The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism [review] / Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland; translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (original) (raw)

Challenges in New Testament Textual Criticism for the Twenty-First Century

2009

Thirty years ago, NT textual criticism on this side of the Atlantic seemed to be on its last legs—so much so that Eldon Epp could write with a straight face an essay entitled “New Testament Textual Criticism in America: Requiem for a Discipline”—an article published in the Journal of Biblical Literature.1 Five years earlier, he lamented the fact that there were probably more textual critics working at the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster than there were in all of North America.2 (The INTF is responsible for producing the Nestle-Aland Greek text; there are about half a dozen fulltime textual critics working there.) What Epp described was a sad state of affairs, but the postmortem reports were nonetheless a bit premature. In the last decade and a half, the cadaver has come back to life3 and is stronger than ever. Who could have predicted that a book on textual criticism would ever make the New York Times Bestseller list? Yet Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus: The S...

"From 'Original Text' to 'Initial Text': The Traditional Goal of New Testament Textual Criticism in Contemporary Discussion."

A brief introduction and a short digression (on the questions of "is the 'original text' an authoritative text?" and "is the 'original text' a privileged goal?") set up a survey of the meaning of the phrase "original text' in late 19th and 20th-century usage. A description and assessment of several contemporary proposals to redefine the goal(s) of NT (including Epp, Wachtel & Parker on the "initial text", Ellingworth, Trobisch, Swanson, Holmes, Parker, and [for the OT] Hendel) is followed by a discussion of some collateral issues (how early a text can TC recover; is it possible to recover an authorial text; and are the gospels the sort of texts that have originals). A survey of the philosophical and epistemological commitments that shape the practice of TC concludes the essay. Publication info: in The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research: Essays on the Status Quaestionis, 2nd ed. (ed. by Bart D. Ehrman and Michael W. Holmes; NTTSD, 46; Brill, 2013 [November 2012] 637-688.

Review of Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism

Christian Apologetics Journal, 2023

The editors, Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry, assembled several contributing evangelical scholars writing in their area of expertise (some on their dissertation) to bring long overdue correction to Christian apologists, especially, how and what they report or how they argue about the textual reliability of the New Testament (NT).

New Testament Criticism: Helps And Hurts

Journal of Dispensational Theology, 2011

This is a personal survey and evaluation of the presuppositions, history, and practices used in New Testament textual criticism. An attempt is made to show the importance of the presupposition of divine preservation for widespread use in early versions to help determine which readings among extant Greek manuscripts best reflect the original.

Review of Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. Elijah Hixsonand Peter J. Gurry, eds.

Book Review, 2022

There seem to be more bad arguments attempting to defend the Bible than there are direct attacks on it. Unfortunately, one does not have to peruse the bookshelves or internet long to find some truly scandalous statements claiming to prove the purity of the Bible. In an effort to address various myths and mistakes, Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry gathered students of textual criticism from around the world. The product is a fifteen-chapter volume addressing some of the more egregious claims made by apologists and ill-informed New Testament commentators.