Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 1 Message For The 39 th Annual DBS Conference By Dr. Kirk DiVietro, DBS Vice President At Bible Baptist Church, Marietta, Georgia July 26-27, 2017 Good afternoon. I want to thank Dr. Waite for giving me the privilege of leading off the 38 th annual meeting of the Dean Burgon society. I also want to thank Dr. Cooper for his gracious hospitality and for allowing me to speak from his pulpit as well as being my friend. This year has been a particularly busy year. Thanks to Rob Winigrad and Brian Sheppard I spent many hours doing research on Codex Sinaiticus. It was a very interesting but time-consuming study. I must ve spent about $200 on books and research materials and many hours. But that is not my topic this year. I will let that to Rob and Brian. More important than that was a matter that was brought to my attention by another friend Dr. Bobby Adams. When the Nestle Aland 28 th edition of the Greek New Testament was published Bobby sent me a copy. He drew my attention to the introduction where a new philosophy of textual identity was mentioned. I was intrigued. I mentioned it in a previous Dean Burgon address but only in passing. I mentioned that the old paradigm based on the antiquity and purity of Codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus had been replaced. That is the subject I want to deal with this afternoon. The new method is called the Coherent Genealogical Based Method (CGBM). It is based on some complex theories and methodology. I ll explain a little more in detail in a moment. But this method supposedly sets aside the a priori that the reading in an early manuscript has more weight than a reading in a later manuscript. In the field of textual criticism I find that the more things change the more they remain the same. The new method produces almost exactly what the old method produced. In the Catholic epistles (I Peter through Jude) there were two significant changes where the text was altered back to a word or two from the Textus Receptus. There is an important warning to be heeded. You cannot begin to question the wording of the Scriptures without eventually questioning the authority and constitution of the Scriptures. With toothpicks holding my eyes open and ice picks in my ears I listened to the debate between Bart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace held at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on the topic, Is the Original New Testament Lost? 1. In that debate Dr. Daniel Wallace took the more conservative position. Dr. Bart Ehrman, who at one time claimed to be born again and who was a member of an evangelical church, now describes himself as an agnostic, took the liberal position. Dr. Ehrman went first. He wove an intricate web of doubt. He had four primary questions.what is the original? First, is it desirable or even possible to discover the original text of the New Testament? His second question was Where are the early MSS of the NT? His third question dealt with the myriad of variants presented four readings in the manuscripts? And finally Why can t scholars agree on the text? 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg-dja3snta&t=7s published on February 13, 2012.
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 2 The first question was the most significant. Ehrman went on to point out that it is impossible to know what the original said. He did so by asking what was the original? Was it the words that were in the mind of the author? Was it the words that he spoke to his secretary? Was it the words that the secretary penned, (which might include errors and modifications made by that secretary)? Was it the copy that the recipient received and then copied (adding more errors and modifications)? Was it the copy that ultimately was standardized and circulated among the churches? Having cast that net of doubt he then went on to inform his hearers that II Corinthians was not written by Paul. Surprise! No, said Ehrman. The first nine chapters of II Corinthians were the result of cutting and pasting from some Pauline or pseudo-pauline writings. The last four chapters were supplied by a similar source. In fact according to Ehrman Paul only wrote five letters. What a surprise to the early church fathers in 2000 years of Christians! He then went on to tell his audience that the first two chapters of Luke were added later. As well as the last 11 verses of Mark. And of course neither the first nor the last chapter of John were genuine. He then pose the question were these books the original before or after these modifications? And then it was Dr. Wallace s turn. To my amazement he agreed with Dr. Ehrman s higher criticism of these New Testament books! To summarize the rest of the debate Dr. Ehrman stated that the scribal standards of the first two centuries were so lax that by the third century the original wording was hopelessly lost. He supported it by pointing out the number of variants between the Alexandrian text (as an example of the stated the text in the fourth century) and the ninth century (the textus Receptus). He extrapolated backwards and multiplied the number based on his conjecture that the scribes were careless. Dr. Wallace argued that the vast majority of variants are