Sat Mar 23 23:56:17 1996

From majordom  Sat Mar 23 23:56:17 1996
Return-Path: 
Received: by scholar.cc.emory.edu (5.0/SMI-SVR4)
	id AA16007; Sat, 23 Mar 1996 23:56:17 +0500
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 1996 23:53:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Maurice Robinson 
To: tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu
Subject: Re: Different dating systems
In-Reply-To: <9603221711.AA31755@osf1.gmu.edu>
Message-Id: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Length: 1798
Sender: owner-tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu



On Fri, 22 Mar 1996, Stephen C Carlson wrote:

> Comfort's Early Text Theory seems to violate the maxim that the earliest
> reading is not necessarily the best reading.  (This is because preservation
> and text families are both dependent on geography.)  But, to be fair, he
> only argues that the earliest text should be accorded the presumption of
> being the best reading, which in individual instances may be rebutted by
> the normal eclectic methods.  

As I read Comfort, with his VERY dogmatic assertion that he is correct, 
bolstered by his listing of places where N26/27 should be altered to 
agree with his assertions, I think that he is going far beyond merely 
arguing "presumption".

> Some Majority Text proponents advocate a
> similar approach, but with the majority reading being accorded the
> presumption.

I would note, however, that the presumption as to specifically _which_ 
texttype to follow is NOT an a priori, but derives only after attempting 
to develop a transmissional history of the text which accounts for all 
variation.  I should not have to repeat that my own position moved from a 
fairly rigorous pro-Alexandrian position in the late 1960s due to 
shifting my text-critical scope from electicism to transmissional 
history.  There was NO initial presumption in favor of the Byzantine 
Textform which underlay my own position.

> When the evidence is inconclusive as it often seems to be, the name of the
> game becomes: Who's got the burden of proof?

Exactly.


_________________________________________________________________________
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D.            Assoc.Prof./Greek and New Testament
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary     Wake Forest, North Carolina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back