Lower Criticism – The Text – Led to Higher Criticism – The Meaning of the
Word
Older
books, considered classics, are reprinted using the best possible original text
of the author. The issue is not whether people can compare and edit the Bible
texts, but how they approach their task. In the past, the Biblical text editors
were men who considered the Bible the Word of God, the infallible and inerrant
revelation of the Holy Trinity. However, the 19th century was
greatly influenced by rationalism, so various experts treated the Bible, not as
the work of God for man, but another book by man about God. The British
revision of the King James Version of the Bible was a perfect, but not unique,
example. Given the goal of a modest revision of the KJV language (using the
same Tradition Text as before), the team of Wescott and Hort secretly provided
their own text of the New Testament. The language of the KJV had been modestly
revised before – and we use that revision today – but the new Greek text
emboldened academics to treat the Bible as just another book, no different from
Homer’s Odyssey or Marco Polo’s Travels.
Perhaps
I was influenced by my father’s name – Homer – and an uncle’s name – Horace –
to immerse myself in classical culture, the so-called dead languages of Latin
and Greek, the histories of Greece and Rome. People thought it was odd to waste
my college years on Latin and Greek, even more so later. When I told the dean
of our tiny seminary that I was also taking Hebrew, he said, “Why, Greg? You
will not get academic credit for it.” However, I earned the prize at seminary
for “best Hebrew scholar” by just taking the course and won a Hebrew Old
Testament. I did more of the same at Yale, taking Hebrew exegesis of Genesis,
Greek exegesis of Thessalonians, and a doctoral seminar that assumed knowledge
of the Biblical languages. Besides that, my wife Christina earlier encouraged
me to take German 1, 2, and modern literature – and she took Greek in college.
Although
I dreamed of traveling the world on someone else’s budget, the study of languages
more than satisfied that longing - by including ancient histories, pivotal
battles on land and at sea, against great armies and against Herman the German.
I am only listing these language adventures to point out the obvious – the typical
pastor does not know Greek or Hebrew. The language of the Old Testament is
apparently too difficult for the snowflakes of today. Language requirements for
future ministers have slipped down to a summer term in Greek, $3,000 cash
payment in advance, and nothing more. If Biblical languages are almost lost
among the clergy, how much discernment can they have when dealing with the new
Bibles? They are going to aim at the popular preferences, just as they decide
on popcorn or peanuts, Coke or Pepsi, for their Sunday Seeker Services.
What
will the pastor or lay leader say when the experts say, “The woman caught in
adultery passage does not fit in the Gospel of John and is a late addition”?
How will they respond to their own New Testament teachers dropping Mark 16:9-20?
There must be a connection between selling Here I Stand socks for the Reformation’s
500th Anniversary and promoting a butchered Gospel of Mark at an inflated
price.
The
following book is aimed at laity and clergy who want to know the issues and how
to have reason for the hope within them. As I did with Walther, the American
Calvin, I am starting the book with essential study aids and how to obtain
them inexpensively.
