This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. Although many conservative scholars have had reservations about biblical criticism since its rise a century ago, Carl Armerding contends that critical rationalism need not be antithetical to belief in a divinely inspired Word of God. Indeed, says Armerding, the evangelical scholar -- mediating the traditional conservative view and the rational critical view of Scripture -- is able to use all the tools of historical, philological, and literary study, while still retaining biblical categories of revelation, inspiration, and history. Armerding applies this synthesis of approaches -- the traditional and the critical -- to four major branches of criticism: literary (or source) criticism, form criticism, structural analysis, and textual criticism. Cautioning against misuse of these critical methods, he demonstrates how each method can be conscientiously used by faithful scholars to enrich their understanding of the Old Testament text. Of great value to scholars, students, and pastors, Armerding's work promises to enrich study of the Old Testament much as George Eldon Ladd's book (The New Testament and Criticism) has enriched study of the New.

Mark Gignilliat discusses critical theologians and their theories of Old Testament interpretation in this concise overview, providing a working knowledge of the historical foundation of contemporary discussions on Old Testament interpretation. Old Testament interpretation developed as theologians and scholars proposed critical theories over time. These figures contributed to a large, developing complex of ideas and trends that serves as the foundation of contemporary discussions on interpretation. Mark Gignilliat brings these figures and their theories together in A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism. His discussion is driven by influential thinkers such as Baruch Spinoza and the critical tradition, Johann Semler and historical criticism, Hermann Gunkel and romanticism, Gerhard von Rad and the tradition-historical approach, Brevard Childs and the canonical approach, and more. This concise overview is ideal for classroom use as it provides a working knowledge of the major critical interpreters of the Old Testament, their approach to the subject matter, and the philosophical background of their approaches. Further reading lists direct readers to additional resources on specific theologians and theories. This book will serve as a companion to the forthcoming textbook Believing Criticism by Richard Schultz.

The study of Old Testament criticism requires the bridges of an important cultural gap because the home of the method and the place of its most creative use is still Germany. In this authoritative work, British scholar John Rogerson discusses two specific questions: how did the critical method arise in Germany in the nineteenth century, and how was its reception into England affected by the theological and philosophical climate? This is the first book which attempts to trace in such detail the impact of German critical method upon scholarship in England. As such it is a valuable contribution to the history of Old Testament scholarship and to the history of ideas. Part I examines German scholarship from 1800-60, from the founder of modern criticism, W. M. L. de Wette, through to the submergence of this early radicalism by the so-called positive criticism, and the confessional orthodoxy led by Hengstenberg. Part II investigates the use of Old Testament criticism in England with particular attention to contacts between Germany and England and to a comparison of the respective intellectual climates. Part III focuses again on German scholarship, particularly on the rebirth of de Wettian ideas, as expressed by Julius Wellhausen. It explains how the reception of Wellhausen in England involved a modification of his position in the light of neo-Hegelian philosophy.

Utilizing Mark and Luke-Acts as case studies, Norman Petersen moves beyond redaction criticism to show both the necessity and the possibility for literary criticism to be an integral part of the historical-critical study of biblical writings.

Before the 1960s, the goal of New Testament Textual Criticism was singular: to retrieve the "original text" of the New Testament. Since then, the goalpost has incrementally shifted away from the "original text" to retrieving "any text" or "many texts" of the NT. Some scholars have even concluded that the "original text" is hopelessly lost and cannot be retrieved with any confidence or accuracy. Other scholars have gone a step further to claim that the idea of an "original text" itself is a misconception that needs to be abandoned. If this new approach in NTTC is correct, then the authority of Scripture is weakened or no longer valid. It will be shown in this book that such is not the case. Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on the need to return to the traditional goalpost of NTTC, i.e., to retrieve the original text. Without a generally definitive text, the door will be left wide open to recreate any desired text of the NT. An unsettled original text will result in an unsettled biblical theology due to a lack of any authoritative and standard text. Consequently, it will lead to an unsettled Christian faith and practice.