Monday, July 27, 2009

Hurtado's The Earliest Christian Artifacts

Jim Hamilton reviews Larry Hurtado's The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins. Conclusion:
This fascinating book should command the attention of all who are interested in questions of how the New Testament came into being, when the documents began to be recognized as Scripture, and what can and cannot be maintained on the basis of the actual manuscript evidence. This book deserves wide reading among those with a high view of Scripture, and we can hope that it will spur students to access the manuscripts directly and thereby to know the treasures these texts contain. We can thank Prof. Hurtado for his service in calling attention to the riches of these manuscripts. May he be rewarded with droves of students who turn their attention to the direct study of these “earliest Christian artifacts.”