Page 87 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

BIBLE VERSIONS

The Trinitarian Bible Society issued the following 400 and the number of Catholic colleges from two to
wise warning: “We must not permit our judgment to be 29.
overawed by great names in the realm of biblical Many of the prominent early textual critics were
‘scholarship’ when it is so clearly evident that the Unitarians, including Daniel Mace (1685-1753), Johann
distinguished scholars of the present century are merely Wettstein (1693-1754), Alexander Geddes (1737-1802),
reproducing the case presented by rationalists during Edward Harwood (1729-94), George Vance Smith
the last two hundred years. Nor should we fail to (1816-1902), Ezra Abbot (1819-84), Joseph Henry
recognise that scholarship of this kind has degenerated Thayer (1828-1901), and Caspar Rene Gregory
into a skeptical crusade against the Bible, tending to (1846-1917). Unitarians influenced not only the
lower it to the level of an ordinary book of merely development of modern textual criticism, but also
human composition” (If the Foundations Be Destroyed, worked directly on key Bible translations such as the
T.B.S. Article No. 14, p. 13). English Revised of 1881 and the American Standard of
Zane Hodges, former professor of New Testament 1901.
Literature and Exegesis at Dallas Theological Seminary, Consider just a few of the prominent modern textual
gave the same warning: “The acceptance of the newer criticism of past and present:
critical editions of the New Testament does not rest on Johann Jakob Griesbach (1745-1812).
factual data which can be objectively verified, but rather
upon a prevailing consensus of critical thought. IT WILL Griesbach, a German, was one of the most important
BE THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISCUSSION TO SHOW names in the development of modern textual criticism.
THAT CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL TEXTS ARE, IN While some (particularly evangelicals and
FACT, THE FRUIT OF A RATIONALISTIC APPROACH TO fundamentalists) have tried to downplay his role, he
NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM” (Hodges, was, in fact, extremely influential. Marvin R. Vincent
“Rationalism and Contemporary New Testament Textual says, “With Griesbach, really critical texts may be said to
Criticism,” Bibliotheca Sacra, January 1971, pp. 27-35). have begun” (Marvin Vincent, A History of the Textual
Criticism of the New Testament, 1899, p. 100). Westcott
Edward F. Hills, who had a doctorate in modern and Hort said that in certain matters they venerated the
textual criticism from Harvard University, said: name of Griesbach “above that of every other textual
“WEAKENED BY DEAD ORTHODOXY AND PIETISM, critic of the New Testament” (New Testament in Greek,
CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTS OF THE LATE 17TH 1881, vol. 2, p. 185). They adopted many of his
AND 18TH CENTURIES FAILED TO RESIST THE RISING principles of textual criticism and popularized them in
NEUTRAL WORLD-VIEW AS VIGOROUSLY AS THEY their writings. A.T. Robertson states that Hort held
SHOULD HAVE DONE. Instead of taking their stand Griesbach “to be the great man in textual criticism
upon God’s revelation of Himself in holy Scripture and before his own day” (An Introduction to Textual
pointing out that the neutral world-view is not really Criticism, p. 30). In fact, Hort felt that “he was in reality
neutral but antichristian and full of contradictions, they taking up the work of Griesbach afresh” (Robertson, An
began to adopt it themselves, especially in those areas Introduction, p. 29). Bruce Metzger observes: “Griesbach
of thought not specifically covered by their Reformation laid foundations for all subsequent work on the Greek
creeds, namely, philosophy and biblical introduction and text of the New Testament ... The importance of
above all New Testament textual criticism” (Edward Griesbach for New Testament textual criticism can
Hills, The King James Bible Defended, pp. 1, 44). scarcely be overestimated” (Metzger, The Text of the New
The last half of the nineteenth century, when modern Testament, pp. 119, 121). Metzger reminds us that
textual criticism was developed, was an hour of Westcott and Hort did not collate any manuscripts or
deepening apostasy. Theological modernism was provide a critical apparatus; rather they “refined the
blossoming. Human philosophy was brazenly exalting critical methodology developed by Griesbach,
itself against God’s Word (e.g., Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, L a c h m a n n , a n d o t h e r s , a n d a p p l i e d i t
Ingersoll). Unitarianism was making great gains. rigorously” (Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, p.
Evolution, Communism, and Cults such as Mormonism, 129).
Jehovah’s Witness, Theosophy, Unity, and Christian Griesbach was influenced from his undergraduate
Science were on the rise. Roman Catholicism was also days by the rising tide of Rationalism sweeping over
making new advances and was sweeping through Germany and “was a foe of orthodox Christianity” (D.A.
England on the back of the Oxford Movement. In 1840 Thompson, The Controversy Concerning the Last Twelve
there were not 500 Roman priests in all of England, but Verses of the Gospel According to Mark, p. 40).
by 1890 there were 2,600 (H.G. Guinness, Romanism Griesbach was strongly influenced by his teacher at
and the Reformation, 1891, pp. 2-3). In the same period Halle, the modernist Johann Semler (1725-91). Semler
the number of Catholic convents rose from 16 to over is “often regarded as the father of German

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity 87