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1. Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card (1985; 375 pages)Hugo Award for Best Novel (1986), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1985)Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979; 224 pages)“The quality of any advice anybody has to offer has to be judged against the quality of life they actually lead.”“Simple. I got very bored and depressed, so I went and plugged myself in to its external computer feed. I talked to the computer at great length and explained my view of the Universe to it," said Marvin."And what happened?" pressed Ford."It committed suicide," said Marvin and stalked off back to the Heart of Gold.”Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed, ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!3. Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1) by Dan Simmons (1989; 481 pages)Hugo Award for Best Novel (1990), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1990)“In the beginning was the Word. Then came the fucking word processor. Then came the thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And so it goes.”On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.4. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965 ; 592 pages)Herbert's evocative, epic tale is set on the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions. Arrakis is the source of spice, a mind enhancing drug which makes interstellar travel possible, and therefore the most valuable substance in the galaxy. When Duke Atreides and his family take up court there, they fall into a trap set by his rival, Baron Harkonnen. The Duke is poisoned, but his wife and her son Paul escape to the vast and arid deserts of Arrakis, which have given it the name Dune. They join the Fremen, natives of the planet who have learnt to live in this harsh and complex ecosystem. But learning to survive is not enough - Paul's destiny was mapped out long ago and his mother is committed to seeing it fulfilled.5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968 ; 208 pages)“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill.Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951 ; 296 pages)“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”“For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun -- or fight them and be destroyed.”7. Ready Player One (Ready Player One #1) by Ernest Cline (2011 ; 374 pages)Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2012)“In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.”8. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932 ; 288 pages)“But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a utopian society that goes challenged only by a single outsider.9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953 ; 159 pages)“Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.”10. The Martian by Andy Weir (2012; 387 pages)“ABOUT THE MARTIANSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?”11. Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984; 288 pages)“The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus-hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace...Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the business—until a vengeful ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a mysterious new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.”12. Artemis by Andy Weir (2017; 320 pages)“Jazz Bashara is a criminal.Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first”13. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (first published 1895, 128 pages)“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.”So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machinewill continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.14. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)“One of Time’s 100 best English-language novels • A mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous—you’ll recognize it immediatelyIn reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous…you’ll recognize it immediately.”15. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1974)“The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...”16. 2001 : A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (first published 1968)On the Moon, an enigma is uncovered.So great are the implications of this discovery that for the first time men are sent out deep into our solar system.But long before their destination is reached, things begin to go horribly, inexplicably wrong...One of the greatest-selling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end.17. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (first published 2007)1967: Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during China's Cultural Revolution. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind. Four decades later, Beijing police ask nanotech engineer Wang Miao to infiltrate a secretive cabal of scientists after a spate of inexplicable suicides. Wang's investigation will lead him to a mysterious online game and immerse him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredicatable interaction of its three suns. This is the Three-Body Problem and it is the key to everything: the key to the scientists' deaths, the key to a conspiracy that spans light-years and the key to the extinction-level threat humanity now faces.18. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950)The three laws of Robotics:1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.But what happens when a rogue robot's idea of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?19. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (first published 1961 | 224 pages)A classic work of science fiction by renowned Polish novelist and satirist Stanislaw Lem.When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. The Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, though its purpose in doing so is unknown, forcing the scientists to shift the focus of their quest and wonder if they can truly understand the universe without first understanding what lies within their hearts.20. