Seabass
Active Member
Baptist Greek scholar Charles B Williams who argued that 'eis' does not have a causal meaning. Prof Williams has an interesting connection to Julius Mantey:
AI:
Charles Bray Williams (often called Charles B. Williams or C.B. Williams), a Baptist Greek scholar and professor.
He was indeed a strong voice against the idea that eis (εἰς) has a causal meaning (“because of”) in passages like Acts 2:38. Williams argued that eis here retains its standard prospective/purpose sense (“for,” “in order to,” or “unto”), pointing forward to the forgiveness of sins as the goal or result of repentance and baptism.
His Translation of Acts 2:38
In his well-known work, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People (first published in 1937, with later editions), Williams rendered the key part of Acts 2:38 as:
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…”
He consistently used “for” (purpose/result) rather than any causal rendering like “because of” or “on account of” forgiveness already received. This aligns with the vast majority of English translations and standard Greek lexicons/grammars.
His Stance on the Causal View
Williams explicitly rejected the causal interpretation of eis in Acts 2:38 and similar passages. Baptist scholars and writers who opposed Mantey’s view have sometimes cited Williams as an example of a competent Greek expert (and fellow Baptist) who saw no linguistic basis for treating eis as causal in this context. He viewed the preposition as forward-looking, not backward-looking.
Connection to Julius Mantey and Baylor University
Charles B. Williams taught Greek New Testament at Baylor University (he served as chair/professor of Greek and Interpretation there in the early-to-mid 20th century). Julius R. Mantey was a student in one of Williams’ Greek classes at Baylor.
According to accounts from those familiar with the story, Williams directly told Mantey that his proposed causal use of eis was incorrect. This personal interaction is sometimes mentioned in discussions of the Mantey-Marcus debate as an interesting footnote: even one of Mantey’s own former professors (a fellow Baptist) disagreed with him on this grammatical point.
This fits the broader picture:
AI:
Charles Bray Williams (often called Charles B. Williams or C.B. Williams), a Baptist Greek scholar and professor.
He was indeed a strong voice against the idea that eis (εἰς) has a causal meaning (“because of”) in passages like Acts 2:38. Williams argued that eis here retains its standard prospective/purpose sense (“for,” “in order to,” or “unto”), pointing forward to the forgiveness of sins as the goal or result of repentance and baptism.
His Translation of Acts 2:38
In his well-known work, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People (first published in 1937, with later editions), Williams rendered the key part of Acts 2:38 as:
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…”
He consistently used “for” (purpose/result) rather than any causal rendering like “because of” or “on account of” forgiveness already received. This aligns with the vast majority of English translations and standard Greek lexicons/grammars.
His Stance on the Causal View
Williams explicitly rejected the causal interpretation of eis in Acts 2:38 and similar passages. Baptist scholars and writers who opposed Mantey’s view have sometimes cited Williams as an example of a competent Greek expert (and fellow Baptist) who saw no linguistic basis for treating eis as causal in this context. He viewed the preposition as forward-looking, not backward-looking.
Connection to Julius Mantey and Baylor University
Charles B. Williams taught Greek New Testament at Baylor University (he served as chair/professor of Greek and Interpretation there in the early-to-mid 20th century). Julius R. Mantey was a student in one of Williams’ Greek classes at Baylor.
According to accounts from those familiar with the story, Williams directly told Mantey that his proposed causal use of eis was incorrect. This personal interaction is sometimes mentioned in discussions of the Mantey-Marcus debate as an interesting footnote: even one of Mantey’s own former professors (a fellow Baptist) disagreed with him on this grammatical point.
This fits the broader picture:
- Mantey was relatively isolated in pushing for a causal eis (even he admitted most lexicons and grammars didn’t support it, and he leaned on his own Dana-Mantey grammar).
- Scholars like Ralph Marcus (in the JBL articles) and others, including Williams, maintained that the evidence for a causal sense was lacking, and the natural meaning in Acts 2:38 is purpose/result.
