Catholic Epistles Research Articles

A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method by Tommy Wasserman and Peter J. Gurry

Reviewed by: A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method by Tommy Wasserman and Peter J. Gurry Peter Malik tommy wasserman and peter j. gurry, A New Approach to Textual Criticism: An Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (SBLRBS 80; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017). Pp. xvi + 146. Paper $19.95. There seems to be no shortage of introductions to textual criticism, with few of them having long-term value and utility. This book by Tommy Wasserman and Peter J. Gurry certainly belongs to the latter. The authors aim to introduce the theoretical foundations and practical workings of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM), a new computerized method developed by Gerd Mink at the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF) in Münster. Most importantly, the INTF has utilized the method as a central working tool in preparing the text of the Editio Critica Maior (ECM). Given the complexity of the method and the fact that it has been used almost exclusively by the ECM editors, there has been a good deal of misunderstanding and reservation on the part of "outsiders." Although there have been numerous specialized studies published on the subject (including G.'s recent monograph, A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in New Testament Textual Criticism [NTTSD 55; Leiden: Brill, 2017]), for a long time a plain introduction has been a desideratum. The New Approach is just such a text. In the space of six concise, clearly structured chapters, followed by an annotated bibliography and a glossary, W. and G. elucidate the CBGM in such a way that even a nonspecialist may be able to understand its basics. Each chapter retains a consistent structure, starting with a few sentences of a summary, followed by the main contents and conclusion, as well as a short list of key terms. In the introductory chapter, the authors outline the basic aspects of text-critical inquiry, especially as they relate to the changing landscape of the current state of discipline. Naturally, the CBGM lies at the very heart of this change, and the authors outline the most notable effects of its application to the study of the NT text. The rejection of text types and the renewed appreciation for the mainstream Byzantine text are, perhaps, the most striking ones. The next chapter provides a general overview of the method. Here G. and W. sketch out the method's historical development, as well as the key problems and concepts. Since the CBGM is a stemmatic method based on the analysis of two types of textual coherence, the concepts of "coherence" and "stemma" are foundational and hence are also the subject of the following three chapters. In chap. 3, W. and G. consider "pregenealogical coherence," which is basically the percentage of agreement between witnesses at all the variation units where they are compared. The example they use to illustrate its use is the famous variation at Mark 1:1, to which W. is known to have dedicated no small scholarly attention (T. Wasserman, "The 'Son of God' Was in the Beginning [Mark 1:1])," JTS 62 [2011] 20–50; idem, "Historical and Philological Correlations and the CBGM as Applied to Mark 1:1," TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 20 [2015] 1–11). Perhaps the most important end to which this evidence can be directed is to adjudge where the agreement between witnesses is more likely to be coincidental and where genetic. At the same time, the main limitation of pregenealogical coherence is that it does not tell us anything about the direction of change within a given variation unit (i.e., a "local stemma")—the editors must make up their own minds. This information is, at each point, fed into a database. The sum total of pregenealogical evidence and editorial judgment derived from all the local stemmata constitutes the second type of coherence, namely, "genealogical coherence." [End Page 564] The ins and outs of genealogical coherence are discussed in chap. 4 and illustrated by helpful examples from the Catholic Epistles and Acts. Next, chap. 5 concerns the "global stemma." The authors define it as "the simplest hypothesis about how the text of our...

Jude on the Attack: A Comparative Analysis of the Epistle of Jude, Jewish Judgement Oracles, and Greco-Roman Invective by Alexandra Robinson