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller (first published 1959 | 334 pages)In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.21. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2014 | 443 pages)Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.22. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (first published 1953 | 218 pages )Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends--and then the age of Mankind begins....23. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (first published 1897)This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.24. Red Mars (Mars Trilogy #1) by Kim Stanley Robinson (first published 1993)John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. And for the genetic "alchemists, " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life...and death.25. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (first published 1999 | 1139 pages)Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."26. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)Hugo Award for Best Novel (1963)It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war, and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.27. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)Hugo Award for Best Novel (1962), Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (1987)“Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.”The Hugo Award-winning and controversial science fiction masterpiece from Robert A. Heinlein, the New York Times bestselling author of Starship Troopers. Valentine Michael Smith is a man raised by Martians. Sent to Earth, he must learn what it is to be human. But his beliefs and his powers far exceed the limits of man, and his arrival leads to a transformation that will alter Earth's inhabitants forever...28. The Martian Chronicles by Ray D Bradbury (1950)Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor - of crystal pillars and fossil seas - where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn - first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars...and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race.29. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1966)“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.”The story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?30. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (Published in 1897)With H.G. Wells’ other novels, The War of the Worlds was one of the first and greatest works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. These unearthly creatures arrive in huge cylinders, from which they escape as soon as the metal is cool…31. Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)A new place is being built, a world of huge dimensions, encompassing millions of miles, stronger than any planet before it. There is gravity, and with high walls and its proximity to the sun, a livable new planet that is three million times the area of the Earth can be formed. We can start again!Hugo Award for Best Novel (1971), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1970), Locus Award for Best Novel (1971)32. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1966)It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people, a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic who become the movement's leaders, and of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt's inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1995)The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.34. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (1992)Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence. Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.35. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.36. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1974)In 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a lightsail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, & an expedition is dispatched. In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one million years old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The Moties are welcoming & kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years.37. The Stars My Destination by Alfred BesterIn this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men - and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive. The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.

This is a complicated question.First, ‘higher criticism’ is not a single entity, so there can be no simple single answer. There were originally two types of biblical criticism, then four, then six, now there are ten—or twelve—depending upon how you divvy them up. They all have strengths and weaknesses. The first most necessary thing for ‘answering’ them is knowledge of what they say and why—and where they might be inaccurate.Second, it’s complicated because higher criticism has produced some valuable scholarship, and that doesn’t require any ‘answering’ beyond appreciation.Third, much of the ‘problematic’ results of ‘higher criticism’ have been replaced by modern scholarship, so it is sufficient to answer: “this is outdated information that is no longer accepted by scholars in the field.”The ‘ideal’ of higher criticism, originally, was to study the Bible without bias—and there’s nothing wrong with that—in theory. The trouble, as always, came with human execution. In rejecting religious bias, they embraced another set of biases without recognizing they were doing so.The early critics were all male. They were all white. They were all ‘Protestant’—though some in name only. They were all European, and many of them were strongly anti-semitic—anti-Jew. They were all committed to Enlightenment ideals, including extreme