Daniel_Cheung
10-15-2008, 10:36 PM
TEXT CRITICISM UNDER THE SEARCH LIGHT
http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2008/10/text-criticism-under-search-light.html
I consider Lee Strobel a good friend and colleague in the ministry of apologetics, and he has graciously allowed me to share with you a fascinating discussion he had with one of the real NT experts on text criticism, Dr. Dan Wallace. What is revealed in this discussion is just how skewed a perspective is given us about textual variants by Bart Ehrman in his Misquoting Jesus book. The truth is, that there are precious few textual variants that would make any significant difference to our theological or ethical beliefs based in the Bible, and even in the few cases where they are of some consequence, there are other texts in the Bible which are not textually dubious that give us those same theological or ethical views. He also makes very clear, that we can be well assured that for over 90% of the text of the NT we have a pretty high degree of certainty as to what it originally said, and as for the other 10%, no significant doctrines, beliefs, practices are at issue or risk one way or another by not knowing what this or that verse originally said.
The following is an excerpt from the chapter in which Dan Wallace is interviewed in Lee's The Case for the Real Jesus which has recently come out. Used with his permission. If you like this, by all means you will want to buy and read the rest of the book, which is one of Lee's best and most detailed studies.
-----------
...
http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2008/10/text-criticism-under-search-light.html
I consider Lee Strobel a good friend and colleague in the ministry of apologetics, and he has graciously allowed me to share with you a fascinating discussion he had with one of the real NT experts on text criticism, Dr. Dan Wallace. What is revealed in this discussion is just how skewed a perspective is given us about textual variants by Bart Ehrman in his Misquoting Jesus book. The truth is, that there are precious few textual variants that would make any significant difference to our theological or ethical beliefs based in the Bible, and even in the few cases where they are of some consequence, there are other texts in the Bible which are not textually dubious that give us those same theological or ethical views. He also makes very clear, that we can be well assured that for over 90% of the text of the NT we have a pretty high degree of certainty as to what it originally said, and as for the other 10%, no significant doctrines, beliefs, practices are at issue or risk one way or another by not knowing what this or that verse originally said.
The following is an excerpt from the chapter in which Dan Wallace is interviewed in Lee's The Case for the Real Jesus which has recently come out. Used with his permission. If you like this, by all means you will want to buy and read the rest of the book, which is one of Lee's best and most detailed studies.
-----------
...