Bratcher Dennis. Sacred Words? or Words about the Sacred? A Basic Introduction to the Issues of Text Criticism

CRI/Voice Institute, 2005. — 17 p.For many Christians who have not studied the matter in much detail, the individual words of the Bible are in some way sacred, something akin to the words of God. Since many confess the Bible as “the Word of God” it is then easy to assume that the individual words of the Bible as they are written in physical form, the words that we can hold in our hand in a modern book, are the very words of God (see The Word of God and God’s word). In one sense, this attitude is a positive reflection of a very high regard for the authority of Scripture. This is especially true among Protestants who are suspicious of ecclesiastical dogma developed from the vicissitudes of history and culture. The desire is to place Scripture as the basis of the Faith and practice of the Church rather than the decisions of Church Councils and ecclesiastical authorities. This positive dimension of a high authoritative role for Scripture is reflected in the faith statements of various church traditions.