skepticism, accepting with fervor the new belief in science and its ability to answer all questions. They were blind to their own biases—as most people are—and its impact on their work.It’s easy for us to see their biases today because new perspectives from different ethnicities, feminist theology, Catholicism, and Judaism have now entered the field of biblical criticism and revealed things early scholars overlooked.Globalization has brought in different world views, while other academic fields such as Near Eastern studies, sociology, archaeology and anthropology have also become active in the field of biblical criticism and brought entirely new interpretations.This has changed biblical criticism's central concept from its original profession of ‘neutral judgment’ to that of beginning from a recognition of the various biases the reader brings to the study of the texts—including those early critics.For example, early source critics developed the ‘Documentary’ theory—also called the JEDP theory—which said the Pentateuch was not written by Moses and that the Bible’s first five books evolved from multiple sources long after Moses was dead—probably as late as the Babylonian exile.Then by the end of the 1970s and into the 1990s, "one major study after another, like a series of hammer blows, ... rejected the main claims of the Documentary theory, and the criteria on ... which those claims are grounded."[1]Presently, few biblical scholars still hold to Wellhausen's Documentary hypothesis in its classical form. “This is outdated information that is no longer generally accepted” is the reasonable and valid response.Probably the largest field of biblical criticism is textual criticism. Despite its use of objective rules, there is a subjective element involved in it. The textual critic chooses a reading based on personal judgment, experience and common-sense. For example, Amos 6.12 reads: "Does one plough with oxen?” The obvious answer is 'yes', but the context of the passage seems to demand a 'no', so this is usually amended to, 'Does one plough the sea with oxen?' The amendment has some basis in the text, which is believed to be corrupted, but it is personal judgment.Identifying subjectivity in interpretation provides a valid avenue for answering some textual criticism.Textual criticism uses specialized methodologies, enough specialized terms to create its own lexicon, and is guided by a number of principles. Yet any of these principles can be contested, (as well as any conclusions based on them), and they often are.For example, in the late 1700s, textual critic Johann Jakob Griesbach[2] developed fifteen critical principles for determining which texts are likely the oldest and closest to the original. One of Griesbach's rules is lectio brevior praeferenda[3]: "the shorter reading is preferred": shorter texts are older.This was based on the idea scribes were more likely to add to a text than omit from it, making shorter texts more likely to be older. Latin scholar Albert C. Clark challenged this in 1914. Based on his study of Cicero, Clark argued omission was a more common scribal error than addition.He said, "A text is like a traveler who goes from one inn to another losing an article of luggage at each stop."Clark's claims were criticized by those who supported Griesbach's principles. Clark responded, but disagreement continued without resolution. Nearly eighty years later, the theologian and priest James Royse took up the case. After close study of multiple New Testament papyri, he concluded Clark was right. That means that, for nearly 200 years, textual criticism was guided by an incorrect principle.That’s a pretty good answer to any conclusions based on that.As a result, some scholars have recently called to abandon these older approaches to textual criticism in favor of new computer-assisted methods for determining manuscript relationships in a more reliable way.Form criticism has had a particularly difficult time in contemporary scholarship. There are probably only two of form criticism’s iconic principles left standing today. Form criticism began in the early twentieth century when theologian Karl Ludwig Schmidt [4] observed that Mark's Gospel is composed of short units. Schmidt asserted these small units were remnants and evidence of the oral tradition that preceded the writing of the gospels. This significant insight has never been refuted.However, contemporary scholars have produced an "explosion of studies" on structure, genre, text-type, setting, and language that have challenged nearly every other aspect of form criticism. [5] [6]To begin with, Rudolf Bultmann,[7] form criticism’s most influential proponent of the twentieth century, has been personally criticized for being overly focused on Heidegger’s philosophy in his philosophical foundation,[8]and for working with ‘a priori’ notions concerning folklore, the possibility of miracle, the distinction between Palestinian and Hellenistic communities, the length of the oral period, and more. These views were not derived from study. They were instead brought to the interpretation of the texts which was then constructed according to a preconceived pattern.Bias is a valid answer to Bultman. But there are also several contemporary studies that directly contradict many of form criticism’s claims.For example, based on their understanding of Icelandic folklore, form critics believed the early Christian communities formed the sayings and teachings of Jesus according to their needs (their "situation in life"). This gave rise to late dating of the gospels and the belief they were largely legendary and not historical.During the latter half of the twentieth century, observations from field studies of cultures with existing oral traditions indicated ‘folklore’ and ‘oral history’ were entirely different categories and therefore not comparable. Form criticism had been comparing apples and oranges. [9]In the early to mid twentieth century, Bultmann and other form critics said they had found oral "laws of development" within the New Testament. Late dating of the gospels was based partly on the amount of time such laws would take to develop. But in 1978 linguists Milman Perry and Albert Bates Lord observed that oral tradition does not develop in the same manner as written texts.