As I hope is obvious, "official" interventions are few on this List. The
Chairman and Staff of B-Greek hope to see side-issues fade away, and if
they do not, gentle suggestions of the non-B-Greek character are expected
to bring them to an end.
The continued discussions of "logic" in relation to 1 John, however, has
reached the point that (1) endless repetitions of the same points are being
posted, and (2) the subject of what is "logical" and "contradictory" is not
a problem of the Greek text. There is no question of whether "new
commandment" is the right translation of the Greek words, and no issue of
grammar has been debated, much less solved.
I ask, therefore, that the thread be carried on ONLY off-list. Jonathan
has already suggested this; it is now official.
It is clear that on such matters, not only is there much disagreement which
stems from theological stances of those posting, but there is also a vast
difference in the posters' knowledge of the fields of logic, discourse
analysis, epistemology, and pragmatics. As a long-time professor of
philosophy in one of the leading universities of this country, I have been
constantly dismayed at much of what I have read on this thread, and have
had to bite my tongue (finger?) to avoid posting "corrections" in that
field.
We must stick to discussing Biblical Greek -- not our college courses in
philosophy, not our personal theology's implications for interpretation,
and not anything else other than the Greek. This List is for that subject
and no other.
Edward Hobbs
Chairman, B-Greek