Well, even though Paul was arguably the most literate person in his generation "advancing in Judaism ahead of all his peers" he still used a scribe to write many of his letters. Similarly, John Mark served as a scribe to write down what Peter had to say. Luke was a Greek from Troas, Turkey. John spent most of his last thirty years living in Ephesus, Turkey, no doubt speaking Greek. Revelation was addressed to seven Greek speaking churches in Turkey.
"Everybody" spoke Greek the way "everybody" speaks English in the world today in addition to their native languages. So it was entirely natural for the letters and gospels to be written in the official international language of that day - especially when most of them were addressed to people outside Judea.
Since the apostles were given the Great Commission by Jesus to "make disciples of all nations", it would not make any sense have chosen to do that in Hebrew or Aramaic anyway.
Even the Old Testament had been independently translated into Greek (Septuagint) by 72 Jewish Scholars commissioned by King Ptolemy of Egypt. It became the standard translation in use throughout the world for hundreds of years surrounding the time of Christ.
What evidence do you have of that? Paul spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek and many of his Gentile companions (e.g Luke and Timothy) were Greek and most of the churches he started were Greek.
The Greeks had ruled the region for hundreds of years since Alexander the Great. Rome was a relative newcomer in 63 BC. The common language changes much slower than armies move.
Because the actors in this were Hebrews, whatever they said they did not say it in Greek, so whatever Paul wrote in Greek or whatever language, he had to have heard it first in Hebrew or Aramaic, therefore in his translation much could have been lost or added. And the important part of the New Testament isn't what the others wrote it is what Jesus said, and if you have to rely on various translations I just think you will have mistakes made. Apart from this, how many people of that time were able to read and write? I bet you anyone who was literate could write whatever he wanted and pass it off as what the oral traditions said.
The Romans conquered Greece in the year 146 BC, so I think language should have started changing since then. Alexander conquered Palestine around 333 BC, I don't think your answer is too convincing, as Latin already had nearly 200 years to become the official language.
Well, even though Paul was arguably the most literate person in his generation "advancing in Judaism ahead of all his peers" he still used a scribe to write many of his letters. Similarly, John Mark served as a scribe to write down what Peter had to say. Luke was a Greek from Troas, Turkey. John spent most of his last thirty years living in Ephesus, Turkey, no doubt speaking Greek. Revelation was addressed to seven Greek speaking churches in Turkey.
"Everybody" spoke Greek the way "everybody" speaks English in the world today in addition to their native languages. So it was entirely natural for the letters and gospels to be written in the official international language of that day - especially when most of them were addressed to people outside Judea.
Since the apostles were given the Great Commission by Jesus to "make disciples of all nations", it would not make any sense have chosen to do that in Hebrew or Aramaic anyway.
Even the Old Testament had been independently translated into Greek (Septuagint) by 72 Jewish Scholars commissioned by King Ptolemy of Egypt. It became the standard translation in use throughout the world for hundreds of years surrounding the time of Christ.
What evidence do you have of that? Paul spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek and many of his Gentile companions (e.g Luke and Timothy) were Greek and most of the churches he started were Greek.
The Greeks had ruled the region for hundreds of years since Alexander the Great. Rome was a relative newcomer in 63 BC. The common language changes much slower than armies move.
Because the actors in this were Hebrews, whatever they said they did not say it in Greek, so whatever Paul wrote in Greek or whatever language, he had to have heard it first in Hebrew or Aramaic, therefore in his translation much could have been lost or added. And the important part of the New Testament isn't what the others wrote it is what Jesus said, and if you have to rely on various translations I just think you will have mistakes made. Apart from this, how many people of that time were able to read and write? I bet you anyone who was literate could write whatever he wanted and pass it off as what the oral traditions said.
OK, even though I am not too convinced about Greek being the universal language then, it should have been Latin as Rome ruled.
The Romans conquered Greece in the year 146 BC, so I think language should have started changing since then. Alexander conquered Palestine around 333 BC, I don't think your answer is too convincing, as Latin already had nearly 200 years to become the official language.