In several ways these texts yield a respectable harvest to the student of the New Testament. I am not thinking now of the additions to our store of New Testament and other early Christian MSS. by the discovery of early Christian papyrus and parchment fragments, and ostraca, although in this direct way the value of the new documents is considerable. I mean rather the indirect value which the non-Christian, non-literary texts possess for the student of Primitive Christianity. This is of three kings:

(1) They teach us to put a right estimate philologically upon the New Testament and, with it, Primitive Christianity.

(2) They point to the right literary appreciation of the New Testament.

(3) They give us important information on points in the history of religion and culture, helping us to understand both the contact and contrast between Primitive Christianity and the ancient world.

Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East: The New Testament Illustrated by Recently Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World, trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan, 10.