Ad Fontes
Textual Criticism for Lutheran Laity
Where did the Bible on your shelf come from? Between the apostles’ pens and your English translation stand centuries of copying, collecting, and translating — and a discipline called textual criticism that most laypeople have only heard invoked to unsettle them.
Ad Fontes — “to the sources” — walks ordinary Lutherans through that history plainly: how the manuscripts were made, how they differ, how scholars weigh them, and why none of it threatens the confidence Christians have always placed in the Scriptures. The goal is not to make you a scholar. It is to let you open your Bible without a nagging voice asking whether you can trust it.
Written for adult Sunday school classes and individual readers alike, Ad Fontes serves as the Fall 2026 adult Sunday school text.
Who it's for
Adult Sunday school classes and individual readers who want to open the New Testament without a nagging voice asking whether they can trust it.
What you'll find inside
- How the manuscripts were made, and how they differ
- How scholars weigh the evidence — and why none of it threatens the church's confidence
- Textual criticism explained plainly, for laity rather than scholars
- Serving as the Fall 2026 adult Sunday school text
Keep reading
- Standalone
Just Enough Greek
50 Words Every Confessional Lutheran Should Know
Fifty Greek words that open up the New Testament — no seminary required.
View Just Enough Greek →
Reading path: For Bible Readers →