THE LITERARY MAN'S NEW TESTAMENT.* Elam years ago, under the
title of The Literary Man's Bible, Dr. Courtney published a book giving a selection of passages from the Old Testament which, in his judgment, were repre- sentative of its value " purely as literature," accompanied by short introductory essays and a few explanatory notes. Ho has now followed it up by a similar volume on the New Testament. But, although the same title is retained, the aim of the present book is necessarily somewhat different. By calling his first volume The Literary Man's "Bible" Dr. Courtney implied, what is certainly the ease, that the literary value of the Old Testament is far greater than that of the New, and he selected among its contents using a literary standard. In his new volume he does not select at all ; ho prints the whole New Testament, arranging the several books • The Literary Afaa's Now Testament. no Books arranged in Chronological Order, with Introductory Essays and Annotations by W. L. Courtney.
London : Chapman and Hall. DOB. eel. net.
in what lie considers their historical order. And the intro- ductory essays are concerned with historical questions as to the elements contributed to the Christian faith by its successive exponents, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John, and also as to the degree in which they themselves were influenced by contemporary religions, such as the Messianic expectations of the Jewish Apocalypses, the Stoic philosophy, or the mystery-religions of the East. What Dr. Courtney has given us, therefore, is rather a General Reader's New Testament than one in any way specially adapted for men of letters; unless it be that he has taken his text from the Authorized Version. We thought he made an error of judgment in his previous book by not adopting the Revised translation of the Old Testament, which contains the characteristic dignity and beauty of the old version, while correcting its numerous errors. Here he is certainly right, for the revisers of the New Testament elected to make a new translation of their own which has no literary value whatever.
Dr. Courtney has been under some disadvantage in pre- paring the introductory essays for the present book, as compared with his previous one, from the simple fact that the theories of modern criticism in regard to the most serious problems of the New Testament have not yet reached the stage of general acceptance even among the experts. Some of the most important problems, smell as the degree in which our Lord shared in the eschatological beliefs of His day, or the degree in which St. Paul's mind was influenced by the mystery-religions, are comparatively new; and on neither has the last word been said, or anything like it. Dr. Courtney seems to have read the most important treatises on the several subjects, and he has certainly succeeded in laying before his readers a clear and concise account of the points at issue, and the present trend of opinion concerning them, But he has
done more than this. On some of the fundamental issues he has brought to bear a sterling common-sense, which we like to consider a peculiarly English attribute, and which certainly is in marked contrast with some of the theories which have come to us from Germany. He will have nothing to say to what is known as the " Christ-myth" theory, preferring to trace the success of Christianity to the point in which it differed most conclusively from its competitors, such as Mithraism—namely, that its "Saviour" was a man who had actually lived upon earth, and not a merely mythological being. He gives equally short shrift to the theory that the real founder of Christianity was not Christ but St. Paul, and that Christianity, as we know it, is not the Gospel of the Synoptists, but that of the Pauline Epistles:—
"Jesus said he came not to destroy but to fulfil the law : Paul taught that the coming of Christ abrogated the law. The interval is not so deep as it seems at first sight. Not only do we find over and over again that the Jesus of the Synoptic gospels criticized the Jewish law, and above all the lawyers, but the term fulfilment' (' I came not to destroy but to fulfil the law ') involves the supersession of an older authority by a newer one. The law remains holy and just and good, yet according to Paul there can be shown a more excellent way."
Similarly, in regard to the contention that the ethics of the Gospels were merely "ethics of an interval," that is to say, determined by the short space of time that was thought to remain before the establishment of the new heaven and earth, and also that they were based upon the selfish motive of securing a place in the coming kingdom, Dr. Courtney per- tinently shows that in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats
the good works rewarded are those recognized in all human societies, and are done from a sense of duty, the reward coming as an absolute surprise.
The merits, then, of these short essays lie, in our judgment, in their clear and frank presentation of the theories which are at present occupying the minds of New Testament scholars, in the willingness to acknowledge new light from whatever quarter it comes, and at the same time in the resolute refusal to take darkness for light because it comes recom- mended as the latest novelty from abroad. No doubt a popular treatment of any scientific subject lays its writer open to accusations of misstatement, and experts will possibly wrinkle their brow here and there over Dr. Courtney's pages. We think, for example, that in his third essay he has some- what confused two things—the steps in the evolution of Christianity and the steps in its geographical dissemination. But it is a great thing that a layman should be occasionally found who will run the risk of treating theology as a branch of " Immo= letters," and endeavour to bring it home to men's "business and bosoms." We have noticed a few slips that are worth correcting in a future edition. The technical word Diaspora, which is hardly necessary at all, is used in two entirely different senses ; the Apocalypse of St. John is referred to as the "Revelations " ; and, more surprising still in a "Literary Man's New Testament," the wonderful opening verse of the Epistle to the Hebrews is badly misquoted.
Previous page
