BIBLICAL CRITICISM
StR,—1 would like to answer Mr. Brien's question about the Church's attitude to Biblical criticism.
I am sure that very few clergy today would deny that the Gospels—like any other ancient historical material--need some pruning. However, just as with pruning trees, not everyone is competent to do it and unless the pruner knows what he is doing he may very well do more harm than good. There is another thing as well: a competent gardener can do some remarkable things with trees, giving them shapes that nature never intended.
The Church as a whole—whether rightly or wrongly—prefers to leave the whole matter of Bib- lical criticism in the hands of the scholars in the be- lief that—to continue the pruning metaphor—the ordinary man in the street might mistake the pruning for an attempt to cut down the tree. I myself would as soon preach to my rustic flock about Biblical criticism as black magic—and as profitably.
I'have not had the pleasure of reading the recent critical—or speculative--works that Mr. Brien men- tions: from• the sound of them they seem very rightly classed with Guignebert's noted work.
CHURCHMAN
(name and address supplied)
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