inconsequential spelling errors that are obvious and easily corrected. He pointed out that less than 1% of the variants had any significance at all. He further argued that there is no factual basis for assuming sloppy copying in the first three centuries of Christianity. Don t miss my primary reason for discussing the debate. Dr. Wallace was willing to concede the higher critical view of the New Testament. He was willing to allow scholars to carve large proportions of significant Scripture out of his Bible. Mark 16 as we all know declares the resurrection of Christ. Dr. Wallace stated specifically he believes that the original text of Mark did not include the resurrection versus. He was willing to concede that Luke 1 and 2 which declared the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ might not belong to the Scriptures. He was willing to concede that John 1 which takes us back from Bethlehem to eternity past where God the word already existed. He was willing to give away at least consider II Corinthians spurious. Why? Because once you give away the inspiration and preservation of the Scriptures it is only a matter of time before you give everything significant away as well. The doctrines affected by those admissions include only such insignificant doctrines as the Trinity, The full divinity of Christ, the full humanity of Christ, the nature of the atoning sacrifice of his death, and some of the favorite stories of Jesus life. Nothing all that important. For my outline this afternoon I would like to use a paragraph from the foreword of the Nestle Aland 28 th edition. This foreword neatly summarizes the issue for us. Don t get ready to go to sleep. I don t intend to try to unravel this Gordian knot of intellectual humbuggery in detail. I have been reading and studying for months and still do not have all the details. But I do think I can give you a glimpse of the overall concept.
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 3 [This 28 th edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece is, on the one hand, a thoroughgoing revision of the 27 th edition and remains closely related to it in many respects. On the other hand, the NEW edition presents a fundamentally NEW conception, at least with respect to the Catholic Letters, because for this part of the New Testament the Editio Critica Major (ECM) is already available. The ECM represents a NEW level of scientific research on the text of the Greek New Testament and offers a text NEWly established on this basis. New insights and results had to be incorporated into the present hand edition. For this reason the text of the Catholic Letters was taken over from the ECM and the apparatus was reconstructed on its basis. For the Catholic Letters the Nestle-Aland in fact relates to the ECM as the editio minor. The text of the remaining New Testament writings will remain unchanged until progress with the ECM provides the material and knowledge needed for a sustainable revision. A certain inconsistency in the 28th edition could not be avoided. This is due to the wish to transfer achievements made in the context of the ECM to the hand editions, although these NEW achievements are available at the present time for a part of the New Testament only 2.] Did you hear it? Six times in this brief passage we are told about something new. Not one of the new things implies a good thing. Let s take special notice of the new things and then consider their implications. This 28 th edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece is, on the one hand, a thoroughgoing revision of the 27 th edition and remains closely related to it in many respects. On the other hand, the NEW edition presents a fundamentally NEW conception, at least with respect to the Catholic Letters, because for this part of the New Testament the Editio Critica Major (ECM) is already available. The ECM represents a NEW level of scientific research on the text of the Greek New Testament and offers a text NEWLY established on this basis. New insights and results had to be incorporated into the present hand edition. For this reason the text of the Catholic Letters was taken over from the ECM and the apparatus was reconstructed on its basis. For the Catholic Letters the Nestle-Aland in fact relates to the ECM as the editio minor. The text of the remaining New Testament writings will remain unchanged until progress with the ECM provides the material and knowledge needed for a sustainable revision. A certain inconsistency in the 28th edition could not be avoided. This is due to the wish to transfer achievements made in the context of the ECM to the hand editions, although these NEW achievements are available at the present time for a part of the New Testament only 3.] As we all know the Bible tells us: Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. This is especially true when we are talking about the Bible. When I study the Bible and I find something 2 Because of their work we now have the catholic epistles right. Of all the New Testament books only they are perfectly (or as perfectly as we can get to them) the words of God. 3 Because of their work we now have the catholic epistles right. Of all the New Testament books only they are perfectly (or as perfectly as we can get to them) the words of God.
