A few years ago I presented a paper at ETS on textual criticism in the Reformation. The session was well attended and the feedback I received was positive. So I’m pleased to say that a revised version has just been published in my seminary’s journal, the Midwestern Journal of Theology.
This article is not meant to be a comprehensive study by any means: it’s more of a potted history. But for those new to the subject, I think it provides needed historical and theological context for understanding how the Reformation debates influenced and encouraged textual criticism.
You can read it on my Academia page or at the journal’s website. The entire issue is open access. (Sorry in advance for the typos.)
I just updated a the presentation to this article in an essay I'm working on. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI have a book on my shelf by Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker, "Politicizing the Bible". This argues that biblical criticism has its roots in royal critiques of the Church over the Middle Ages, extending into the Reformation.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading that book, I confess I respected Hahn (Catholic) but I have never respected Wiker. Their book is an exercise in Poisoning The Well. I feel that criticism should play the same role for the Bible as it does for Homer, or for Shakespeare, or for medical texts.
PtB does, at least, present a solid dataset which other historians (with less agenda) may use. Even if PtB / Hahn is on the other side of the trench, from this blog right here.