Reviewed by: Jude on the Attack: A Comparative Analysis of the Epistle of Jude, Jewish Judgement Oracles, and Greco-Roman Invective by Alexandra Robinson John Painter alexandra robinson, Jude on the Attack: A Comparative Analysis of the Epistle of Jude, Jewish Judgement Oracles, and Greco-Roman Invective (LNTS 581; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017). Pp. xix + 251. $114. This book bears the marks of Robinson's Ph.D. thesis (Macquarie University, 2016; supervised by Larry Welborn and Stephen Llewellyn). It is systematically detailed but at times unidiomatic in its expression. It follows a clear plan set out in the introduction (chap. 1) and in each new section/chapter. This is clear, if at times tedious. In the introduction, she deals with matters presupposed in her treatment. She notes that Jude's authenticity was disputed in the late fourth century because of its use of the pseudepigraphic Book of Enoch. The evidence for this is found in Jerome's De viris illustribus 4, in his brief account of Jude. Jerome notes that, because the epistle "quotes from the book of Enoch it is rejected by many" (NPNF: Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius, and Rufinus [ed. Philip Schaff; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1892]). In response she correctly notes that 1 Enoch is one of the most commonly attested works at Qumran and that, at the time, there was no clear-cut recognition of canonical works as distinct from pseudepigrapha. Yet R. fails to note that the authenticity of Jude was questioned in the early fourth century (ca. 320 c.e.) because, like James and the other Catholic Epistles apart from 1 John and 1 Peter, it lacked early attestation (see Eusebius Hist. eccl. 2.23.24-25; 3.25.3). Though Jerome unashamedly drew on Eusebius for his pre-fourthcentury lives, he fails to note Eusebius's comments. R. briefly treats the question of authorship in chap. 2, but she concludes that it "is partially irrelevant" (p. 9). That "partially" exonerates R. from the necessity to justify the identification of the author as one of the brothers of the Lord, but she tentatively adopts this position without addressing the lack of [End Page 745] early attestation or adequately treating other related issues. R. rightly justifies ignoring overlaps with 2 Peter, recognizing the use of Jude by 2 Peter (pp. 10-11). Textual issues are reduced to choosing between NA27 or 28 in vv. 5 and 22-23, and only the latter makes much difference. In chap. 3 (and in the book as a whole), R. evidences a wide use of English-language literature. She notes the importance of "Greco-Roman and Jewish influences woven throughout the epistle" and, in preparation for the assertion of authorship by Jude, contends, quite rightly, that "Greek language and culture steadily infiltrated the entire Mediterranean . . . including Jewish Palestine" (p. 18). R. combines evidence of the sophisticated use of Greek vocabulary and genre with the assertion of the Jewish character of Jude and its evidence of the influence of Jewish traditions (pp. 20-21), elaborating the subtitle of the book as a comparative analysis of Jewish judgment oracles and Greco-Roman invective. In the introduction, R. asserts that Jude "is a polemical text which takes the form (structure, aims and style) of a typical Greco-Roman invective but is filled with Jewish content (themes and allusions), drawing on Israel's heritage for the benefit of his primarily Jewish-Christian audience" (p. 5). If the epistle is by Jude, the use of "Jewish-Christian" seems to be an anachronism, as it fits a time period later than the author to whom it is attributed. The main body of the book (chaps. 4–7) deals with Jude as the expression of Jewish judgment oracles and Greco-Roman invective from the perspective of structure (chap. 4), aims (chap. 5), themes (chap. 6), and style (chap. 7). Here R. makes detailed use of evidence of Greco-Roman invective to establish its presence in Jude and similarly offers evidence of Jewish judgment oracles to affirm their place in the document, and "how each genre broadly functions in relation to structure, aims, themes, and style" (p. 38). Robinson makes a good case for the...

