"Among many antifaith books you may hnd Bart Ehhiians-.MisqU:otingjesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. This is a broadside attack upon the Scriptures, and Christians need to be able to rebut it. Thankfully, Dr. Timothy Paul jones has written Misquoting Truth, a scholarly and gracious (but firm) re­ buttal to Dr. Ehrman." D. jAMES KENNEDY, P H . D., SENIOR M INISTER, C ORAL RIDGE P RESBYTERIAN C HURCH Misquoting jesus "In Misquoting Truth, Timothy Paul jones gives Bart Ehrman's and Lost Christianities the debunking they deserve. jones exposes the bias and faulty logic that surface time and again in these highly publicized books. quoting Truth Mis­ provides a much needed antidote and will serve students and Christian leaders very welL I recommend this book enthusiastically." CRAIG A. EVANS, PAYZANT DISTINGUISHED P ROFESSOR OF NEW D IVINITY C OLLEGE, AND AUTHOR OF fABRICATING jESUS: TESTAMENT, ACAD IA How MODERN SCHOLARS DISTORT THE GOSPELS "Timothy Paul jones's writings are always engaging, compelling and often hu­ morous. He captivates me with everything he writes. When I read his writing, I have many 'Aha!' or 'I wish I'd thought of that' moments. This isn't the first great book that Timothy's written, and it won't be the last. Make certain you don't miss it!" jAMES L. GARLOW, P H . D., COAUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING AND CRACKING DA THEDA VINCI CODEBREAKER VINCI'S CODE "Dr. jones reminds us that Christians should never be afraid of open debate. With tradition, experience, reason and Scripture as our final measure we can put all ideas on the table with confidence that in the end we will embrace what is true and discard what is false." EVERETT PIPER, PH . D . , P RESIDENT, OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN U NIVERSITY 'Jones clearly refutes in a Christlike manner the claims of Misquoting jesus. must-read for those who love to give an answer for the faith!" LIEF MOl, MARS H ILL C HURCH C AM PUS PASTOR, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON A "The most radical wing of New Testament scholarship has gotten a disproportion­ ate amount of press in recent years. As representative as any of this trend today is Bart Ehrman, whose books on textual criticism and noncanonical Gospels make it sound as if we have little idea what the New Testament authors originally wrote or little reason to believe that theirs was an accurate, and certainly the oldest, ren­ dition of the life of jesus and the gospel message. Timothy jones sets the record straight in this courteous but direct critique of charges about misquotingjesus and alternate or lost Christianities. Abreast of all the latest and best scholarship, he nevertheless writes in a straightforward, easy-to-read style that any thoughtful lay­ person can handle. An absolute must-read for anyone confused or taken in by the revisionist biblical historians of our day." CRAIG l. BLOMBERG, D ENVER SEMINARY D ISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT, "Dr. jones has written a first-rate book on an essential and timely subject. Both specialists and nonspecialists will benefit from his honest, polite and clearly ex­ plained treatment of issues concerning the reliability of the New Testament text and its authorship. In a day of confusion among non-Christians and Christians alike, this is a must-read." PETER jONES, SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE, WESTMINSTER SEMINARY CALIFORNIA, AND AUTHOR OF "In STOLEN IDENTITY: THE CONSPIRACY TO REINVENT jESUS Misquoting Truth, Timothy Paul jones has written an informative, creative book that needs to be read by all serious, thinking Christians. It is as informative as it is entertaining, and it will provide a secure foundation for continuing to trust in the accuracy of God's Word. It answers the basic criticisms leveled at the New Testament by Dr. Bart Ehrman, while at the same time providing a proper understanding of the basics of textual criticism. jones does not skirt the difficult issues, but deals with them head-on, providing careful and balanced answers. I highly recommend this book to those seeking to find answers to the question, 'Can the Word of God be trusted?'" PAUL 0. WEGNER, P ROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT, PHOENIX SEMINARY "Timothy Paul Jones turns the tables on Bart Ehrman's overstated Misquoting jesus. He applies to Ehrman the same probing logic that Ehrman claims to apply to the New Testament evidence. The evidence turns out to be more believable than Ehrmans strained interpretations of it. It is not the New Testament writers or copyists who depart from history,] ones shows , but a few scholars who invest too much faith in their skepticism. Jones not only checks that skepticism: along the way he equips readers to make their own informed choices about author­ ship, scribal transmission, and church selection (or rejection) of key New Tes­ tament passages and documents--and many writings from outside the New Testament as well. This is a valuable primer for orientation in a discussion that cannot be ignored." ROBERT YARBROUGH, A SS OCIATE PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT AND NEW T ESTAMENT D EPARTMENT C HAIR, T RIN ITY EVANGELICAL D IVINITY SCHOOL "It is an unfortunate thing when a scholar uses a technical discipline such as tex­ tual criticism to browbeat an