00.2 - Foreward

from the Foreward of The Identity of the New Testament Text

Few questions are of more importance that the one suggested by the title of this book. The "identity" of the original text of the New Testament is a matter of considerable moment to every Bible-believing Christian. After all, the New Testament is a unique book and, as breathed out by God’s Holy Spirit, is genuinely inspired and inerrant in its original autographs. But many centuries and a multitude of copies have intervened since the original writing of the New Testament. Unlike the inspired autographs these copies are not free from error and must be carefully compared and evaluated in order to determine the original readings. The specialized branch of study which undertakes to do this is called "textual criticism."

It is about textual criticism that the author is writing. And he writes knowledgeably. The literature of the field has been well examined by him and, even more important, its prevailing theories have been searchingly appraised. The conclusion he reaches is that, since the late nineteenth century, these theories have been misdirected and have rendered the search for the original text a very poor service indeed. This conclusion is long overdue, and it is encouraging to see the publication of a modern book which proclaims it. As a matter of fact, the discernment of the writer is enhanced by his deep commitment to the full authority and total reliability of the New Testament Scriptures. This commitment has not been shared by many of the textual critics whose ideas he criticizes. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that some of these ideas have not really been consistent with true faith in the inspiration of God’s Word. But The Identity of the New Testament Text is not a mere pamphlet dogmatically affirming a position which cannot be adequately defended from the available data of textual criticism. There are pamphlets like that, but this is not one of them. On the contrary, the writer competently sifts the data of this highly technical field to reach conclusions that should be genuinely reassuring to every Bible believer.

It is not necessary to agree with every syllable of this book to perceive that it brings a potent indictment against contemporary textual theories. But it does more than that. It seeks also to point the way toward a more valid approach to a field of study which cannot be ignored by any serious student of the New Testament Scriptures.