[10] Writing tends to develop in a linear manner, beginning with a crude first draft which is then edited bit by bit to become more polished. Oral tradition is more complex and multidirectional in its development.Since oral tradition does not follow the same developmental pattern as written texts, laws of oral development cannot be arrived at by studying written texts.[11] Bultman was simply wrong.There is now additional information indicating earlier dates for the writing of the Gospels than had previously been thought. One interesting tidbit is the possibility that Luke’s body has been identified in Padua, Italy. The body in the Sarcophagus that has been venerated as Luke for centuries has been radiocarbon dated placing death sometime before AD72. Internal evidence indicates Luke may have died in the early 60s—which would mean Mark had to have been written a good while before that. Bultman’s dates are too late.Form criticism assumed the early Church was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture. However, in the 1970s, E. P. Sanders, as well as Gerd Theissen and Martin Hengel, sparked new rounds of studies that included anthropological and sociological perspectives. They effectively reestablished Judaism as the predominant influence on Jesus, Paul and the New Testament.[12][13] This has become bedrock now.New Testament scholar N. T. Wright says, "The earliest traditions of Jesus reflected in the Gospels are written from the perspective of Second Temple judaism and must be interpreted from the standpoint of Jewish eschatology and apocalypticism.”[14] Not Hellenism. Bultman was wrong again.Form criticism’s future is not looking bright right now because of all of this.Still we need to know its content, and if anyone quotes it, which happens a lot from atheists since form criticism’s early conclusions tend to support their views, answer it with modern scholarship.Answer with the fact that Bultman was biased and his biases led him into several outright errors.Literary criticism is currently the most popular form of biblical criticism, but I have the same problem with it that Donald Guthrie had: many of the rules applied come from the study of fiction. The Bible isn’t fiction. That is comparing apples and oranges—again—with the likelihood someone—some diligent Bible critic—will come along in the future and demonstrate the error in that just as happened to form criticism.Way back in 1768, Hermann Reimarus decided to ‘separate’ the ‘historical’ Jesus from the ‘theological’ Jesus. His theory was that Jesus was a political Messiah who failed at creating political change and was therefore executed; his disciples then stole the body and invented the story of the resurrection for personal gain.In 1779 another critical scholar effectively refuted Reimarus’ theory. He effectively proved that Jesus was not political, and that there was no personal gain for the Apostles, only costs.But it was not the facts that entered Western culture and caused a lasting impact—it was the attitude. The attitude that biblical criticism could serve its own ends, including extreme skepticism, and remain separate from any aspect of faith. It is that attitude that remains a problematic aspect of biblical criticism to this day.How does one go about ‘answering’ an attitude? I am unsure, but perhaps an approach might be that found in Michael Licona’s discussion of biases and ‘horizons’ in his recent book “The Resurrection of Jesus. A New Historiographical Approach.” [15]Licona asserts the importance of good historical method for keeping attitudes in check. Questioning someone’s method—or the method of whatever study they are quoting—is a valid approach to ‘answering’ claims made by these critics.A number of scholars have criticized the lack of rigor in historical method used in the study of the historical Jesus. This is what has done-in the Jesus Seminar.[16][17]None of the conclusions of any of the ‘historical Jesus’ critics can be seen as set in stone.Contemporary critical scholars overwhelmingly agree Jesus was a real living human being and not a myth. He was not invented by the church. He lived, he was baptized, and he was crucified, and this is bedrock historical fact.Hold them accountable for those facts that are considered historical bedrock. Recognize when they’ve gone off into unrestrained narrative. This is more common than most realize. In the early twentieth century, Albert Schweitzer proved to most of the scholarly world that the "lives of Jesus" written over the previous century claiming to reveal the ‘historical Jesus’ reflected the life of the author more than Jesus. This is not just an ‘ancient’ problem either, this is also a contemporary problem.