Changing the Goalpost of New Testament Textual Criticism

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 If this new approach in NTTC is correct, then the authority of Scripture is weakened or no longer valid.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.

About the Author :
Abidan Paul Shah has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and teaches New Testament and Greek at Piedmont International University.


Review :
"In this much-needed study of New Testament textual criticism, Shah offers far more than careful historical scholarship concerning one of the most vexing questions in this field. While his analysis offers a first-class treatment of the concept of 'original text, ' he also rediscovers ideas that speak to the current confusion concerning the overriding goal of the discipline of textual criticism. The result of Shah's work is that rare academic book that is grounded in careful research and yet speaks powerfully to the church today about the proper role and goal of New Testament textual criticism. This is a scintillating book that I believe will prove vital for the church as it seeks to be faithful to its historical documents."
--David Alan Black, M. O. Owens Jr. Chair of New Testament, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Shah's work on this vitally important topic is both thorough and insightful. He is at his best when he is tracing and documenting the major players and ideas in the modern trends of New Testament textual criticism, and even those who might be inclined to disagree with Shah's conclusions will find much in this work that is of great value to contemporary research in textual criticism."
--Edward D. Gravely, Professor of Christian Studies, Charleston Southern University

"The great pioneers of the field of New Testament textual criticism sometimes differed in method but agreed on the goal of the discipline--restoring the original text of the New Testament. Changing the Goalpost shows that some modern textual critics have abandoned this historic quest as unattainable and rightly urges a return to the traditional goal for the sake of both the academy and the church."
--Charles L. Quarles, Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary