A Response to the Higher Criticism

Certain cautions are proposed which have not always been observed by the higher critics of the Bible.

(1) Anyone who believes that we can properly understand what is known without fully appreciating the personal contribution of the knower has never read Michael Polanyi.

 (2) Anyone who believes that the same honest man cannot hold two contrasting opinions at the same time has never read Charles Simeon.

 (3) Anyone who believes that an intelligent man must hold the same opinions all his life has never read Wittgenstein.

 (4) Anyone who believes it is legitimate to delve into the remoter or hidden meanings of a passage before fully exploring the obvious ones - to read between the lines before comprehending the lines themselves - has never read C. S. Lewis.

 (5) Anyone who tries to date a passage solely by the objects mentioned in it has never studied Leonardo da Vinci.

 (6) Anyone who believes it is impossible for a single man to be expert in more than one discipline (eg science, history, literary criticism, philosophy and law) has never read Aristotle.

 (7) Anyone who does not know that the final speech(es) of a great man immediately preceding his death can tower over anything he has ever said before has never heard of Martin Luther King.

 (8) Anyone who does not recognise the ambivalence of the argument from silence - that any silence needs to be interpreted before valid conclusions can be drawn from it - has never heard of St Thomas More.

 (9) Anyone who believes that linguistic criteria alone can demonstrate multiple authorship has never tried analysing Milton.

 Also:

 (10) Anyone who believes it is impossible for one person to refer to the same being by more than one name has never kept a dog.

                                                                                    Martin Mosse,

                                                                                    12 December 2001.

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