[18]Authors bring themselves, and their own struggles and biases, into their interpretations of Jesus. Former fundamentalists—most of them anyway—seem particularly prone to this. Their sense of ‘betrayal’ and disillusionment when they discover biblical criticism is often quite palpable. Some reassurance that the Bible can be authoritative without being inerrant would be the answer there. Someone should have helped Bart Ehrman with that.Being public and up-front about one’s own personal biases provides a good work around of those biases and can be legitimately asked of any opponent. Listening to those who have a different opinion and taking all criticisms into account helps.Detaching one’s self from personal bias is necessary for real scholarship. Just as two newspapers offering reports of a single event can differ significantly due to the political biases of the journalists, so can works of scholarship be driven by "specific agendas." Any evidence of bias can and should be used in answering a critic.It’s not hard to spot generally. It tends to display itself as: “I will not be convinced no matter what.” The answer to that is simply don’t waste your time trying.It’s impossible to know how to answer an opponent if one doesn’t understand the opponent’s arguments. In a weird and quirky way, atheists have been good for Christianity by challenging us in ways we don’t challenge each other. It has forced us to dig deeper and learn more about our own faith. So thank you is also a valid answer.By the end of the twentieth century, a more trusting attitude towards the historical reliability of sources gradually replaced Enlightenment skepticism.Because of the desire to know everything about Jesus, including his thoughts and motivations, and because there are such varied conclusions about him, it seems to many scholars that it is impossible to be certain about anything. Yet according to E. P. Sanders, "we know a lot" about Jesus, and Sanders' view characterizes most contemporary studies.Reflecting this shift, the phrase "quest for the historical Jesus" has largely been replaced by "life of Jesus research".The lasting achievement of the critical ‘quest for the historical Jesus’ has been sensitizing scholars to Jesus' Jewish environment. And that’s a good thing.Biblical criticism has given us much of value.Scholars now agree there are many additional historical facts in all the gospels; how much, and what that means, is what gets debated. There is evidence of an eye-witness point of view in each of the gospels.[19]Reports of the resurrection are among the earliest and oldest oral traditions found recorded in the later writings of the New Testament. It was not created later by a church that just ‘wanted’ to deify someone.Bible criticism revealed the early creeds.Probability is high that what was recorded as the words and teachings of Jesus probably really were the words and teachings of Jesus. Biblical criticism uncovered internal and external support.Linguistic scholars assert the tradition of the last supper is traceable back to Jesus himself. [20]Biblical criticism has shown that it’s possible to establish an approximate chronology of Jesus’ life from non-Christian sources, correlating them with New Testament accounts. Here are a two examples:The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist can be dated approximately from Josephus in Antiquities 18.5.2 to a date before AD 28–35.The date of the crucifixion of Jesus was earlier than 36 AD, based on the dates of the prefecture of Pontius Pilate who was governor of Roman Judea from 26 AD until 36 AD.This can all seem a bit overwhelming—there’s simply too much for anyone to become a specialist in all these areas. So don’t—it isn’t really necessary to become a specialist in any of these—just recognize the challenges and have a few answers on hand.As opponents of Christianity have become more sophisticated in their knowledge—we must as well if we are to ever provide an answer to anything.Footnotes[1] http://Nicholson, Ernest (2002). The Pentateuch in the Twentieth Century: The Legacy of Julius Wellhausen. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-925783-6.[2] http://Johann Jakob Griesbach - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Jakob_Griesbach) [3] Lectio brevior - Wikipedia[4] Karl Ludwig Schmidt - Wikipedia[5] http://Burridge, Richard A. (2004). What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography (Second ed.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. [6] http://Knierim, Rolf (2000). "Old Testament Form Criticism Reconsidered". In Kim, Wonil; Ellens, Deborah L.; Floyd, Michael; Sweeney, Marvin A. (eds.). Reading the Hebrew Bible for a New Millennium: Form, Concept, and Theological Perspective. 2. Harrisburg, PA.: Trinity Press.[7] Rudolf Bultmann - Wikipedia[8] Martin Heidegger[9] http://Knierim, Rolf (2000). "Old Testament Form Criticism Reconsidered". In Kim, Wonil; Ellens, Deborah L.; Floyd, Michael; Sweeney, Marvin A. (eds.). Reading the Hebrew Bible for a New Millennium: Form, Concept, and Theological Perspective. 2. Harrisburg, PA.: Trinity Press.[10] http://Miller II, Robert D. (2011). Oral Tradition in Ancient Israel. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books.[11] http:// Long, Burke O. (1976). "Recent Field Studies in Oral Literature and their Bearing on OT Criticism". Vetus Testamentum. 26 (2): 187–198.[12] http://Wood, Laurence W. (2005). Theology as History and Hermeneutics: A Post-Critical Conversation with Contemporary Theology. Lexington, Kentucky: Emeth Press.[13] Judaism and Hellenism[14] N. T. Wright - Wikipedia[15] The Resurrection of Jesus[16] Five Gospels but No Gospel: Jesus and the the Seminary[17] Seven Problems with the Jesus Seminar[18] http://Weaver, Walter P. (1999). The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century: 1900-1950. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International.[19] Jesus and the Eyewitnesses[20] New Testament Theology

