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Charles Spurgeon and Textual Criticism
Normally when Charles Spurgeon is spoken of he is hailed as the Prince of Preachers. He is especially appreciated with regard to his public preaching skill. Undoubtedly, Spurgeon was a very skilled preacher who loved the Lord and proclaimed Scripture boldly. Much of Spurgeon’s life serves as a tremendous example that Christians (generally) and preachers (specifically) ought to follow. One often-neglected aspect of Spurgeon’s preaching capability was his attention to the original language as far as ascertaining to the original text. In other words, Spurgeon regularly practiced textual criticism. Spurgeon was very concerned with making sure he was preaching what was truly God’s Word. Although Spurgeon preferred using the AV (KJV), he was not bound to it. Read to what Spurgeon says: Do not needlessly amend our authorized version. It is faulty in many places, but still it is a grand work taking it for all in all, and it is…