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 4 that I ve never heard anyone say I turn to commentaries and sermons by other people. I make a few phone calls and speak to people like Dr. Waite or Dr. Cooper to test my thinking. If I cannot find at least one reasonable person who agrees with me I assume that I m wrong. There s nothing new under the sun. I have the same Holy Spirit that Christians have had for the last 2000 years. If He has showed it to me then surely He has shown it to someone else before. Let s take particular note of the things that are new in this 28 th edition of the Greek New Testament. 1. The NEW Edition Why does an author or group released a new addition of their work? If they have sold out all every copy of their work in print more they call that process a new printing. A new edition indicates significant changes have been made since the last time the work was released. Especially in academic works a new edition supersedes all predecessors. The reader is to assume that the work has become more accurate. Is that what the Nestle Aland committee tells us? No. Listen to their words, This 28 th edition of the Novum Testament Graece is, on the one hand a thoroughgoing revision of the 27 th edition The text of the remaining New Testament writings [my comment: minus the Catholic epistles] will remain unchanged. Which one is it? Has the text been thoroughly revised or is it basically the same? And if it s only different in the Catholic epistles why? Were they somehow flawed in the earlier work while the rest of the New Testament was correct? As per usual scholars one it both ways. They always leave the back door to make a quick exit when they get caught in their subterfuges. 2. [The new edition] presents a fundamentally NEW conception, at least with respect to the Catholic Letters, Now we come to the important part. All the other new things flow out of this new thing. A man named Gerd Mink introduced the concept in discussions hosted by the German Bible Society in Münster Germany. For years the basic canon of textual criticism was the reading from an older more reliable manuscript has more weight than readings from newer manuscripts. We see the effect of that canon all through the Wescott Hort revision of the New Testament. There heavy reliance on Codex B especially when supported by Codex Sinaiticus is evident all through the Gospels. Subsequent editors of the Wescott Hort text now known as the Nestle Aland text follow that canon until now. With the publication of Mink s paper traditional textual criticism stood on its head. The German Bible Society have assembled the largest database of New Testament variance. It is in a compendium entitled the Editio Critica Maior. This compilation contains the 400,000 variants of the New Testament. Or, at least the most important ones. And of course it s not necessary to list every Byzantine or TR type manuscript. But the ECM contains all the other Greek manuscripts. It includes lectionaries and citations by the church fathers. And it also includes pertinent early translations of the New Testament into
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 5 other languages where those translations help us to discern ambiguous Greek passages. A huge compendium of readings doesn t do us any good unless we have a real good theory on how to use them. That s where Mink came in. Mink s theory the CGBM states that the manuscript in which a reading is found does not count. Instead of arranging manuscripts in their relationships to each other Mink decided to arrange readings in their relationships to each other. He and his assistants decided which readings were related. They then decided which readings were the source of the other readings. And by a convoluted complicated methodology they ultimately assigned mathematical values to each reading. Then it was a simple task to run a computer analysis and determine the proper reading. 3. The ECM represents a NEW level of scientific research on the text Here is an important implication. The editors tell us that textual criticism has been raised to a science. This flies in the face of the historic position of men like Bruce Metzger who said that textual criticism is an art as much as a science. You would not know it by reading the editors statement that textual critics still believe that. This statement implies that we have removed the subjective judgment of human minds and replaced it with the scientific method. To the casual reader it looks like we have pierced that invisible barrier and there is no longer any question whatsoever about the most accurate reading. Don t get too worried. As usual with in a few paragraphs they ll contradict themselves. They can help it. After all those mathematical values didn t just drop out of the sky. They are not included on the manuscripts on which these readings appear. They are the result of scholars assigning them based on their own judgments on each reading. And they do not all agree. That is why the Nestle Aland text still lists the variants. The eclectic text is still a hodgepodge of guesswork. 4. [The CGBM] offers a text NEWLY established on this basis. This new text is the natural conclusion of the new concept. What would be the purpose of establishing a new concept if you re not going to use it. And if you use it you re going to have to come up with a new text and if you come up with a new text based on the superior concept, one would then have a firmer establishment or foundation for that text isn t science wonderful! But this new methodology has only been applied to the Catholic epistles! This is the same as if the King James translators simply did the Catholic epistles and attached them to the Geneva or bishops Bibles. Anyone reading that document would ask, why didn t you either publish the Catholic epistles separately or wait until you had done the entire New Testament? Why did you release a duckbilled platypus? One has to ask the question why did Nestle Aland rushed to print? Isn t that the historical basis for rejecting Erasmus s Work? Was there some impediment which prevented them from completing the other 21 Books of the New Testament? Sometimes when we don t understand something it is best to follow the money. Later in the foreword there is a reference to financing.
