Talkin’ the Talk that WalksThree Myths About Oral Transmission

James Patrick Holding

Tekton Apologetics Ministries

http://www.tektonics.org

“Skeptics silenced….rogues refuted.”

Talkin’ the Talk that WalksWhy Is It Important?

• To defend the integrity of the Biblical record

• To understand the world of the Bible better The APAS Principle:

Were people in Bible times stupid -- unlike us?

Can You Get It Out of Your Head?Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute, Mr. Clean will clean your whole house and everything that's in it. Mr. Clean Mr. Clean. Mr. Clean.

Myth #1: It’s Unreliable!Claim: “Studies show human memory is fallible.”

Elizabeth Loftus

Myth #1: It’s Unreliable!

BUSTED!

• Memory studies dealt with impression accounts – not things people worked to memorize.

• Ancient people had powerful memory techniques.

Example: “Parallelism”

BUSTED!

Fred admires people with integrity and who have character.

Fred admires people who have integrity and who have character.

Myth #2: It’s Inferior to Writing!Claim: “It would all have been much clearer if Jesus had written things down.”

Myth #2: It’s Inferior to Writing!

BUSTED!

This claim is the result of a bias called graphocentrism – the assumption that if it is important, it will be written down.

“Why Couldn’t Jesus Shop Here?”

“I sure didn’t write anything down myself….why do you expect Jesus to have done so?”

Myth #3: It’s Worthless Hearsay!

Claim: “Our courts don’t admit hearsay. Why should we?”

(Blame THIS guy for this one!)

Myth #3: It’s Worthless Hearsay!

BUSTED!

• Nearly everything we believe is hearsay

• Critics misuse the legal definitions

Further Reading

• http://www.tektonics.org/ntdocdef/orality01.html

• http://www.tektonics.org/gk/hearsay.html

• http://www.christian-thinktank.com/loftus.html

• http://www.tektonics.org/tsr/paperweight.html

• http://www.tektonics.org/gk/jeswrite.html