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Denied Dependence

It continues to entertain me when I read or listen to some fundamentalist claims such as "I only trust the Bible's words" or "I don't read scholarship and commentaries, only God's word." I first saw this handy little flow chart on James McGrath's blog. He remarked,

"Does someone claim that they simply read the Bible and have no need for scholars, when they are reading the Bible in translation, or reading critical editions of the texts in the original languages, or using manuscripts copied by scribes, having learned Hebrew and Greek with the help of textbooks and lexicons? That person is a liar, plain and simple."

Perhaps you may find some interest in it.

2 comments:

Dawn McLaughlin83 said...

Good one. I think the about the only reason that statement is ever made is really to avoid the work of truly studying out what the text actually says. Talk about blind trust in any particular translator!! Too funny!
Its easy to be obdurate about something when you just what to parrot what someone else says and not think for yourself!!

S. Edwin Rufener said...

Dawn, I think you touched on the key issue, thinking. Upon reading your comment, I had to think of the quotation from Dr. Wayne Dyer (which we are both fond of quoting): "The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about and refuse to investigate." Thanks for your comments.