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 6 Finally, it must be emphasized that this edition could not have been provided without financial from the German Bible Society. Is the Nestle Aland 28 th edition a trial balloon for this new method? Or better yet, did they need to publish to generate more support for their effort. I don t know. I m just curious. 5. NEW insights and results had to be incorporated into the present hand edition. Note the sense of urgency. They had to be incorporated into the present hand edition. According to the editors of the text of the remaining New Testament writings will remain unchanged until progress with the ECM provides the material and knowledge needed for a sustainable revision. That would seem to indicate that the present 28 th edition is not sustainable. Their next statement tells us why. A certain inconsistency in the 28th edition could not be avoided. And why could it not be avoided? Because they have used two different methods to determine the proper text. Each method produces a different result. Therefore nobody is going to put stock in this duckbilled platypus. The new insight has not yet been established. It was not worth weeding to complete the New Testament using that method. If it cannot gain acceptance why would you waste the time and resources to revise the entire New Testament? 6.... these NEW achievements are available at the present time for a part of the New Testament only 4. It s a strange thing. We have already seen John s gospel edited using these methods. There is a host of editors (grad students, professors, etc.) working on the New Testament books. It would only have been a matter of a few years if they had waited. In essence they are saying We have something great for you, something new, something that s the result of a whole brand-new concept, something that incorporates these new insights and produces a new text that sustainable and replaces all that of come before it, and which will result in new translations, BUT we can only give you a little taste right now. These new attributes will be essential for your eternal destiny we felt like we had to get it right so that you can get it right. We were so moved by this method we couldn t wait to let you taste it. We can only give you seven little books right now for the tidy little some of $40. You ll just have to wait for the rest and pay a second time for the same information. And probably pay more. The New Method This methodology hangs on the denial of two great truths found in the Scriptures about the Scriptures. To be a textual critic one must deny that the Scriptures are the inspired words of God. That is the whole reason for questioning what the original is. We know what the original is. For ever O Lord thy word is established in heaven. 5 The original is what God wrote from eternity past. Inspiration is simply God s method from getting his word from heaven to the earth. The new method ultimately says it doesn t matter. But we 4 Because of their work we now have the catholic epistles right. Of all the New Testament books only they are perfectly (or as perfectly as we can get to them) the words of God. 5 Psalm 119:89
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 7 know that it does. Jesus based the teaching of the immortal soul on the verb tense in Genesis revealed and written at least 1400 years before he used it as evidence. The apostle Paul hung the doctrine of salvation by faith on the tense singular form of a noun similarly found in Genesis. If the Bible has any power it is because it is the eternal words of an unchangeable eternal God. That brings us to the second great truth. If the Bible is to be of any use to you and I then God must have preserved those supernatural words which had been tried seven times in a furnace perfect converting the soul from the time they were written until the time that we write. Either we have the words of God as he revealed them to the original authors and move their hands to form the letters on the ancient pages or we do not. If we do not have those words then we have nothing to serve as an anchor for the soul. Despite the claims of apostate and infidel scholars God has preserved his word. Every time a child of hell becomes a child of God we have the proof that: 6 The Bible stands like a rock undaunted Mid the raging storms of time; Its pages burn with the truth eternal, And they glow with a light sublime. The Bible stands like a mountain tow ring Far above the works of men; Its truth by none ever was refuted, And destroy it they never can. The Bible stands and it will forever, When the world has passed away; 6 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: Psalm 19:7 9 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Psalm 119:89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 12:6 7 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Matthew 24:35 (Mark 13:3,1Luke 21:33) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Isaiah 48:5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. 1 Peter 1:23 25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Need we add in: "The word of the Lord came unto me..." "That it might be fulfilled that was written in the scriptures..."
Attacking The TR By The Genealogical Method By Dr. Kirk DiVietro 8 By inspiration it has been given, All its precepts I will obey. The Bible stands every test we give it, For its Author is divine; By grace alone I expect to live it, And to prove and to make it mine. Refrain: The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble; I will plant my feet on its firm foundation, For the Bible stands. There was no need for revision, recension, or redaction. The first publication of a Bible book was perfect and complete.