I was excited to read the following in the Friends of CSNTM July E-Newsletter:

Today the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) announces that it is now available on iTunes U, a dedicated area of the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) that offers free audio and video content from leading educational institutions.

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) has always been committed to helping others understand the reliability of our New Testaments, the history of translations, the study of the text, and significant figures who have made this possible.

Beginning today, CSNTM is making a series of videos concerning New Testament manuscripts, textual criticism, history of the New Testament, and expert commentary on key verses available as a free download on iTunes U.

Featured in the videos are interviews and footage shot around the world of important people involved in the work of the Center. Dr. Daniel B. Wallace will also be featured as he explains important aspects in the study of the text of the New Testament.

Visit CSNTM on iTunes U »»»

HT:   Tim Challies for pointing out an article from BBC News titled David Livingstone’s ‘lost letter’ deciphered.  David Livingstone wrote a four page letter around the margins of his journal in February 1871 from  Bambarre (modern day Democratic Republic of congo).  Fading and challenges caused by the iron gall ink bleeding through to the successive pages have left this letter illegible for many years.  Through the use of imaging technology, David Livingstone’s letter speaks once again.  A research team from Birkbeck College, University of London, working with colleagues at the National Library of Scotland and the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre used successive waves of light to separate the text layers and a 39 megapixel camera to scan the images.  The recipient of the letter was David Livingstone’s friend and future biographer, Horace Waller.

What caught my eye most in this article was the use of advanced imaging technology to make this letter legible once again.  It’s exciting to see ancient documents brought back to life and preserved electronically for generations to come.  This is also why I closely follow the ongoing work of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, who travels the world digitizing manuscripts of the Greek New Testament.  You can learn more about the exciting work being done by CSNTM at their web site, www.csntm.org.  The article, David Livingstone’s ‘lost letter’ deciphered may be read in its entirety at the BBC News web site:  LINK.

During their recent visit to the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens this past May, they CSNTM team was able to photograph a previously uncatalogued gospel manuscript.  You can read the full story here:  LINK.  The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM), under the umbrella of The Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents (CRECD), exists for the following purposes:

1. To make digital photographs of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts so that such images can be preserved, duplicated without deterioration, and accessed by scholars doing textual research.
2. To utilize developing technologies (OCR, MSI, etc.) to read these manuscripts and create exhaustive collations.
3. To analyze individual scribal habits in order to better predict scribal tendencies in any given textual problem.
4. To publish on various facets of New Testament textual criticism
5. To develop electronic tools for the examination and analysis of New Testament manuscripts.
6. To cooperate with other institutes in the great and noble task of determining the wording of the autographa of the New Testament.

You can learn more about the exciting and important work of CSNTM at www.csntm.org.

Head on over to Zondervan Academic’s Koinonia blog and read a brief article be Daniel B. Wallace called, “Digitally Preserving the Word of God”.  You can read it here:  LINK.

Daniel B. Wallace’s trip to Albania with the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts earlier this year may raise questions about whether or not the story of the adulterous woman in John 7:53-8:11was part of early New Testament manuscripts.

• Article on ChristianityToday.com
• Article from the Dallas Observer
• Article on CSNTM website