The Text of the New Testament: October 15 Presentation

Earlier this week I posted some suggested readings, in advance of the event to held October 15, 2016 at Concordia University, with the assigned topic: “Textual and Literary Judgments on the Biblical Text–What Happens to the Lutheran Commitment to Scriptural Inerrancy?” That post is available here, and I encourage you to read the items that I highlighted there, particularly since they are aimed at non-specialists. The event will be live streamed at this site.

In my earlier post I mentioned that I would provide my paper in advance of the event. My paper is available for download here. You will notice that it is rather long (24 pages), so I will not have time to read the entire paper. This will give you opportunity to see my entire treatment of the topic, as well as to follow along online. I figured that if I did all this work I might as well have people read it.

The event organizers in their publicity material provided a link to my 2006 Ph.D. thesis, submitted to the University of Leeds. So I decided to discuss two passages that I covered in that thesis: 1 Corinthians 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, on the off-chance that people had decided to read my thesis. I would encourage you to read my discussion of the following specific passages in advance. This is the link to the UK site hosting the thesis. The volume and page references for each passage are:

List of manuscript readings for 2:4: Volume 3, p. 761, entry 12

Textual discussion of 2:4: Volume 1, pp. 47-52.

List of manuscript readings for 14:34-35 (move to after v. 40): Volume 4, p. 1196, entry 149

Textual discussion of 14:34-35: Volume 2, pp. 497-556.

In addition, Dr. Montgomery has also made his paper available in advance. He plans to critique my thesis discussions of 1 Corinthians 7:34-45 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. So, I encourage you to read those discussions in advance also:

List of manuscript readings for 7:34-35: Volume 3, pp. 914-19

Textual discussion of 7:34-35: Volume 1, pp. 160-87 (conclusions on pp. 186-87).

List of manuscript readings for 8:6: Volume 3, p. 940 (entry 25)

Textual discussion of 8:6: Volume 1, pp. 209-10 (entry 8:6.25)

It is my hope that this conference, and all of our work, might reflect the goals of true theology:

And in this end and purpose of theology, to lead sinners through faith in Christ unto salvation, Walther saw the most precious thing about the vocation of a theologian. On this subject he often spoke to the students with fervent eloquence, that he might endear to them that service in the Church, which is so despised by the world, as the most important and blessed service in which a man can be engaged. Walther was also accustomed to speak of the fact that theology contains a most powerful admonition for every theologian, just for this reason, that, in theology everything is directed toward the salvation of men.

From “Dr. C.F.W. Walther As Theologian,” by Dr. Franz Pieper,  translated by W. H. McLaughlin