Preamble goes here
Here is a list of projects currently in process and in need of funding:
Expedition: The Bodleian Library, Oxford
The venerated library at the University of Oxford is one of the oldest in Europe and houses the largest collection of pre-1500 printed books and parchment manuscripts. They have at least 105 Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Our team has completed the examination of the first 50 manuscripts, and we need funds to complete the digitization phase of the project.
Expedition: Germany
The INTF, the foremost New Testament institute, is facilitating communication with 25 sites scattered across Germany holding 42 Greek New Testament manuscripts, most of which have not been imaged since microfilm. Many have no images available at all!. These manuscripts would be of high value to scholarship.
Because these artifacts are so spread out, few institutions are willing to expend the necessary resources to complete the project, which makes these precious documents especially valuable to CSNTM and to the scholars who depend upon our work.
Equipment: Multispectral Imaging
CSNTM needs to purchase the Digital Transitions Rainbow Narrowband Multispectral Imaging system for use on expeditions to reveal hidden or obscured biblical text on ancient manuscripts. Because this system uses the same configuration as our conventional photography system, the DT Atom, it will also provide much needed redundancy.
CSNTM has experience using this technology, but the current equipment is old and extremely labor-intensive. This new generation of equipment brings new capabilities and enhanced speed (3–4 times faster.)
On one recent project, a 350-page manuscript taking 4 weeks to complete could be done in 6 days, and with improved quality.
Expedition: New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
In 2022, CSNTM began a multi-year collaboration with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to digitize a collection of 1,842 microfilm rolls containing New Testament manuscripts in multiple languages, and to digitize a collection of historic papers from the International Greek New Testament Project (IGNTP) dating back to the 1950s.
This trove of manuscript and historic material is of great interest to researchers today.
CSNTM Text & Manuscript Conference
Every 2 years, CSNTM hosts a gathering of international New Testament scholars in Plano, Texas to advance the field of New Testament textual studies. Conferences like this take place in Europe, but are not accessible to scholars based in the United States due to the cost of international travel. To our knowledge, the CSNTM conference is the only one of its kind in North America.
Attendees of a recent conference described it as “life-changing.”