From: Williams, Wes (Wes.Williams@echostar.com)
Date: Tue Aug 04 1998 - 13:17:24 EDT
But, on the other hand, do we have any right to withhold knowledge
and
technical tools from the public arena and confine them to the
academic
establishment?
When William Tyndale was in discussion with a cleric, Tyndale said: "If God
spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough
shall know more of the scripture than thou dost." Tyndale would prove true
to his word.
Putting the bible in the hands of plowboys proved to be a fine thing for
many plowboys. By reading it directly, they could compare it with what they
were taught. I can imagine objections like 'the commoners should not read
the bible because they are unskilled.' To be sure, this gave rise to new
errors, but also to the discarding of errors due to the advancement of
knowledge.
Despite tremendous opposition, the technological advancement of the printing
press was too much for the opposers.
For myself, and I'm sure I speak for many on this list, I've read too many
assertions in biblical literature that "such and such is always the case in
the original languages." A computer search can give you information to
quickly affirm or deny such an alleged rule or assertion. To be sure, one
must understand and analyze the computer generated list. But even today,
empowering the plowboy is a fine thing in my opinion.
As an aside, I would like to extend many thanks to the scholars who make
their time and knowledge available on this list. They are good sources to
evaluate the integrity of a computer generated list, even though an
individual among them may or may not agree with the conclusion.
Power to the plowboy.
Sincerly,
Wes Williams
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