Northern Caribbean University’s (NCU's) School of Religion and Theology (SRT) recently held its annual Theological Symposium and the grand opening of its Biblical Manuscript Research Centre (BMRC). The BMRC is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Centre will serve to facilitate research in the discipline of Biblical Textual Criticism. This area of specialized study is predicated primarily on the fact that none of the autographs of the Biblical manuscripts are extant and no two copies of the thousands of available copies are exactly alike. 

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Clinton Baldwin, initiator of BMRC, outlined some of the reasons that lie behind this diversity. He informed the approximately 400 attendees that sacred scripture was first communicated orally hence an initial level of diversity, and when it was eventually written it underwent multiple rewritings. All this was done before the age of printing, when scribes wrote everything by hand, thus incurring a vast variety of intentional and unintentional errors in the manuscripts.

Dr. Clinton Baldwin (left) shakes hands with NCU United Student Movement (USM) President Kirkwood Parkinson at the launch of the BMRC

The discipline of Biblical Textual Criticism contends itself with these realities and seeks to make these potential ‘negatives’ an advantage, rather than a disadvantage.” In fact, the advantages are very potent in that, despite the thousands of variant readings we still have a coherent Bible today. However, there is much more to be learned from these manuscripts, hence the discipline of Textual Criticism and the Biblical Manuscript Research Centre (BMRC). 

Speaking at the launch, NCU’s president Dr. Herbert Thompson, highlighted the rich scholastic relevance of this event which he noted was reflected in the theme, ‘How the Study of Textual Criticism and the Manuscripts Aid in the Exegetical Task.’  Dr Newton Cleghorne, Dean of the School of Religion and Theology also spoke and expressed sincere thanks to Dr. William Warren whose contribution of some 300 ancient Biblical manuscripts made the centre a reality.

In addition, Dr. Gosnell Yorke, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Religion and Theology, gave the devotion. In keeping with the theme for the day, he based his devotion on Rev. 22:14 (the seventh beatitude in the Book of Revelation) which served, in a very practical way, to demonstrate some of the text-critical challenges we encounter in the New Testament.

Dr. Warren is the director of the Center for New Testament Textual Studies in New Orleans, USA.  In his keynote address to the symposium/launch, Dr. Warren noted that the field of Textual Criticism occupies a primary position in the field of Biblical Studies and it was very heartening that NCU was now joining the scholarly efforts in this area.

Dr. Larry Richards, Director of the Greek Manuscript Centre at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, Michigan, USA also participated in the symposium/BMRC launch. His address focused on several textual variants and how textual scholars analyze these variants to arrive at the correct rendition of the Biblical text. Dr. Richards also congratulated NCU  on the BMRC initiative.

 

Some of participants at the BMRC launch looking at some of the manuscripts on display  

Currently the centre has a total of 300 ancient manuscripts. Among these are:

•       118 Papyri manuscripts of the Greek New Testament

•       Codices:  Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Washingtonianus 

•       Dead Sea scrolls: IQIsa; IQpHab ; IQs

•       Egerton Gospel

•       Greek Lectionaries

•       Copies of the Textus Receptus (TR)

•       Collations of Catholic Epistles

The BMRC is located in Robinson Hall on the  Mandeville campus of NCU. The objectives of the BMRC are to:

•       Foster a more scholarly approach to Bible study

•       Provide an environment in which students can do advanced research of the development of the manuscript trajectory

•       Engage students in advanced research of the Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible

•       Train students in the art of collating Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, thus making detailed information from these manuscripts available to scholars for research

•       Foster a more enlightened awareness of the scriptures among pastors, students and communicators of the Biblical message (this will eventually impact positively on the way people think and act and ultimately on the quality of life they pursue).

•       Facilitate seminars and scholarly lectures  in local churches and other institutions

•       Participate in the International Greek New Testament Project and other collaborative ventures with major centers of Textual Studies throughout  the world

•       Facilitate scholarly lectures to churches, educational institutions and the general public in the area of Manuscript research