There are only seven days left for you to join with Credo House in the production of its first Credo Course, New Testament Textual Criticism. This means that there are only seven days left for you to get this course at a price that will seldom be seen.
Let me try to twist your arm by giving you seven short reasons to love textual criticism.
Reason Number 7: It is the first step in all Bible Study
When I was in seminary, the most feared courses came in the Old and New Testament departments. The papers that our fear focused on were called “Exegeticals.” That was always the question: “Have you finished your exegetical?” Exegeticals constituted the core of our study of the Bible and the study of the Bible constituted the core source of truth for our faith and ministry. Therefore, if we could not do exegeticals well, did we really have any hope of encouraging people with the truths of God’s word? “Exegetical” comes from the word “exegesis” meaning “to lead” or “bring out.” We are to “bring out of the Scripture what was already there as opposed to lead or bring into the text what we wanted to be there.
Of the many components involved in exegeticals (including translating, diagramming, word studies, and validation) was textual criticism. In fact, textual criticism was the first step of bringing out of the text what was truly there. If we were to skip textual criticism, we might as well hang up any hope of ever knowing what the text really means. Why? Because without textual criticism there is no way to know what the text even says!
You see, textual criticism seeks to discover what the original manuscripts really said. This is not always easy. There are many ancient manuscripts that we look to when we are attempting to reconstruct the Bible. With the New Testament alone there are nearly 6,000 existing manuscripts that we use as evidence. In order to “decide” what the original said, we have to compare all of these manuscripts and make some very important decisions when they differ.
How do we do that? That is what this course is all about. It is the first step in all Bible study and we want you to be skilled in this essential field of biblical studies.
Please click here to kick start this extremely important course on Textual Criticism by one of the best professors in the field. Accessible to all without being watered down.
May Jesus receive more passionate worship through this course,
Credo House Team
3 replies to "Seven Reasons to Love Textual Criticism: #7 It’s the first step in all of Bible Study"
Exegeting the scriptures is very important but sometimes I think that we miss the life applications amongst the complex thinking that we put into the scriptures. I believe that Jesus would want us to do both: exegete the scriptures for deeper meaning as well as get the simple basic life application from the same scripture. What lesson can I learn from this scripture that can help me make it through today?
“Margaret Ivory says: what lesson can I learn from this scripture that can help me make it through today?”
and mostly…
“May Jesus receive more passionate worship through this course”
…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:3
If one does not hear the Scriptures (preaching)…or read the Scriptures as a matter of ‘life and death’..
then all one will come away with is religious noise. Or “life applications”. A ‘how-to’ book.
Jesus is trying to put us to death. To take our best and nail it to the cross…with Him. And then raise us again, to new life.
Over and over and over again.
What good are “life applications” to someone on their deathbed? Not much. We need a Savior. Not a life coach. Even the Muslims and Hindus and Jews have life coaching.
We have something far better.
Thanks.