From: Rolf Furuli (furuli@online.no)
Date: Thu Jan 01 1998 - 16:21:15 EST
Bart Ehrman wrote:
<I'd like to thank Rolf for mentioning my discussion of this variant,
<but I want to emphasize in response that, at least from my vantage point
<(a probative point only if one concedes the intent of an author!) my
<argument was not *at all* theological, in the way he seems to mean, but
<*strictly* textual -- that is, I argue on purely philological, literary,
<and historical grounds for one reading over the other. When I discuss
<"monogenhs," it is, for me, a historical question about what the word
<meant to an ancient reader, not about what it might mean to modern day
<believers with somewhat different agendas.
Dear Bart,
Thank you for your correction. I do not have your book at hand and must
rely on my notes. I agree of course that the author of a book knows better
than the reader what his intent and methods are. I got a very good
impression of your book when I read it and will recomend it to anyone as a
work based on philological, literary and historical arguments. I would also
like to stress that I found the book balanced, and in no way was it my
intention with my posting to insinuate that it was onesided or theological
biased, but I could of course have chosen my words more carefully.
According to my notes you argue in favour of hO MONOGENHS hUIOS because the
reading is witnessed in the Western, the Byzantine and Caesarean text
families. However, it was my impression that just as important as this in
your opinion was the words I quoted from your book, words which I would
call a partly theological argument ("theological" used in the "neutral"
sense of the word). And to the "theological" question: "How can the
MONOGENHS QEOS, the unique God, stand in such a relationship to (another)
God?" I suggested a theological solution. I will read your book again at
the first opportunity, particularly its arguments related to John 1:18, and
make sure that I do not in the future misrepresent it in any way.
Regards
Rolf
Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo
furuli@online.no
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:44 EDT