AWOL: Andrew Wilson Online

 In the first two chapters the Song described the delight the lovers experienced in each others’ fellowship. Over the next three chapters, the Shulamite has a recurrent dream – a nightmare – in which she fears that she will lose her Beloved. After the first dream (3:1-4), her fears are calmed by a visit from Solomon himself (3:6-6-11) who reassures her of his love in the most wonderful possible way (Chapter 4). Thus, we might entitle the middle chapters of the Song, Love’s Fears.

There are two views among Christians on the subject of guidance. Some people think that God does not guide people today, and some people think He does!

Which view is right? 

 INTRODUCTION

The non-Johannine origin of the Pericope Adulterae is considered a foregone conclusion by most textual critics. This is hardly surprising, considering the external evidence against it:

1. The agreement of the most ancient MSS of John’s Gospel in omitting the passage: including P66, P75, Codex Sinaiticus (01), Codex Alexandrinus (A), Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Ephraemi-Rescriptus (C), Codex Purpureus (N), Codex Borgianus (T) and Codex Washingtonianus (W) - all dating from the 3rd to the 6th centuries.
2. The breadth of versional support is against the passage, most manuscripts of the Syriac, Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, Georgian and Slavonic Versions omitting the incident.
3. The early Greek Church Fathers who provide commentaries on John omit it, including Origen and Chrysostom.
4. The placement of the account in various positions, including at the end of John’s Gospel or at the end of Luke chapter 21 in some manuscripts.
5. The marking of the passage as dubious with an asterisk or obelus in many manuscripts which contain it.
6. Finally, the disturbed state of the text in the manuscripts that contain it, seen in the fact that various forms of the incident are found in the manuscripts. Von Soden classifies seven different versions of the text amongst the manuscripts.

Most modern treatments of the passage have tended to focus on this external evidence. However, internal evidence is also frequently claimed to be against the Pericope Adulterae and it is with the internal evidence that we shall primarily concern ourselves here. The two commonly-voiced internal arguments against the incident are (1) that its style and vocabulary differ from the rest of John’s Gospel and (2) that it interrupts the flow and themes of John’s Gospel. As we shall see, these arguments are rather dubious.

A little boy noticed a large black book covered with dust lying on a high shelf and he asked his mother about it. Embarrassed, she quickly said, ‘Oh, that's a Bible - that's God's book'. He thought for a moment and then said, ‘Well, Mum, if that's God's book, why don't we give it back to him - nobody here is reading it'.

If the Bible is God's Word, then what should we do?