Ad Fontes: Textual Criticism for Lutheran Laity
Lutheran laypeople already encounter textual criticism—in pew-Bible footnotes, online videos, classrooms, and conversations nobody handed them a framework for. This study supplies that framework in plain language and from within the categories of the Lutheran confession.
The introduction and four lessons stand on their own, include complete citations, and end with assignments you can do using the Bible already on your shelf. Follow along with a live Sunday school class, work through the material with a group, or read at your own pace.
The series is adapted from Ad Fontes: Textual Criticism for Lutheran Laity (first edition, May 2026).
Read the study
- Introduction
An Apology for Ad Fontes
Before this series asks for your attention, you deserve an account of why it exists
Read introduction → - Lesson 1
You've Been Doing Textual Criticism for Years
The footnotes you've been skipping are little windows into work already done on your behalf
Read lesson 1 → - Lesson 2
The Reformers Were Textual Critics
Ad fontes — to the sources — is not a modern invention. It is the Reformation instinct
Read lesson 2 → - Lesson 3
The 400,000 Variants Problem
The number is broadly accurate. The way it is typically deployed is broadly dishonest
Read lesson 3 → - Lesson 4
Confident on Better Grounds
What the ending of Mark asks of us, and what inspiration and preservation actually promise
Read lesson 4 →
Reference desk
Glossary of Textual Criticism
Plain-English definitions for the technical terms used throughout the book and study.
Corrections
A dated record of substantive corrections and print-edition erratum candidates.