40. “Principles of Biblical Interpretation”, 1953

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 40, Call No.: 024042

Staff Only

Content Description

From the Collection: This is a very extensive collection of well over 250 scholarly papers, the vast majority of them written by Cottrell. There are papers covering the topics of hermeneutics, exegesis, church polity, governance, and history, Daniel, Revelation, Ellen White, science, plus many others. Cottrell surely had a wide range of interests and seemingly an input on almost every subject which became current in the second half of the 20th century. Nearly all of the papers are unpublished meaning they were designed for limited circulation. Many of the papers were prepared for distribution to a church sponsored study group or committee such as the Bible Research Fellowship or the Biblical Research Institute.

Perhaps one of Cottrell’s greatest contributions to the Adventist Church was his work on the authoritative Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary series. As mentioned above he served as the associate editor of the series along with editor Francis D. Nichol. Besides editing many thousands of pages of other peoples work he wrote about 2,000 pages. The Commentary articles are not signed. Cottrell provides a list of the various authors and what books of the Bible they contributed to on the project.

A significant work of Cottrell’s which is not well known is his Eschatology of Daniel. It is at number 222 in the inventory. It was never formally published. Cottrell says the manuscript awaits a climate of openness and objectivity in the church, which is essential to a fair examination of the facts.”

Dates

1953

Extent

30 Pages

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Materials Specific Details

This paper was assigned by the newly established GC Biblical Research Committee, of which I was a member, as a guide for people submitting papers to the committee for consideration. Simultaneously an ad hoc GC Committee on Problems in Biblical Interpretation was meeting intermittently to consider some twenty-five Bible passages in which the newly published Revised Standard Version deprived Adventists of KJV proof texts considered important to the Adventist belief system. It was therefore considered appropriate to publish my article in the book Problems in Bible Translation, in which the ad hoc committee presented its report. Reading my paper prior to publication G. C. President W. H. Branson took exception to four hermeneutical procedures because he said they would disqualify him from studying the Bible, and he peremptorily rejected the paper. Ellen White specifically commends all four. Accordingly, I added Ellen G. White comments throughout the paper.