The Ancient Text of the New Testament
By Dr. Jakob van Bruggen
This is a scholarly consideration of modern textual criticism and how it has failed. We at Sola Scriptura Ministries are deeply concerned about this issue and feel that the scholars who have dealt with it are simply ignored by the current status quo. As van Bruggen himself puts this, “Bringing the well‑known, but rejected Byzantine text into use again leads to a totally different scope of the textual criticism. It will, in a reformatory sense, set itself the task of preserving this text. Here an appeal can be made to the often unjustly‑forgotten work of scholars such as Nolan(90), Reiche(91), Scrivener(92), Burgon(93), Birks(94) and Miller(95), who at the time confronted themselves with the theories of Griesbach, Lachmann and Westcott‑Hort.” Added to this list are contemporary scholars such as Edward F. Hills (though deceased), Theodore Letis, and others.
About the Author
Jakob van Bruggen (1936) is professor of New Testament exegesis at the Reformed Theological College in Kampen, The Netherlands. He studied theology in Kampen and Utrecht. In 1973, he obtained his doctor's degree under Prof. Dr. W.C. van Unnik (Utrecht). His thesis was entitled: “Fourteen Years Later”: The Meeting at Jerusalem of Galatians 2 and New Testament Chronology (in Dutch, with a summary in English). Professor Van Bruggen published studies on Romans, on the future of Bible translating, and on I Corinthians 11:2‑16 ("Women's Liberation and the Bible"). A contribution about the chronology of Herod according to Josephus will appear from his hand in a series of essays by Dutch New Testament scholars. In his scholarly works, Professor Van Bruggen defends the trustworthiness of the Bible as the Word of God.
What this Book is About (From the Back Cover)
In his The Ancient Text of the New Testament, Professor Van Bruggen deals with the confusion surrounding the text of the New Testament. Since 1881 (Revised Version), most new translations follow another type of Greek text than was followed in the older Bible translations (e.g. King James Version). However, this does not mean that there is unanimity regarding the correct text. On the contrary. In the newer translations, many changes occur because the science of New Testament textual criticism continually arrives at different conclusions. The Greek New Testament of the United Bible Societies (1966) in many points was established by a majority vote. Is the majority vote of a few modern scholars worth more than the majority vote of the old manuscripts? Does the division of opinions that exists today not indicate that there is reason enough to return to the ancient ecclesiastical text? Van Bruggen challenges the arguments raised against this ancient text by Hort and others after him. Briefly he surveys the field of textual criticism from Hort to Aland and Metzger. In footnotes, he refers to much literature on the topic. His conclusion is that the arguments against the text found in most manuscripts nowadays are even less convincing than in the past. For exegesis, as well as for Bible translating, it is of significance which manuscripts are used. Whoever wants to make his own judgment about this matter will find a scientific and succinct survey of the arguments in this book of Van Bruggen.
Where To Get It
This book is available from Premier Publishing, One Beghin
Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2J 3X5 for US$4.50 plus postage and handling
(Price subject to change). Bookstores and Colleges enjoy an appropriate trade
discount.