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THE COMPUTER
LOOKS AT
THE BIBLE
A new controversy has arisen! Theologians
are
sharply divided
on
the question
of
whether the
computer can resolve the authorship
of
various
books
of
the Bible. This article examines both sides
of
the "computer question."
T
HE ELECTRONIC
computer has
complerely revoluríonized rhe
scientific world. Ir is now
enrering che arena of tbeological con–
troversy. "Compurer" - a word
almosr unheard-of rwo decades ago -
has become a pare of our common
vocabulary, along with spurnik, sarel–
lite, and Saturn V.
Strengths of the Computer
The speed and capabi lities of rhe
third and fourth generation comput–
ers are astOunding. For example, in
April 1970, the
U.
S.'s Apollo XIII
moon mission began having serious
problems while 205,000 miles from
che earrh, shordy before reaching che
moon. The mission was aborred and
che decision made ro bring rhe
crippled ship immediately back ro
earth. Ir rook scientisrs working with
computers only 84 minutes - less
rhan 1\tí hours - ro figure che cor–
rect recurn path.
NASA has figured rhat rhe calcu-
PLAIN TRUTH September·October 1972
by
Lester
L.
Grobbe
larions would have raken one man
using jusc pencil and paper more than
a million years ro perform
1
With a
desk caJcularor, he could cut his rime
ro only 60,000 years. NASA stated,
"Had all che people in the mission
planning and analysis divísion at the
time - a total of 220 - been
assigned rhe rask, ir could have been
manually compuced in just under
4,730 years, or by che year 6700!"
This serves only as a brief íllustra–
tion of che value of computers in
modern science and research.
Computers have even found their
way into che area of rheology and
bíblica! scudies. One of the mosr con–
troversia! areas of compu ter usage is
that of determiníng aurhorship of cee–
rain books of che Bible. Whar are che
results? Are they valid?
Can Computers Determine
Authorship?
Perhaps rhe bese known name in
rhis area is that of A.
Q.
Morron.
Thís Scottish clergyman claíms ro
have proved that Paul wrote only
Galatians, Romans, I and II Corin–
thians, and Philemon - only 5 of the
14 New Tesrament books tradition–
ally amibuted ro him.
Mr. Morcon has wrirren numerous
anides on che subject and has given a
thorough discussion of his merhods
and premises in che book,
Paul, the
Man and the Myth,
published in 1966.
Mr. Morron concluded rhat mosr
dererminarions of style were "no
more than personal, subjecrive judg–
menrs." What was needed, he felt,
was an "objecrive basis" for judging
rhe aurhorship of a particular writing.
After analyzing various Greek writers,
he concluded that writers generaUy
follow an unconscious pattern of
usage ("instinctive fea cures") in cee–
rain areas. The cwo reses which,
according ro
A.
Q.
MortOn's reason–
ing, supposedly proved wherher Paul
wrore a particular episcle are as follows:
(1)
The lengrh of sentences, and
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