A Test of Time: A Statistical Analysis of the Dating and Authenticity of The New Testament Canon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.4234Keywords:
New Testament, textual authenticity, New Testament Chronology, historical criticism, Exegetical analysis, statistical analysis, probability distributions, quantitative biblical studies, authorship attribution, Early Christian LiteratureAbstract
This publication thoroughly examines a rigorous methodology of the dating of New Testament Texts. First, extensive historical and exegetical analysis was used to derive probable date ranges for the composition of all twenty seven New Testament writings. Next, a probability density method was used in order to statistically test for patterns akin to forged texts via fitting with theoretical models of forged and authentic sources alike. Ultimately, historical dates for books of the canon were shown to match the authentic source distribution model (a negative linear exponential multiplied by lognormal fit) with no meaningful evidence of forged texts. Multimodal analysis also demonstrated no changes in the skew of the graph, indicative of a sample consisting fully of authentic sources. Microsoft Excel was used to produce the probability density distribution graph, while the programming language Python was used to generate functions of fit and residual plots.
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