•The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda."–Michael Crichton, best-selling author, in a Science Fiction talk in 2003The NY Times has special groups to deal with minority reporting.Non for Jewish–especially Orthodox–interest.Here's one from their special website:Company | The New York Times CompanyThese include Muslim, Blacks, Latinos, Asian Network, etc. but non for Jews–especially Orhodox Jews.Quote from their websie:"Arab Collective“The Arab Collective brings together staff members of Arab descent and those with interest in the region to encourage deepened awareness and understanding of Arab culture, history and current events.“Our group serves as a resource for the newsroom and business side and aims to nourish a sense of community among members, offer mutual support, and organize cultural events and volunteer activities. Our involvement demonstrates the company’s commitment to a diverse array of people, experience and perspectives.Executive sponsor:Cliff Levy, deputy managing editor"Ever wonder why the anti-Semitic NY Times rarely, if ever, sees the good side of Israel and the Jews and are supportive of Hamas-Fatah, pro-Palestinian terrorist murderers who kill Jews and are pledged in their charters to destroy Israel?Israel benefits the world with its developments in medicine, healthcare, agriculture, technology, military intelligence, etc.Yet there is never even one article written about these benefits to humanity.Martin Luther King Jr. once said,"My friend, I do not accuse you of deliberate anti-Semitism. I know you feel, as I do, a deep love of truth and justice and revulsion for racism, prejudice, and discrimination. But I know you have been misled–as others have been–into thinking you can be 'anti-Zionist' and yet remain true to those heartfelt principles that you and I share. Let my words echo in the depths of your soul:“When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews–make no mistake about it."Wikipedia stated:“A piece in which columnist for the NY Times Thomas Friedman stated that praise awarded to Netanyahu during a speech at congress was "paid for by the Israel lobby" later elicited an apology and clarification from its writer.”The NY Times editors and writers never contest anti-Semitic lies and propaganda by Palestinians.Know why?The American Council for Judaism (a misnomer) was formed in 1942 solely to fight the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine–and directly prevented Jews from escaping Germany while 20,000 Jews were being sent to their death in the German and Polish gas chambers every day.One of its founding members was NY Times owner Arthur Hays Sulzberger.The NY Times never apologized for this heinous act.Now we can understand the deep roots of the NY Times anti-Israel, anti-Orthodox and Haredim, pro-Palestinian stance today as apparent in nearly all articles about Jews and Israel.More recently Matt Seaton, staff editor for The New York Times opinion section, said that the NY Times will not scrutinize Palestinian racism “until Palestinians have a sovereign state of their own.” (Algemeiner, Oct 30, 2014)Does that standard apply to the other terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, ISIS, the Moslem Brotherhood, the Taliban, Al Queda, etc.?When it comes to Israel and Jews you can always count on the NY Times to denigrate Jews.Where is the apology for the NY Times Sunday Magazine cover story, "We Are Orphans?" by the pro-Palestinian Rachel Kushner (a non-Jew) propaganda piece of (an armed) Palestinian–armed–"refugee" camp.The NY Times knew she covertly belonged to "Breaking the Silence" a group who want to stop the so-called Israeli "occupation" which was publicly exposed later on.Another Sunday Magazine cover story denigratingly titled, "The Beggars of Lakewood" about the religious Jewish community in New Jersey."On November 14, 2001, in The NY Times 150th anniversary issue, former executive editor Max Frankel wrote that before and during World War II, the NY Times had maintained a consistent policy to minimize reports on the Holocaust in their news pages.""Laurel Leff, associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, concluded that the newspaper had downplayed the Third Reich targeting of Jews for genocide. Her 2005 book "Buried by the Times" documents the paper's tendency before, during and after World War II to place deep inside its daily editions the news stories about the ongoing persecution and extermination of Jews, while obscuring in those stories the special impact of the Nazis' crimes on Jews in particular."Leff attributes this dearth in part to the complex personal and political views of the newspaper's Jewish publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, concerning Jewishness, anti-Semitism, and Zionism.""A Grotesque Spectacle in Jerusalem" article in which Michelle Goldberg writes; "Ivanka Trump smiling in Jerusalem like a Zionist Marie Antoinette"In "What Makes a Front-Page Story?" in April 29, 2018 we find how executive pressure works in suppressing opinions at the NY Times:"If the burden was then on other sections at the paper, top editors were less than enthusiastic about surfacing the story. “There were strong messages that you got that were not written on any whiteboard,” said David W. Dunlap, a reporter in the NY Times Metro section at the time. “You knew to avoid it. It was a self-reinforcing edict: Don’t write about queers.”"And again:"Max Frankel, the former editorial page editor at the paper, which operated separately from the newsroom, said this was in keeping with the paper’s ethos at the time: “They were being squeamish for some reason,” Frankel said, speaking of the newsroom. “Their squeamishness was actually damaging to the public understanding of what was going on.”"That "ethos" is still alive at the NY Times and how writing pro-Israel or pro-Orthodox Jewish articles work.In the recent Gaza violence driven by Hamas–to mention just one instance–the NY Times termed the barrages of Molotov Cocktails, IEDs, fire bombs, rocks and attempts to tear down the border fence with large flaming tractor tires, as an “experiment with nonviolent protest.’”Arthur S. Brisbane in his final column as the NY Times public editor (ombudsman, a position solely created in the wake of the major NY Times 2003’s Jayson Blair scandal of writing 36 imaginary stories as fact) said this,“Across the paper’s many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism – for lack of a better term – that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times.”The animus towards Israel by the NY Times will never end.That's why they will always get it wrong.Journalism is reporting, not vile, anti-Orthodox, anti-Semitic, propaganda.•