The New Testament and Criticism

by George Eldon Ladd

One unfortunate consequence of the bitter fundamentalist-modernist controversy which raged in the early twenties has been the strongly negative attitude toward biblical criticism assumed by some of the successors to the fundamentalists of the 1920s. Such people, according to Professor Ladd, insist that the critical method is basically hostile to the evangelical faith, and they have continued to oppose any use of it. Others, however, claiming the same heritage, believe that the orthodox interpretation of the Gospel can be defended positively and constructively only with the aid of a sound critical method and the results of critical scholarship. The author believes that an evangelical biblical criticism is not only possible but necessary. The central thesis of his book is that �the Bible is the Word of God given in the words of men in history,� and as such its historical origins must be reconstructed as far as possible. In this way a richer understanding of the Scriptures can be achieved. The New Testament and Criticism provides the serious student of the Scriptures with valuable guidelines for such an understanding.

Genres: New Testament, Theology, Religion, Christianity, Biblical

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1966

About the author

George Eldon Ladd (1911–1982) was a Baptist minister and professor of New Testament exegesis and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Ladd was ordained in 1933 and pastored in New England from 1936 to 1945. He served as an instructor at Gordon College of Theology and Missions (now Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary), Wenham, Massachusetts from 1942–45. He was an associate professor of New Testament and Greek from 1946–50, and head of the department of New Testament from 1946–49. In 1950–52 he was an associate professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif, becoming professor of biblical theology in 1952.

Ladd's best-known work, A Theology of the New Testament, has been used by thousands of seminary students since its publication in 1974. This work was enhanced and updated by Donald A. Hagner in 1993.

Ladd was a notable, modern proponent of Historic Premillennialism, and often criticized dispensationalist views. His writings regarding the Kingdom of God (especially his view of inaugurated eschatology) have become a cornerstone of Kingdom theology. His perspective is expressed in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, R. G. Clouse, editor (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977) and the shorter and more accessible The Gospel of the Kingdom (Paternoster, 1959).

Reviews

[Ethan Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The central thesis of this book is that the Bible is both the word of God and the words of men. Specifically, the word of God given in and through the words of men. Upon this thesis, Ladd argues that those who believe the Bible is the word of God must take seriously the different fields of biblical criticism if they would rightly understand the word of God. He aptly distinguishes between the tools of criticism and the materialistic and rationalistic presuppositions of many biblical critics. This is a great introduction to the "critical" (not in a negative sense) study of the Bible. Though the book focuses on the NT, because that is Ladd's field, the central thesis and tools apply to the whole Bible.

[Steve Irby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished "The New Testament and Criticism," by George Eldon Ladd.


The intro is really all about "so you're a fundy and scared? It's cool, you need this." To some Ladd will be too right and to some he will have sold out to the left. Honestly, there are more than not in the fundamentalist and evangelical stream who need to turn their dedication to literalism in for a well contemplated historical critical method of interpretation. If you're not sure if this means you then it probably does.


Ladd deals with a bit of history and how historical criticism got the image it did: people used it assuming no supernaturalism could be possible. Ladd suggests that you can have your cake and eat it too. But I get the tension since this method works for any writing. Who would give Homer a nod to supernaturalism?


Textual criticism:

This is a study of the many varieties in the text to discover the original text.


So think about when you caught a typo in that latest book you read. May not have meant much and it could have changed the thrust of the book. It depends. Regardless, by the second publication I'm sure it was fixed. Now back it up before 1450 when we got movable type printing. You could have one dude reading the text to a room full of scribes. He is reading under the assumption that his master text corresponds to its master text and so on back to the autograph (the exact epistle Paul wrote, for instance). What if one of the scribes is a bit slow on the uptake, and thinks the reader says "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of deaf"? See the problem? Now that's just one OT example. For further explanation Google "Johannine Comma" where we learn about how a scribe wanted to be a theologian. But the name of the game here is collect all the early texts we have and see what's a common reading. There's more to it than just this.


Linguistic criticism:

This covers the investigation of what the words of the text mean.


One very good point Ladd makes here has to donwith Koine Greek being the common language of the people when the NT was written. Today some hold on to the most antiquated translation of scripture for psudosacred reasons that run directly opposed to why Koine Greek was chosen as the idiom of communication. Much of the KJV is foreign to those raised in the church not to mention the unchurched, nix it.


This is the constant study and investigation with recent finds in and out of strictly biblical areas to come to better understand the depth and breadth of a words meaning.


Literary criticism:

Here the composite of the work, who wrote it, when, to whom, it's style and sources, etc are taken into account. 


For instance, did the same John of the Johannine epistles write the gospel of John and the revelation? The gosple doesn't say it was written by John, like the revelation, and the literary style of the gospel and Epistle is quite different than the revelation. What about the differences between the synoptics and the gosple of John? Also we get into Markan priority and the two source hypothesis/the synoptic problem here. There's miles of literary questions one could ask.


Form criticism:

Form criticism takes into account the various forms which information was passed down from the various oral traditions to, for instance, Mark, who then wrote it down.


We often forget that our information, especially the works of the gospels, were first orally transmitted to us before they were written. An Investigation into form criticism speaks to our trying to dive into this oral tradition.


Historical criticism:

This covers "what did that mean to the writer when he (or she as could be the case for Heb) wrote it?" 


A good example would be the titles "Son of God," "Son of Man," and "Messiah." This has us observing texts influential to the first century Jewish community. Beside the OT there are tons of apocalyptic literature that would have been well known to, for instance, Paul. Or how would a Greek have heard or intended "Son of God" in the case of Luke? This historical, cultural, understanding helps one place one's mind in the correct context to get the meaning. 


Comparative religions criticism:

This approach looks at the Hebrew religion as one among many in the ancient near ease whose evolution has to be seen along side the surrounding ones. Likewise, the growth of Christianity must be seen as an extention of this growth. This school of thought suggests that the evolutionary form of growth that culminates in Christianity is naturalistic.


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[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty dated book, but a lot of the information isn't predicated on being the newest, just the most precise. The terminology and different fields of criticism were explained and differentiated and that was the most helpful for me. Ladd attempted to remove the stigma associated with the word "criticism" when associated with scripture, but in my mind, simply cemented the opposite. Overall, a decent introduction to the subject that doesn't waste time on rabbit trails, like so many other books on this topic.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This certainly is a gift to the church and something that has helped shape my thinking on issues relating to criticism towards the Bible. Get it. Read it. Hold on to it for your children to read later in life.

[John Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for my NT History and Criticism course in Seminary along with NT Times and Gutherie's New Testament Introduction. Dr Want taught this course and it equipped me very well for dealing with liberalism and other problems as a pastor.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great introduction to the world of Biblical Higher Criticism. There's no hiding it though that Ladd represents the conservative perspective. The main thesis of the book is that Higher Criticism need not be an enemy of conservative Evangelical faith. Though often the higher critics have been representatives of the Liberal school of thought, higher criticism does not necessarily have to be liberal. Moreover, oftentimes conservatives utilize the tools and methods of higher criticism in evangelical scholarship. That a more liberal perspective on certain issues is adopted upon embracing the scholarship of higher criticism, I think personally, is inevitable. It seems final conclusions are ultimately dependent upon philosophical presuppositions. This last point is my own personal commentary and reflection on this work, not an emphasis of Ladd's.

[Nicholas Quient · Rating 5 out of 5]

While dated, Ladd has graciously and insightfully laid out the various difficulties between criticism and Christianity. Still relevant and still helpful for those who are coming from a more conservative background.

[Adam Gossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read Ladd I wish I could have taken a class of his. I am so infinitely blessed by his writings.