The Historical-Meaning Rule: Past Writers Must Be Allowed to Speak
Past writers must be interpreted in the sense their words bore in their own time before continuity, development, correction, or contradiction is claimed.
Open record →Category: Research Method
19 published records in this controlled archive.
The Martin Rule: No More Than the Text Proves
A doctrinal reconstruction may conclude no more than its declared textual corpus explicitly states or necessarily entails.
Open record →The Archival-Continuity Safeguard: Preserve the Record of Change
Material revisions, corrections, and retractions must preserve a dated record of what changed, why it changed, and which version is current.
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The Text-Stewardship Safeguard: A Scan Is Not a Verified Text
Facsimile, OCR, diplomatic transcription, corrected transcription, modern-reader edition, translation, excerpt, and quotation must remain visibly distinct.
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The Provenance Safeguard: Name the Source Actually Consulted
Research must identify the source actually consulted and disclose whether access was direct, derivative, incomplete, uncertain, or dependent on another report.
Open record →The Pastoral-Purpose Safeguard: Defend, Protect, Correct, and Recover
Polemics must aim at defending truth, protecting readers, correcting error, and recovering offenders—not merely punishing enemies.
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