Many posts come from discussions with readers. Today I show how the foundations of Biblical study have been destroyed by the Evangelicals and Lutherans. But they can be repaired.
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| Tischendorf was a con artist who manipulated the facts to make himself a great hero. |
Text Criticism of the New Testament, aka Lower Criticism
The foundation - in the modern age - came from Count Tischendorf and the Wescott/Hort team. These three men led the field in creating a pseudo-science of text critcism with their own ideas, which are really assumptions. This field of study centers on the New Testament.
For example, one assumption - which they call a rule - is that the shorter reading is better than the longer one. But that does not bear the weight of a few questions. A story can be shortened or lengthened by retelling it. Length does not change its veracity.
Another assumption is that the more difficult reading for traditional Christians is the better one. That means one account is more factual and mythical elements were added over time. So a miraculous healing began as someone thinking he was sick, then thinking he was healthy after meeting Jesus. The rationalists like Mark's Gospel, because they think Mark is early.
A third assumption is that the mass of manuscripts preserved by the Greek, Byzantine Church are inferior to the ones discovered and promoted by Count Tischendorf. The eevul Orthodox Greeks must have suppressed the good ones that the Count found and promoted.
The Bible is better preserved than any other ancient text of any kind, and we have earlier versions of the Bible than we do of more modern books. However, the modern translations follow Tischendorf, Wescott, and Hort. The KJV Bibles (older and newer) do not.
Canon Criticism
Jews and Christians have regarded the books of their traditions as canonical, rejecting the other ones as questionable. Making a big study of this leads the apostates to say with glee, "There could be 20 books in the entire Bible - or 100! It is not God's Word to man, but man's word about God."
Scepticism fuels canon criticism, and canon criticism supports scepticism - as long as the facts are concealed. An apostate will seize upon any factoid to support his attitude that the Bible is just one more religious book.
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| "Charlotte, vas dat your knee?" The Great Barth at work - teaching the Bible contains the Word of God. He conveniently erased the Sixth Commandment. |
Higher Criticism - The Historical-Critical Method - HCM
All Biblical "scholarship" today is concentrated in the Historical-Critical Method, which by definition treats the Bible as any other book.
That means every issue is debatable.
- Did Paul write Romans? Did he hate women? Rather - how much did he hate women?
- Did Jesus ever consider Himself divine?
- When did the Trinity really develop as dogma - and how did that change the original New Testament texts?
- How do we separate the mythical from the historical in the Bible?
- How did Hellenistic philosophy influence the Gospel of John?
- How did Paul turn Jesus the Rabbi into the Son of God?
- Etc. etc. etc. So much baloney and it gets far worse with the HCM gurus supporting the Lavender Mafia.
The old mainline schools like Princeton and Yale were orthodox a century or more ago. Now all the university departments and seminaries are 100% HCM.
Fuller Seminary is the dedicated to this modernism and remains the guiding light of Protestantism - especially the "conservative" Lutherans: LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). Roman Catholics are HCM and Eastern Orthodox do not care.
How To Repair the Foundations
I am an expert in desserts, after growing up in a bakery and enjoying between-the-snacks snacks all day long. Donuts and cookies make someone hungry for cookies and donuts, which is why we took food breaks.
We ate real meals away from the bakery. Nothing kills an appetite for donuts, cookies, and candy like meat, potatoes, vegetables, and salad.
The only way to fix the problem among Lutherans is to return to the text, in Hebrew where possible, in Greek often. All the theories have been published and they will be recycled every few years. The only certainty we have, as Nils Dahl stated in class, is "The text!"
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| Nils Dahl studied under Bultmann and debated Bultmann's assumptions - Dahl taught "The Text!" |
The Text!
Ministers should be studying the text of the Bible (not helper books written by synod simpletons) and the laity should be as studious. That alone will kill the appetite for corn sugar candy delivered by the religious press. It also prevents the foothold false doctrine is always seeking.
NT Greek
Greek is easy to learn and to teach. The WELS pastors are supposedly infallible, as Tim Glende claimed, because "They. Study. Greek!" Why not teach Greek to their children and also the congregation? Not everyone wants to learn NT Greek, but why hold back?
What a difference, to study the actual text and compare parallel verses? All the text-based scholarly books make sense - Lenski, Kittel, dictionaries, etc.
The English language is formed from Greek, Latin, and German, which are also the theological languages. At the very worst, a language education will make someone far more appreciative of our English language, medicine, law, and science terms.
The Quia Marias talk about the Confessions. Do they teach the text of the Confessions? I doubt it.
Here is a beautiful church sign:
NT Greek Taught Here
Book of Concord Lessons
The Vulgate is not vulgar - Learn Latin
Yes indeed, this Age belongs to the Ignorant, the Greedy, and the Self-Deluded, but we do not need to surrender to them without a fight. The best weapon is the Word, sharper than any two-edged sword.