James, First, Second, and Third John by Kelly Anderson and Daniel Keating

Reviewed by: James, First, Second, and Third John by Kelly Anderson and Daniel Keating Steven C. Smith James, First, Second, and Third John by Kelly Anderson and Daniel Keating (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), xii + 284 pp. This recent volume from the reputable Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series joins the expanding ranks of its library of New Testament commentaries. It is coauthored by two faculty of Sacred Heart Major Seminary (Detroit, MI), Kelly Anderson and Daniel Keating. Anderson covers the Epistle of James, while Keating takes up First, Second, and Third John. This volume completes the series's treatment of the catholic epistles, as Keating contributed a previous volume concerning First and Second Peter and Jude. In keeping with the series format, Anderson's introduction to James manages to be highly informative and well-developed, even for its concision. In just over ten pages, she deals uniformly with the contextual issues pertinent to the epistle's proper interpretation. The discussion of the authorship of the epistle is substantiated by biblical and Patristic data. Anderson discusses a number of possible candidates, including: James [End Page 1304] son of Zebedee, brother of St. John the Evangelist—that is, James "the Greater"—and James son of Alphaeus, James "the Lesser." Yet, she quickly dispenses with the two other James's in favor of the unknown "brother" of the Lord. Due to his martyrdom in AD 44, Anderson rightly sets aside James the Greater, given his early death and that much of the epistle's context appears to take place several decades thereafter (2–3). Although St. Jerome identified James the Lesser as author, Anderson persuasively shows that this is too unlikely, despite such an authoritative backing. With the field cleared away, Anderson hones in on a relative of Jesus (the "bother" of the Lord). In a rather compact way, she paints a vivid portrait of "James the Just," who was a witness to the resurrected Jesus (1 Cor 15:7), who became the bishop and "pillar" of the Jerusalem church (Gal 2:9). As she explains, the prayerful James the Just was "put to death in AD 62 under the high priest Ananus II, a Sadducee, whom Josephus describes as arrogant in his judgments" (5). In a similarly rich way, Anderson then moves through other contextual matters, such as the epistle's audience: "James addresses his letter to the 'twelve tribes in the dispersion' (1:1). 'Twelve tribes' seems to indicate those Jews who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and were dispersed or scattered away from Palestine, the promised land" (5). After a discussion of the major theological themes of the epistle, Anderson's introduction, like others in the series, wraps up in a pastoral way, with remarks about "the timeliness of James" (10–11). Here, she brings together the two horizons of biblical exegesis—the ancient and the contemporary, noting that James's emphasis on believers' growing in "spiritual maturity" remains a perennial challenge in the Church today. In the one hundred or so pages that follow, Anderson turns to the text itself. While such length is not excessive when compared with other contemporary commentaries, it is more than adequate. In fact, given that the English translation of James is just over twenty-five hundred words (or about five written pages), each of the epistle's five chapters are dealt with adequately and with appropriate attention to each paragraph. One of the key strengths of the entire Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series is its literary equilibrium—that is, presenting just enough but not too much in the way of technical data. One senses a great deal of thought and masterful editing throughout this volume, in order to inform but not unduly overwhelm the average Catholic adult reader. Anderson (and Keating) judiciously balance that which is brought forward and that which may reasonably remain in the background. This is no small feat, as many contemporary commentaries fail in precisely this way, overwhelming the reader and rendering themselves unusable except for technical use or as [End Page 1305] a reference work. Anderson's skill is evident in providing at once a highly competent and highly readable commentary on this...

Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews. Edited by Katherine M. Hockey, Madison N. Pierce, and Francis Watson. Library of New Testament Studies 565. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. vii + 241 pages. $114.00.

Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews. Edited by Katherine M. Hockey, Madison N. Pierce, and Francis Watson. Library of New Testament Studies 565. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. vii + 241 pages. $114.00.

Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews

Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews

Novum Testamentum Graecum, Editio Critica Maior

Novum Testamentum Graecum, Editio Critica Maior

Recent Books

The Annotated Book in the Early Middle Ages: Practices of Reading and Writing. Ed. By Mariken Teeuwen and Irene van Renswoude. (Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy, 38.) Turnhout: Brepols. 2018. xii + 783 pp. €140. isbn 978 2 503 56948 2. A collection of essays exploring annotation and scholarly practice in early medieval manuscripts. Includes: Mariken Teeuwen, ‘Voices from the Edge: Annotating Books in the Carolingian Period’; Evina Steinová, ‘Technical Signs in Early Medieval Manuscripts Copied in Irish Minuscule’; Giorgia Vocino, ‘A Peregrinus’s Vade Mecum: MS Bern 363 and the “Circle of Sedulius Scottus”’; Warren Pezé, ‘The Making of the De praedestinatione of Ratramnus of Corbie (Including the Identification of a New Personal Manuscript)’; Giacomo Vignodelli, ‘The Making of a Tenth-Century Self-Commentary: The Glosses to Atto of Vercelli's Perpendiculum and their Sources’; Franck Cinato, ‘The Earliest Anonymous Exposition of Priscian: Two Manuscripts and their Glosses’; Markus Schiegg, ‘Source Marks in Scholia: Evidence from an Early Medieval Gospel Manuscript’; Martin Hellamann, ‘Tironische Tituli: Die Verwendung stenographischer Marginalien zur inhaltlichen Erschließung von Texten des frühen Mittelalters’; Andreas Nievergelt, ‘Glossen aus einem einzigen Buchstaben’; Justin Stover, ‘Space as Paratext: Scribal Practice in the Medieval Edition of Ammianus Marcellinus’; Erik Kwakkel, ‘The Margin as Editorial Space: Upgrading Dioscorides alphabeticus in Eleventh-Century Monte Cassino’; Alberto Cevolini, ‘Making notae for Scholarly Retrieval: A Franciscan Case Study’; Sinéad O’Sullivan, ‘Reading and the Lemma in Early Medieval Textual Culture’; Silvia Ottaviano, ‘Reading between the Lines of Virgil's Early Medieval Manuscripts’; Anna Grotans, ‘Notker Labeo's Translation / Commentaries: Changing Form and Function over Time’; Ad Van Els, ‘Transmitting Knowledge by Text and Illustration: The Case of MS Leiden, UB, VLO 15’; Micol Long, ‘Monastic Practices of Shared Reading as Means of Learning’; Paulina Taraskin, ‘Reading Horace alongside Other Classics: MS British Library, Harley 2724’; Irene van Renswoude, ‘The Censor's Rod: Textual Criticism, Judgment, and Canon Formation in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages’; Luciana Cuppo, ‘Text and Context: The Annotations in MS Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare XXII (20)’; Janneke Raaijmakers, ‘Studying Jerome in a Carolingian Monastery’; Pierre Chambert-Protat, ‘Deux témoins d’Ambroise sur le Psaume 118 et leur ancêtre’; Jesse Keshiaho, ‘The Annotation of Patristic Texts as Curatorial Activity? The Case of Marginalia to Augustine's De Genesi ad litteram in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages’; Cinzia Grifoni, ‘Reading the Catholic Epistles: Glossing Practices in Early Medieval Wissembourg’; Patrizia Carmassi, ‘Theological Issues and Traces of Controversies in Manuscripts Transmitting Works of the Church Fathers’; David Ganz, ‘Epilogue. The Search for Glossed Clauses: An Autobiographical Account of a Corbie Study’.

Book Review: Reinstating Muted Voices: Katherine M. Hockey, Madison N. Pierce & Francis Watson (eds), Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews

Book Review: Reinstating Muted Voices: Katherine M. Hockey, Madison N. Pierce &amp; Francis Watson (eds), <i>Muted Voices of the New Testament: Readings in the Catholic Epistles and Hebrews</i>

The Harklean Syriac and the Development of the Byzantine Text

Abstract The Syriac translation of the New Testament produced by Thomas of Harkel in ad 616 provides a rich source for studying the transmission of the Greek New Testament. In this case, its relationship to the Byzantine text in the Catholic Epistles is used to test the results of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (cbgm), a new computerized tool being used to edit the standard editions of the Greek New Testament (NA28/UBS5). Against claims that the cbgm is not useful for understanding textual history, this study shows that, when used carefully, it can provide valuable clarity to our understanding. The results of this test have implications for the cbgm, for the textual worth of the Byzantine text, and for how all “texts” are related and evaluated.

A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in the Catholic Epistles

A dissertation providing the first sustained study and evaluation of the Coherence Based Genealogical Method in textual criticism.

