Voices from the Silent Centuries

Has anyone read this book by Harry Rimmer (1933)? It's really cool. I'm still only about halfway through, but wanted to share something with ya'll.

And please forgive my obnoxiously childlike excitement right now but this is so cool! What I’ve read does not only solidify the fact that the earliest Christians had the New Testament available to them, but that it was the EXACT word for word accuracy that we have today!! In this book I’m reading, the New Testament that is currently available to us is referred to as the “English translation of 1611" (aka - the King James Bible).

Okay, now for a little history/archaeology lesson.....the common people in the first several centuries AD spoke and wrote in Koine Greek. The scholars used what is known as Attic Greek. It is known that Paul and the rest, wrote in the Koine Greek because it was their intent to reach the masses, rather than the scholars only. Now, the common people couldn’t afford papyra or parchments, so they would write on “ostraca” or shards of broken pottery that were prevalently available.

In 1897 a major discovery was made amongst houses of common folk in several ruined ancient cities, of scriptures and prayers written on these ostraca.

“Here again we listen with considerable reverence to the voices of the ostraca once more. They can testify as no living voice would be able to do, as they quote the Greek text in Greek, from the century that witnessed the origin of that text. And when we compare our present text with these witnesses from antiquity, we find that they always quote the words of the text EXACTLY as we have it today. We do not mean in isolated instances, but consistently, verse after verse by the scores and the hundreds the agreement is so exact as to be absolutely without exception. So if our present Greek text agrees with the text as it was commonly accepted and currently quoted in the first three centuries, we have its credibility established beyond any doubt whatever, reasonable or otherwise!.......Once more the inference is inescapable; if the early century writers could QUOTE our text, they HAD our text. So from the crucible of criticism the New Testament emerges gleaming with a golden radiance even greater than it has always possessed, as the dross of prejudiced criticism has melted in the fervent heat of established fact. Note this fact well, and never forget it: the teacher who today casts doubt on the credibility of the NT text, is either so ignorant as to be unworthy of the name teacher, or is so blinded by hatred for the truth as to forfeit all right to hearing and respect.”

I found some of the prayers and scriptures of the common folk found on these shards of pottery so comforting and telling:

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Oh thou, who art the father of our Lord, the Living Word, hear the prayer of thy handmaid Thecla and heal her in body and soul for Jesus’ sake.”

And again, a prayer of a mother who wrote these words:

“My Father, who art in Heaven, hear the prayer of thy handmaid Johanna and heal her son for the sake of Him who said, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven’.”

Verse by verse and line by line, the shrouds of pottery discovered are assembled to recapitulate 84% of the New Testament!!!

So we see, that the common Christians even outside of the rule of the church of Rome, had scripture available to them from the very beginning of the age of Grace!! Amen!!! That’s just cool!!

 

I don't know whether to keep laughing or get mad.

Oh, you fellas are too much!!

 

I'm sure there's plenty of other threads on that, Ed....I'd appreciate this stay on topic. But just to answer your question (and please, please, please, let's keep this on the OP after that) I use the AV1611...which has been updated, not revised.

My Ruth 3:15 says "and she went into the city"

now back to your regularly scheduled OP......

 

Ed, the book from 1936 you are referring to is a totally different book by Harry Rimmer. The book I have in my hand right now is Voices from the Silent Centuries by Harry Rimmer, c.1933.

Trotter, I'm saying that the texts that were used to translate our Bible into english were copies of exactly the same scriptures as the Koine Greek texts that were taught to these common folk that would copy scriptures onto their pottery shards in the first few centuries AD. Are you telling me that the NT was never even penned before the 300's? C'mon!!! The Apostles who wrote the books of the NT were already dead! back at ya.


Now, be nice. It's Saturday night, the kids are asleep and I'm in a good mood. No fightin' fellas.

God bless.

 

I have to chuckle, reading through here. This is something I'm just beginning to study up on because on my home board where one of the forums is dedicated to evangelizing catholics, we have a few that say the common folk did not have scripture available to them until 600 years ago. They say that the scriptures were ONLY available in "apostolic sucession" within the church.... For a second here I thought I was debating romanists....this is a baptist board, right? Heeheee, anyway, just thought ya'll would find this cool and thought I'd share. Thanks for everyone's insight. I know there are a ton of sources out there on individual topics that contradict each other.

Makes me think....I'm so glad God doesn't contradict Himself in the Word....then we'd all need ThD's as a prerequisite to faith. Guess all other topics are "open game" for the intellectually challenged to be, well, ummmm...challenged.


Ya'll have a great day.
Love in Christ.
Amity
Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

God bless.

 

I know nothing of his background, only that a sister in Christ recommended one of his books to me. Guess I'm finding out more as I go along.