Maronite Meditation 93: Bernier, Rethinking the Dates of the NT

This is a short and selective review of Jonathan Bernier’s 2022 volume, Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament. His fundamental conclusion is that the dates of the New Testament documents are earlier than is usually thought. He states that it is a sort of successor to Robinson’s 1976 study Redating the New Testament. Bernier confirms someof Robinson’s conclusions, disagrees with others, and perhaps most importantly of all, refines Robinson’s methodology. To anticipate, he does a very good job, although I think there is still room for improvement; but I do not wish to quibble. It is a welcome shower of cold water in a field too thoroughlydominated by the informal Bible studies establishment.