Ivan Fedorov’s Text of the Apostolos

The article considers the text of the Catholic Epistles in the four editions printed by Ivan Fedorov, i.e. the 1564 Apostolos, 1574 Apostolos, 1580 New Testament and Psalms, and the 1581 Ostroh Bible. The 1564 text follows the East Slavonic variant of the Fourth Redaction of the Apostolos, but with a number of revisions. Some of these are the result of linguistic updating, bringing the text into line with current norms of Russian Church Slavonic. Others represent readings from the First-Redaction text, particularly its commentated variant. Yet others have been introduced from the Vulgate or from one of the vernacular versions derived from it. This shows that some comparison was made with existing Slavonic and West European texts. There is no evidence that any Greek text was consulted. The 1574 text is almost exactly the same as that of 1564, but some further changes have been made to the texts of 1580 and 1581 (which are almost identical to each other). These are not numerous. In part they result from continued linguistic updating, and in part they restore some Fourth-Redaction readings, but in some cases the reason for them is unclear.

‘The Salvation and the Good Works’ in the Catholic Epistles

‘The Salvation and the Good Works’ in the Catholic Epistles

Are the Catholic Epistles a Canonically Significant Collection? A Status Quaestionis

Should the Catholic Epistles be read in isolation from each other, taking their individual historical situations as the guiding principle for their interpretation, or rather, do their literary and theological character as a discrete canonical collection constitute the context within which they should be read and interpreted? Though the modern era has been dominated by the historical-critical approach to biblical interpretation that considers these texts in isolation from one another, a vibrant discussion arguing that the Catholic Epistles should be read as a discrete canonical collection has been developing. This article offers a status quaestionis by outlining recent proposals for reading the Catholic Epistles as a collection, specifically considering the work of Peter Davids, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Carey Newman, David Nienhuis and Robert Wall, and Brevard Childs.

Book Review: A Canonical Reading of the Catholic Epistles: David R. Nienhuis &amp; Robert W. Wall, Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude as Scripture: The Shaping and Shape of a Canonical Collection

Book Review: A Canonical Reading of the Catholic Epistles: David R. Nienhuis &amp; Robert W. Wall, Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude as Scripture: The Shaping and Shape of a Canonical Collection

The Fifth Edition of the UBS Greek New Testament

The fifth edition of The Greek New Testament is intended to enable its readers to read, understand, and translate the New Testament in its original language in as competent and skilled a manner as possible. To meet this aim the edition was revised in two ways. First, several improvements have been introduced that concern the entire New Testament. Second, in the Catholic Epistles, the edition has been made consistent with the Editio Critica Maior of the Greek New Testament, including textual changes in the base text.

The Date and Content of P. Antinoopolis 12 (0232)

P. Antinoopolis 12 (Aland 0232), a miniature codex containing remnants of 2 John, was considered by C. H. Roberts to be our earliest copy of this short epistle (third century) and also evidence of an early Johannine corpus. However, upon closer examination, both of these claims appear to be problematic. This article will argue that P.Ant. 12 is most likely a fifth-century codex (not third) and that it was far too small to have carried the entire Johannine corpus. Although there is no combination of books that fits perfectly into this codex, the most plausible suggestion seems to be that P.Ant. 12 originally held the book of Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles.

Book Reviews: The Catholic Epistles and Apostolic Tradition: A New Perspective on James to Jude. Edited by Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr &amp; Robert W. Wall. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2009. Pp, x + 536. Cloth, $69.95

Book Reviews: The Catholic Epistles and Apostolic Tradition: A New Perspective on James to Jude. Edited by Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr &amp; Robert W. Wall. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2009. Pp, x + 536. Cloth, $69.95

Book Review: Rehabilitating the Catholic Epistles

Book Review: Rehabilitating the Catholic Epistles

An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts : D. C. Parker, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008

