Textual Criticism The Fundamentals

Many Christians whom I have asked if they knew what 'textual criticism' was don't have the slightest idea. I hear often times, "what's that?"

Textual Critiscism is not to be confused with Higher Criticism. TC is the study of any written work of which the autograph is unknown, with the purpose of assertaining the original text. Hundreds of textual scholars over the last 400 - years have given their lives to this work. One can feel most confident that our NA27 and our UBS4 master Greek texts are predominately the same as the originals that were penned so long ago. Bible scholars Norman L. Geisler and William Nix conclude: "The New Testament, then, has not only survived in more manuscripts than any other book from antiquity, but it has survived in a purer form than any other great book - a form that is 99.5 percent pure."

So, Textual Criticism is both an art and a science. It is a science because it has principles or guidelines that must be followed. Additionally, it is an art because it is all about balance in applying those principles. It is a careful comparison of all known original language manuscripts (including lectionaries) and versions of the Bible in other languages (for example, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian), as well as patristic quotations in order to determine the original reading. This would include the elimination of any additions that may have crept into the text, as well as restoring any portion that may have been removed by accident. This work is often referred to as "lower criticism," which is constructive criticism; it should be set be set apart from "higher criticism," which is typically destructive criticism.