cambridge (an international center of biblical research), previously serving as Senior Lecturer in NT at Aberdeen. You can also listen to Mark Dever's interview with him (and Simon Gathercole), and read my blog interview with him.

While I'm on the subject of Pete Williams and Tyndale House, let me encourage you to consider supporting them with a tax-deductible gift through American Friends of Tyndale House. It's a crucial ministry--many of the commentaries we benefit from were written there--that needs our support.

Here are some commendations of the ministry:
"Tyndale House, Cambridge, is unique: A gathering of international biblical scholars committed to historic Christianity, resident around a first-rate biblical studies library, right in the middle of one of the world’s greatest Universities. There is quite literally nothing else like it in the world. The American Christian community in particular has benefited immeasurable from the work of Tyndale House and holds a major stake in helping to keep it strong. I take every opportunity to urge Americans to stand behind Tyndale House in every way possible."

Duane Litfin,
President, Wheaton College, Chicago, IL

"I wrote my PhD dissertation at Tyndale House and have returned for research and writing on other books over the years. Every time I begin working there, I sense an excitement of once again being back in this ‘scholar’s heaven’. I thank God for this wonderful treasure that he has entrusted to the evangelical world, and for the faithful and visionary leadership of its excellent staff."

Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Bible and Theology, Phoenix Seminary, Scottsdale, AZ
Past President, Evangelical Theological Society

"Tyndale House has played a remarkable role in promoting and enabling fine scholarship in biblical studies, partly by virtue of its excellent library, partly as a setting for interaction between scholars either resident or working there. Many important books have been written there and many an important idea first blossomed there."

Professor Richard Bauckham, Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor, St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews