Many readers of this paper know of the Cecil Willis long-standing dispute with certain

Denominational friends over the use of the Greek preposition eis, translated "for" or "unto" in Acts 2: 38. Some may not be aware of a brief exchange which took place on the subject between two scholars of repute during 1951-52 in the prestigious Journal of Biblical Literature.

That discussion involved the disputed "causal" (denoting cause) use of eis, a usage which, if established, would lend credence to the translation "because of" in Acts 2:38.

Dr. J. R. Mantey of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and co-author of the Dana and Mantey Greek grammar affirmed in two articles that eis should be translated in certain New Testament passages as "causal," and called on classical and other extra-Biblical Greek authors for illustrations of this usage. Dr. Ralph Marcus of the University of Chicago responded in two articles, examining these illustrations one by one, and charging Dr. Mantey with allowing scholarly judgment to be colored by theological convictions.

This material is copyrighted, and requests for permission to duplicate it are understandably denied. I have made a short summary of the material, however, along with details on obtaining the complete pertinent issues of the Journal of Biblical Literature. I will be happy to send this material free upon request as a public service on receipt of a self-addressed, stamped, business-size (No. 10) envelope. Please mention this paper when you write.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XV: 4, p. 2a
November 26, 1970