The method of evaluating any information about past events by comparing reports & applying verifiable standards of interpretation. Historical critical methodology is designed to distinguish fact from fiction, in order to establish what most probably happened.

History is a social science and, therefore, inevitably involves differences in human perspective. Events do not just happen, they happen to particular persons. Major historical events often involve clashes between persons with competing cultural views. The historian analyzes all available reports from opposing sides & neutral parties to determine what information is historically reliable & what not. But historians are not exempt from the limitations of history. Each historian is a person with a distinct viewpoint, who inevitably will report matters from his or her own perspective.

Historical criteria, therefore, are designed to minimize the subjective prejudices of the historical interpreter by providing neutral, objective standards for assessing historical information.

Other On-line Resources:

• Historical Criticism - Chapter 5 of Robert M. Grant's Historical Introduction to the New Testament (posted by Religion-Online).

• Historical Criticism - I. H. Marshall explains the necessity, uses & implications of historical research on the interpretation of NT texts (chapter 7 in New Testament Interpretation: Essays on Principles and Method archived by Biblical Studies).

• Interpretation of the Bible in the Church - 1993 report of the Pontifical Biblical Commission to Pope John Paul II explains historical criticism as "the indispensible method for the scientific study of the meaning of ancient texts" (posted by Catholic-Resources).

• Historical Criticism: Its Role in Biblical Interpretation and Church Life - Jesuit biblical scholar Joseph Fitzmyer responds to critiques of historical criticism by distinguishing its methodology from radical conclusions of skeptics (Theological Studies).

• Historical Criticism - brief overview in the Oxford Dictionary of the Bible (posted by Oxford Biblical Studies Online).

• Historical Criticism - C. DeSmedt's 1915 essay in the Catholic Encyclopedia (posted by New Advent).

• Biblical Exegesis: An Introductory Overview - Felix Just outlines questions addressed by various types of historical, literary & contextual criticism (posted by Catholic Resources).

• Historical Criticism and the Evangelical - Evangelical scholar Grant Osborne argues that blanket rejection of historical critical method by other Evangelicals creates doubts about the historical reliability of scripture (posted by Biblical Studies).