unsuspecting public. Timothy Jones's evenhanded approach challenges the overblown claims of Ehrman's sensationalized account of the textual history of the New Testament. Jones agrees with Ehrman at many basic points, but repeatedly challenges his conclusion that the New Testament is untrustworthy, effectively countering each of Ehrman's revisionist claims. In a most readable treatment Jones presents anew the case for the trustworthiness of the New Testament. "There was a time when E E Bruces little book on the reliability of the New Testament documents was enough. Now new challenges to the integrity of the New Testament have arisen. Timothy Jones rises to meet these new challenges by combining this refutation of Bart Ehrmans book Misquoting]esus with a thorough primer on New Testament textual criticism. Both authors work with the same ev­ idence and share a good deal of common ground, but they arrive at surprisingly different conclusions. In the process of challenging the conclusions of Bart Ehr­ man's popular book,] ones investigates several alleged 'significant changes' in the text and finds that none of them requires readers to rethink an essential belief about Jesus or to doubt the historical integrity of the New Testament. "This book is classic apologetics yet without any hint of rancor. Jones writes in a readable conversational style, combining pastoral concern with excellent activities for beginning students as well as entertaining anecdotes and illustra­ tions. The book is autobiographical to a high degree, which increases its per­ sonal appeal. "Written with troubled believers in mind, Jones begins by borrowing a gen­ erous definition of inerrancy-inerrancy means simply that the Bible tells the truth-a definition which, he says, gives plenty of room for the many extant tex­ tual variants. In the end, Timothy Jones suggests that Ehrman lost his faith not because he 'peered so deeply into the origins of Christian faith,' but because he gained his understanding of Christian faith in a fundamentalist evangelical con­ text that allowed little (if any) space for questions, variations or rough edges. Jones does not shy away from these 'rough edges,' but he presents a compelling case that the New Testament text as we have it is a reliable witness to the teach­ ings of Jesus and of the first Christians." T. SCOTT CAULLEY, D.T HEOL., D IRECTOR OF THE I NSTITUTE FOR THE C HRISTIAN O RIGINS, UNIVERSITY OF TOBINGEN, TOBINGEN, GERMANY S TUDY OF "In recent years, Christians have been assailed by a book genre that is increas­ ingly critical of Christian beliefs. Misquoting Truth reminds us that this critical alarm is often sounded in bombastic ways that seldom present the whole pic­ ture. Timothy Jones explains why there is no new information in Ban Ehrman's Misquoting]esus that threatens what Christians believe about the New Testament text. Further, he moves the discussion to a shelf where it is accessible to every­ one. Numerous practical teaching pointers help the reader to digest the mate­ rial. The result is a well-integrated volume that accomplishes what few books do: disarming the critics while at the same time connecting with a large range of readers. Bravo, InterVarsity, for publishing yet another excellent volume that communicates crucial truth to this generation!" GARY R. HABERMAS, DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH PROFESSOR AND C HAIR, DEPARTMENT OF P HILOSOPHY AND T HEOLOGY, LiBERTY U NIVERSITY; AUTHOR OF THE CASE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF jESUS A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus TIMOTHY PAUL JONES An online study guide for this book is available at www.tvpress.com � /'"'IIi;! IVP Books An Imprint of lnterVarslty Press Downers Grove, Illinois lnterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove,IL 60515-1426 World Wtde Web: www.ivpress.com E-mail: To my teachers .. . My sister Shyre, my parents and Shirley Brown told me that reading opens doors into worlds of wonder. And so I made my way through those doors. Nancy Swihart told a frightened college freshman that he didn't have to settle for walking through doors fashioned by others. "You're a writer," she said, and I believed her. I Scott Caulley and F. Alan Tomlinson led me into wild and wonderful lands of ancient peoples whose voices still echo in fragments of papyrus and pottery and stone. Mark E. Simpson, Robert W Pazmiito and Dennis E. Williams taught me that this knowledge does not matter unless I share it in ways that transform the lives of ordinary people. So here I am because of who each of you has been in my life. CONTENTS Introduction: A New Breed of Biblical Scholar? . . . ll PART ONE: WHY THE TEXTS CAN BE TRUSTED . 27 l Truth About "The Originals That Matter" . 29 2 Truth About the Copyists . . . . . . . . . 3 Truth About "Significant Changes" in the New Testament 4 Truth About "Misquoting jesus" . 39 51 67 PART TWO: WHY THE LOST CHRISTIANITIES WERE LOST. 79 5 Truth About Oral History . . . . . . . . 83 6 Truth About the Authors of the Gospels 95 7 Truth About Eyewitness Testimony . . . 8 Truth About How the Books Were Chosen. Concluding Reflections: Appendix: "It Fits the Lock". . . . . How Valuable Is the Testimony of Papias?. Acknowledgments About the Author Notes . . . . . Subject Index. Name Index . Scripture Index . . 107 121 138 14 7 149 151 153 170 17 4 176