The Jimmy Akin Podcast | Episode 058 (November 3, 2025)

Dive into the mystery of the Bible Codex on The Jimmy Akin Podcast! In this episode, Jimmy unravels why early Christians revolutionized book technology by favoring codices over scrolls. He explores clues from ancient manuscripts, delves into the Synoptic Problem, and investigates which Christian text—perhaps Paul’s letters or a Gospel—sparked this trend. With detective-like precision, Jimmy examines evidence and theories, leaving listeners intrigued by an unsolved puzzle that shaped the Bible as we know it. Tune in for a fascinating journey through history and faith!

Timecodes
00:00 – Coming Up
00:42 – Intro
01:06 – 1 Scrolls vs. Codices
05:04 – 2 Book Technology and the Synoptic Problem
06:52 – 3 What If . . . ?
12:09 – 4 Why Not?
14:40 – 5 What Was the Influential Codex?
22:24 – Closing/Outro
23:20 – End

SOURCES:

Larry Hurtado’s list of 2nd and 3rd century Christian texts: https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/second-third-century-christian-texts.pdf

Alan Garrow’s Matthew Conflator Hypothesis videos: https://www.alangarrow.com/mch.html