Critique and methodology

Abstract

"In previous issues of this journal this writer has published two articles that attempted a positive reappraisal of redaction-critical methodology for the evangelical. The first' sought to come to grips with the synoptic problem—i. e., the differences in wording and content between the evangelists. As a test case I chose the great commission of Matt 28:16-20, especially the triadic baptismal vormula of v 19. The reason for this choice was the fact that it was one of the few logia Jesu with parallels in the rest of the NT and therefore had an external con- trol. The second article2 attempted to grapple with the critical side of redactional research: tradition criticism. In it I sought to critique the negative presupposi- tions of the radical critics and to determine both the positive value of the disci- pline and the controls that the NT itself places on the use of the tools."