The Red Letter Problem: How a Nineteenth-Century Editorial Decision Obscures the Foundation of Pauline Authority in Acts
Published by eFireTemple Abstract Red-letter editions of the Bible, first introduced by Louis Klopsch in 1899, print words attributed to Jesus in red ink to visually distinguish them as uniquely authoritative. This article argues that the application of red-letter formatting to the Book of Acts is not a neutral editorial choice — it is an interpretive intervention with serious theological consequences.
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Published by eFireTemple Abstract Red-letter editions of the Bible, first introduced by Louis Klopsch in 1899, print words attributed to Jesus in red ink to visually distinguish them as uniquely authoritative. This article argues that the application of red-letter formatting to the Book of Acts is not a neutral editorial choice — it is an interpretive intervention with serious theological consequences. Specifically, the red-letter treatment of Acts 9:15, in which Jesus appears to speak directly endorsing Paul's apostolic mission, obscures the fact that these words occur inside a vision experienced by a secondary character named Ananias, as recorded by an author who was not present. The passage is not a direct word from Jesus. It is Luke's account of what Ananias reported seeing in a dream.
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New Testament