Expert: Cooper P. Abrams III - 2/22/2008

Question
QUESTION: Why are you certain that the greek text was the original text of the New Testament? What about claims that Aramaic was the original text? Might some of the New Testament have been written in a language different than another part? Specifically, what about claims that Mathew was written in Aramaic or Hebrew?
Thanks.

Keith

ANSWER: Hi Keith,
   Good question. It is a somewhat complicated subject but I will give you the jest of the answer.

    Desiderius Erasmus in 1516,  complied the Greek text called the Textus Receptus (Received Text) using of some six manuscripts, containing between them not quite the whole of the New Testament.   Because he did not have a complete Greek Text of the Book of Revelation he used the Latin Vulgate which was translated from the Western Greek text.
    Some then criticize the TR because it partially used the Latin Vulgate....however we have almost 6000 extant manuscripts on which to test the accuracy of the TR.   It is accurate and based on what is today called the Majority Text which includes all the Western Greek texts including the TR.
     So we know it is accurate.  However, the Eastern text folks, who are selling millions of modern venison Bible try to cast a shadow over the KJV and the TR using this argument that Erasmus did not use the Greek Text for the Book of Revelation.  But that is smoke and mirrors anyone who has studied the matter knows that is all it is.   
    There is no evidence that Matthew was originally written in  Aramaic.    This is a false assertion by liberal "scholars" who do not believe in the inspiration of the Bible, and who ascribe to the complete fabrication of what is called the Graf-Wellhausen or Documentary hypothesis.  By the way....a hypothesis is an unsubstantiated idea which has no evidentiary support.  They purport that Matthew did not written the Gospel, but some anonymous writer.  Then Mark  and Luke used this Aramaic Gospel as the basis of theirs.   Problem with all this....absolutely no  evidence to support the idea, beyond the opinions or ideas of those bias against inspiration.

   The matter of the authenticity's and inspiration of the Scriptures is what is at stake.   The evidence overwhelmingly supports inspiration and accuracy in transmission and translation of our English Bible.  Twenty five years of study has confirmed my absolute trust in our KJV English Bible.

   It is a vast subject which can hardly be fully dealt with in an email.  But there is a wealth of sound scholarly material supporting the KJV and the TR as being God's inspired Word.    
   One of the best places to begin your investigation would be David Cloud's web site....
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fbns-index/versfbns.htm    His work is scholar and honest...

  If you have further questions or comments please write.

Cooper P Abrams III
Romans 12:1-2
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Doesn't holding that the New Testament was originally written in Greek lead to speculation by judaizers and others who are no friend to the Christian Church that the New Testament was written decades after Jesus' earthly ministry?

If on the other hand, Mathew was rendered in Aramaic from earliest times and by the Apostle Mathew himself, it would tend to lend credence to the view that the earliest Christians had the same faith we all have now. If we belive the primacy of the Greek, must we not also believe that Mathew was written under a pseudonym leading to speculation that John too was written under a pseudonym.

Keith  

Answer
Keith,
  That is interesting, but in reality the truth is what it is.  There is no evidence as I said for an Aramaic or Hebrew Gospel by Matthew.  The fact is the New Testament was written in Greek because it was the comman international language of the Roman Empire.  The JEPD hypothesis has no merit and nothing to substanuate.
  Honestly, outside the liberal higher critics who deny the deity of Christ and the inspiration of Christ, no true scholar accepts for a moment the premise you stated.
   The whole arguement against the New Testament being written in Greek by the writers who names are ascribed to the books is to decredit inspiration.   What you have read is purely speculation and even these scholars call the view a hypothesis.
    Not sure if that answers the question, but I cannot defend a false hypothesis as the idea has not basis in evidence.
Cooper Abrams