The Received Text - A Field Guide

The debate over which Bible to use and why has been ongoing for decades. It sometimes appears only to be a discussion of translations, but the topic is actually much more involved.

Any Christian who begins to research this topic-technically called bibliology-will quickly discover that each English Bible is translated from Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic sources and that there is a wide variety of opinions on which original language "text base" is best. Further, once a "text base" is chosen, there are just as many opinions regarding translation methodology.

Sadly, discussions on these topics are typically riddled with pejoratives, reductionism, and straw-man arguments. Because of the mischaracterization that often occurs, it is exceedingly difficult to engage in meaningful conversations.

In The Received Text: A Field Guide, Taylor DeSoto surveys the spectrum of opinions that exist within the context of the ongoing discussion of text and translation within the Protestant churches, offers a critique of these positions, and presents the reader with a clear and persuasive argument in favor of using the Received Text and translations based upon it.

Because he once considered himself a Critical Text advocate, he is able to bring an honest and informed perspective of all sides of the discussion.

The purpose of this book is not to analyze individual textual variants, but to simplify and summarize a nuanced and often over-complicated topic to the level that anyone can understand. May it bring clarity to those seeking truth on the topic and steady the resolve of those already convinced of the position DeSoto advocates.

Taylor DeSoto is a husband, father, and advocate of the continued use of the King James Bible. He helped plant Agros Reformed Baptist Church, co-hosted the Reformed Bibliology vidcast, and now runs the Young, Textless, and Reformed blog where he writes articles which address the topic of Bible translation from a theological perspective.