David Hall recounts a story from Magnus Pyke on the results of Critical Scholarship
In the 1950s and 1960s many British towns were radically redeveloped. Whole areas of a town were pulled down and rebuilt in an econical, efficient, and scientific way. The unfortunate result, Pyke observes, was that when the people came back to reinhabit the places where they were born they did not recognize them, and worse still–in spite of the heating, ventilating, soundproofing, and upgrading, all done on a proper scientific basis–they did not much like what they found.
There has been a parallel development in New Testament Studies. The twentieth century has seen many attempts to reconstruct the New Testament according to a proper scientific plan. The trouble is that the New Testament grew organically, like the old town centers before they were redeveloped. If the early Christians were to come back today, they would not recognize the bulldozed reconstructed New Testament some scholars have created.
David R. Hall, The Seven Pillories of Wisdom p. 36
