New Testament scholar to speak at university

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BROOKINGS – Can readers trust the New Testament, after so many years? 

Daniel Wallace, a leading New Testament scholar, will address the question with his lecture, “How Badly Was the New Testament Corrupted?” at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Volstorff Ballroom in the Student Union at SDSU. This is part of the South Dakota State University Speakers Series. 

Wallace is the founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, as well as senior research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Seminary. He has examined manuscripts from all over the world, and he has written, co-authored, or contributed to more than three dozen books. 

“Wallace is a leading voice when it comes to understanding New Testament textual criticism,” said SDSU philosophy and religion instructor Michael Berhow. “His textbook on advanced Greek grammar is one of the more widely used textbooks in seminaries across the country. What makes Wallace so influential, however, is that he can communicate both to scholars and to a general audience.”

This lecture will be less than three weeks after Bart Ehrman, another leading biblical scholar, gave his presentation, The Greatest Stories Rarely Told: Biblical Scholars and the Discrepancies of Scripture. The two have opposing viewpoints, and they have debated one another publicly at multiple events.

“The fact that both of them are presenting in Brookings in such a short time span is a real intellectual treat,” said Luke Perkins, a teacher with Ratio Christi, the student organization organizing the event.

Ratio Christi focuses on Christian apologetics, and its purpose statement is “establishing the intellectual voice of Christ at the university.” The students “bring faith and reason together to establish the intellectual voice of Christ, seeking a renaissance of Christian thinking in the university,” said Perkins.

Wallace’s lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The event is free to all, and there will be refreshments to follow.