Thu Apr 11 10:49:34 1996

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Date: Thu, 11 Apr 1996 10:46:38 -0400
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From: wlp1@psu.edu (William L. Petersen)
Subject: Syriac + it-k
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Regarding Maurice Robinson's two long posts in response to my reply to him,
I leave it to list readers to examine the evidence and decide.  I must,
however, take exception to one point in his post, namely that

>the word "may" utterly and dogmatically
>opposes any opposite notion that such could _not_ be the case.  To
>express uncertainty in any given situation is to dogmatically claim
>that statements to the contrary are to be considered erroneous.  E.g.,
>"Scholars who agree with my views _may_ be right, even if no other
>scholar should agree."

Robinson has failed, in my view, to make a distinction here between known
situations and unknown situations.  "May" is certainly inappropriate where
we have absolute knowledge to the contrary ("Trees _may_ not need oxygen or
light to live.").  But where we do NOT have absolute knowledge--and Robinson
admits that this is the case in the instance of the text of the NT (see the
last paragraph of his second post)--then _may_ is not dogmatic on Souter's
part, but is entirely appropriate, for _neither_ side can speak with
absolute certainty ("The time-space continuum _may_ be infinite.").  While
this is a subtle distinction, I'm sure it is not lost on this erudite audience.

P.S.:  As for being hung in cages in that beautiful university city of
Muenster, I would guess that those who _did_ the hanging _also_ had an
aversion to "may"... [ :-)]

Petersen--Penn State University.

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