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Re: Huffing & puffing



> 
> Vincent Broman--No one's "huffing _uffing about who has more degrees".  My
> query to David Marotta was that he supply us with his qualifications for
> challenging this or that scholarly view of the historical meaning of a given
> passage.  Of course anyone has the RIGHT to do whatever they wish in this
> area.  But my question was why I or anyone else should take seriously what
> they say when they do so.  I daresay a specialist in any field would not
> be inclined to take very seriously the opinions of someone with minimum
> qualifications in the subject matter and discipline in question--would you
> listen to a "lay" opinion on some medical matter for example without asking
> the speaker's basis for going against a professional medical opinion?
> Democracy guarrantees civil liberties.  But not all votes are equal in 
> scholarship.  The value of an opinion is connected with whethr the person
> knows much of the subject, methodology, and discipline in question.
> Now then. To Vincent's suggestion that we examine what Marotta proposed 
> for "angeloi" in 1 Cor 11.  I complained earlier that Marotta has rejected
> a perfectly plausible meaning because he didn't personally like it.  This is
> hardly a basis for me taking the view with much seriousness.  (I am still not
> "huffing _uffing" Vincent, just talking straight--OK?)
> If the list is simply an open forum for individuals to "wing it", well thanks,
> but I'm a busy person.  If someone has "paid their dues" by slugging through
> the materials necessary to try to pronounce on a NT text, then maybe tat
> person's views can be considered as woroth serious scholarly attention.
> Again, I emphasize that we're talking about views which opine about the
> HISTORICAL  meaning of the text (i.e., what was likely the "intended"
> meaning of the author/editor), not views about the religious "edification"
> which may of course be based on the religiosity of the person, which I would
> not want to challenge as candidly as I have the scholarly competence of 
> anyone who would pronounce on the historical exegesis of a text.
> But, enough.  Larry Hurtado, Robinson College (lwh11@phx.cam.ac.uk)
> 
Hear, hear! Thanks for saying it so eloquently, Larry.

Felix.
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| Felix Sung                               Wycliffe College           |
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