tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post112980057353465007..comments2024-03-29T07:11:17.775+00:00Comments on Evangelical Textual Criticism: More on evangelical distinctivesP.J. Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04388225485348300613noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-1131033750813439112005-11-03T16:02:00.000+00:002005-11-03T16:02:00.000+00:00I agree that there is no question of saying that a...I agree that there is no question of saying that all 'textual criticism' that is not 'evangelical textual criticism' is not valid. At the same time one can make the case that evangelicals are in a good position to engage in best practice in textual criticism because of their theological convictions. Although our methods may have much in common with the methods of non-evangelicals we should not preclude the possibility that we may have recourse to methods that are not generally in vogue amongst non-evangelicals. We may also find that some methods in vogue amongst non-evangelicals are inconsistent with our theology. To that extent we may have different methods.P.J. Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04388225485348300613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-1130972079271541092005-11-02T22:54:00.000+00:002005-11-02T22:54:00.000+00:00I think that evangelical textual criticism is a wo...I think that evangelical textual criticism is a worthwhile category, though you are right that it has no one distinguishing feature. It is more like a recipe with various ingredients. Once you have all the ingredients together within their correct theological framework then you have an evangelical and wholesome dish.<BR/><BR/>The phrase 'textual criticism done by evangelicals' is inadequate because 'evangelical' does not characterise the criticism but the people. Evangelicals may, alas, perform textual criticism that is thoroughly out of keeping with their principles (I could give provocative examples). Similarly I would want to distinguish 'evangelical preaching' from 'preaching done by evangelicals'--the latter could include some of the 'off days'.<BR/><BR/>It is important to clarify that it would be hard for any evangelical to claim that valid textual work could only be carried out by evangelicals since it is hard to find manuscripts that have been copied by people whom we could claim as evangelicals.<BR/><BR/>Someone who engages in 'evangelical textual criticism' may well therefore find that they have more in common in the method of their criticism with a non-evangelical (e.g. Aharon ben Asher - whether we identify him as a Karaite or Rabbanite his reverence for God inspired him to take appropriate care in his task) than with an evangelical who engages in textual criticism without applying their theology to their criticism.P.J. Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04388225485348300613noreply@blogger.com