This review of An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts written by D. C. Parker contains an introduction of the author, an annotated summary of the work, and the reviewer’s critical comments and suggestion. This is the first major English-language introduction to the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament to appear for over 40 years. This book is comprised of 3 parts containing 11 chapters. Part I describes documents (manuscripts) of the New Testament with three chapters. Part II discusses textual criticism of the New Testament with three chapters. Part III treats, with perspectives of textual studies, each main section of the New Testament respectively, i.e. the Revelations, Paul’s letters, Acts and catholic epistles, and four Gospels, with four chapters. The last eleventh chapter is the author’s short conclusion to the book. A glossary and an index of manuscripts are provided at the end of the book.<BR> As an essential handbook for scholars and students, it provides a thorough grounding in the study and editing of the New Testament text combined with an emphasis on the current dramatic developments in the field. Covering ancient sources (versions) in Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Coptic, it describes the manuscripts and other ancient textual evidence, and the tools needed to study them. It deals with textual criticism and textual editing, describing modern approaches and techniques, with guidance on the use of editions. It introduces the witnesses and textual study of each of the main sections of the New Testament, discussing typical variants and their significance. A companion website with full-colour images provides generous amounts of illustrative material, bringing the subject alive for the reader. This work is for scholars and postgraduate students of New Testament textual studies. <BR> The author’s comments on the text of the Greek New Testament give some hints to us: “The text is changing. Every time that I make an edition of the Greek New Testament, or anybody does, we change the wording. We are maybe trying to get back to the oldest possible form but, paradoxically, we are creating a new one. Every translation is different, every reading is different, and although there’s been a tradition in parts of Protestant Christianity to say there is a definitive single form of the text, the fact is you can never find it. There is never ever a final form of the text.” The following reviews on this book also might help us to guess easily the value of this book: “This work fills a current need for an up-to-date presentation of the discipline for students, and also will serve as a valuable resource for all scholars in New Testament studies.”(Choice); “Parker offers a fascinating and often humorous look into the world of manuscript studies and textual criticism.”(Laura J. Hunt, Moody Theological Seminary).

An introduction to the New Testament manuscripts and their texts

This review of An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts written by D. C. Parker contains an introduction of the author, an annotated summary of the work, and the reviewer’s critical comments and suggestion. This is the first major English-language introduction to the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament to appear for over 40 years. This book is comprised of 3 parts containing 11 chapters. Part I describes documents (manuscripts) of the New Testament with three chapters. Part II discusses textual criticism of the New Testament with three chapters. Part III treats, with perspectives of textual studies, each main section of the New Testament respectively, i.e. the Revelations, Paul’s letters, Acts and catholic epistles, and four Gospels, with four chapters. The last eleventh chapter is the author’s short conclusion to the book. A glossary and an index of manuscripts are provided at the end of the book. As an essential handbook for scholars and students, it provides a thorough grounding in the study and editing of the New Testament text combined with an emphasis on the current dramatic developments in the field. Covering ancient sources (versions) in Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Coptic, it describes the manuscripts and other ancient textual evidence, and the tools needed to study them. It deals with textual criticism and textual editing, describing modern approaches and techniques, with guidance on the use of editions. It introduces the witnesses and textual study of each of the main sections of the New Testament, discussing typical variants and their significance. A companion website with full-colour images provides generous amounts of illustrative material, bringing the subject alive for the reader. This work is for scholars and postgraduate students of New Testament textual studies. The author’s comments on the text of the Greek New Testament give some hints to us: “The text is changing. Every time that I make an edition of the Greek New Testament, or anybody does, we change the wording. We are maybe trying to get back to the oldest possible form but, paradoxically, we are creating a new one. Every translation is different, every reading is different, and although there’s been a tradition in parts of Protestant Christianity to say there is a definitive single form of the text, the fact is you can never find it. There is never ever a final form of the text.” The following reviews on this book also might help us to guess easily the value of this book: “This work fills a current need for an up-to-date presentation of the discipline for students, and also will serve as a valuable resource for all scholars in New Testament studies.”(Choice); “Parker offers a fascinating and often humorous look into the world of manuscript studies and textual criticism.”(Laura J. Hunt, Moody Theological Seminary).