Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 10-18-2005, 06:47 PM

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Why have I have changed my mind and no longer write or subscribe? Not largely for any ethical reasons but for commercial reasons of my own. The publicity I have had for my views is a lasting benefit to me (and maybe to scholarship, but that’s not for me to say). The returns have now diminished, partly because there is little more useful publicity to be had, but mostly because the respect Shanks has among the scholarly community has diminished. His stock value has plummeted, and the benefit to scholars of being included in his pages is much less.

. . .

The most notorious error of judgment involving Shanks was in fact not his own: he was the victim. As is well known, in the case against Qimron over the copyright in 4QMMT, he lost. I was, and am, 100% on his side. But over subsequent issues, especially the so-called "James Ossuary," he has exhibited very poor judgment. He has been obliged to challenge the competence of a large number of scholarly experts, which is surely an unwise policy for the editor of a magazine that sells scholarship. He has also exposed his lack of scholarly credentials (which scholars used to comment on but did not really protest).

spin · 10-19-2005, 07:47 AM

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Originally Posted by Toto

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I think the following final salvo was the cutest. After suggesting that Shanks should get a new editor, Davies writes:

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Maybe there are other things Hershel can move on to: he has considerable gifts, and with the addition of a little humility, there is still much he might achieve -- elsewhere.

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