It looks like I am going to have to break my desire to not respond for a
few days, however, I would like to respond to this post of yours just
briefly.
When looking at the words of Christ in the gospels, we must distinguish
between the ipissima verba ("his very words") and the ipissima vox ("his
very voice" or his teaching summarized). One fact that is universally
recognized and makes assessing Jesus' exact words difficult to realize is
the distinction between verba and vox. Jesus probably gave most of his
teaching in Aramaic, which was the lingua franca of Palestine at that
time. Since the Gospels were written in Greek, this means that most of
Jesus' teaching in the Gospels is already a translation. Therefore, since
a translation is already present, we don't have Jesus' "very words" in the
strictest sense of the term.
Secondly, we also know that much of Jesus' teaching was summarized by the
Apostles in just a few sentences. For example, the clearest example would
be the Sermon on the Mount. We know that Jesus kept the people for hours,
yet we can read the Sermon on the Mount in just a few minutes. This means
the authors simply wrote what they believed to be significant in their
account. This is a very brief overview of my point which I would like to
flesh out more in a few days, however, I'm sure you understand the point.
The Gospels are a summation (in many respects) of what the authors felt
was important in making their theological point. This is why you will see
selected events and items mentioned and omitted by each author. Nothing
in the language necessitates a formal logical contradiction when seen in
the light of the ipissima verba and ipissima vox. One must investigate
the theological motive in order to understand the text in question. I
look forward to your response.
RJV 3/5
Translation: The Holy Bible is the hearsay of the Word of God.
Or, even better
Translation: The Holy Bible is the heresy of the Word of God.
I'd like to see Walt Jr disprove that last one. He seems to agree with
the first.
(Been dying to try out these new inerrantist arguments on someone. ;) )
-- R Jason Valentine ..ooOO miracle@procyon.com
"Son, you can't be an atheist. Who do you scream to when you're having
sex?"
- Dad (the comedian)
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