BONUS | Is John 7:53-8:11 Sacred Scripture? w/ James Snapp Jr. (Textual Criticism pt. 1)

Summary

What is textual criticism? Should Christians be concerned that there are hundreds of thousands of variants within the New Testament manuscript copies we possess? Are John 7:53 – 8:11 and Mark 16:9-20 inspired Scripture? What should we make of the claims that John 7:53-8:11 isn’t found in any of the earliest or best manuscripts? Or the idea that it “floats around” and is found in other places of John or Luke? James Snapp Jr. joins us for an exciting bonus episode to answer these questions and more.

Guest Bio

James Snapp, Jr. is a Christian preacher and researcher, specializing in the field of New Testament textual criticism.   He graduated from Cincinnati Bible College in 1990 and was a missionary in Central America in the 1990s.  He preaches at Curtisville Christian Church in central Indiana. Also, note: Snapp is not a proponent of King James Only, TR Only, or Majority Text Only positions. He describes his own view as equitable eclecticism.

John’s Opening Remarks (from 1:00 to 34:30)

• What is textual criticism?
• What are some of the key terms relevant to textual critical conversations?
• How can we trust the New Testament documents in light of variants?
• What are the most famous variants?
• What should Catholics think about textual criticism?
• How should we understand the Council of Trent’s decree?

Interview w/ James Snapp Jr. (starts at 35:00)

• What is textual criticism?
• Should Christians be concerned there are 200,000 – 400,000 NT variants?
• What is your opinion of the three most famous textual variants (Pericope adulterae, the longer ending of Mark, and the Johannine comma)? Are the original to the New Testament?
• How do you respond to the case against the Pericope Adulterae?
• What else would you include in making a positive case for the authenticity of John 7:53 – 8:11?
• Where can listeners go to find out more about your work?
• Let’s do a lightning round: What are your brief thoughts on a bunch of well-known textual variants? (Patreon supporters only)

Resources

A Fresh Analysis of John 7:53-8:11 by James Snapp Jr.

Authentic: The Case for Mark 16:9-20 by James Snapp Jr.

Curtisville Christian Church (website)

Resources of New Testament Textual Criticism (Compiled by James Snapp Jr.)

James Snapp Jr.’s Academia.edu page (you will find links to his papers as well as his 2017 book A Fresh Analysis of John 7:53-8:11)

Catholics and Textual Criticism (blog article) by Jimmy Akin

Calvin, Trent, and the Vulgate (blog article) by Barrett Turner

The Alleged Anonymity of the Canonical Gospels by Simon Gathercole (2018 paper)

YouTube Lectures on Textual Criticism by James Snapp Jr.

Presentation by Dr. James R. White

Textual Criticism Lectures by James Snapp Jr.

Council of Trent Quote

But if any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition; and knowingly and deliberately condemn the traditions aforesaid; let him be anathema.

Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree Concerning the Canonical Scriptures (emphasis added)

Divino Afflante Spiritu Quote

The great importance which should be attached to this kind of criticism was aptly pointed out by Augustine, when, among the precepts to be recommended to the student of the Sacred Books, he put in the first place the care to possess a corrected text. “The correction of the codices”—so says this most distinguished doctor of the Church—”should first of all engage the attention of those who wish to know the Divine Scripture so that the uncorrected may give place to the corrected.”

In the present day indeed this art, which is called textual criticism and which is used with great and praiseworthy results in the editions of profane writings, is also quite rightly employed in the case of the Sacred Books, because of that very reverence which is due to the divine oracles. For its very purpose is to insure that the sacred text be restored, as perfectly as possible, be purified from the corruptions due to the carelessness of the copyists and be freed, as far as may be done, from glosses and omissions, from the interchange and repetition of words and from all other kinds of mistakes, which are wont to make their way gradually into writings handed down through many centuries. . . .

Nor is it necessary here to call to mind—since it is doubtless familiar and evident to all students of Sacred Scripture—to what extent namely the Church has held in honor these studies in textual criticism from the earliest centuries down even to the present day.

Divino Afflante Spiritu 17-18

Additional Catholic Sources that Support the Idea that Trent’s Decree Includes John 7:53 – 8:11 and Mark 16:9-20

• In their New Testament study Bible, Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch state that these passages are canonical and inspired according to the Council of Trent.
• In a 19th century Catholic Introduction to the Bible, Fr. A. E. Breen espouses this same position. It can be found on page 520 of the work which is free to read online. (Thanks to Sal Ciresi, director of the St. Jerome Biblical Guild, for pointing me to this reference)

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