Peter Kirby

Do you believe that the traditional modes of communication and interface are 'keeping us honest' in the academic fields of BC&H?

And, what role do you see the new media and communications offered by the Internet playing in the age-old conversation about the Bible?

...more to follow...

spin

I'd guess, like being objective, it's very hard to be honest, but, yes, the opportunity to interact in virtually real time with other ideas does help have a modicum of honesty. After all this is a public forum and readers quickly see who they consider are being honest and who is not. Some members are oblivious, but most aren't. I continually see people getting more coherent in their approaches and further in their understanding of what needs to be done.

This is a matter of keeping us focused. We have a greater immersion in what we are attempting to study, because we can get immediate responses to our thoughts, which are in turn kept fresh in our minds. At least I think we get better at whatever it is we are doing.


spin

Peter Kirby

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, spin. Before bringing this interview to a close, do you have any further words of advice for the armchair Bible scholars of this forum?

kind regards,
Peter Kirby

spin

Two poils come to mind for you swine:

1. Nothing that you believe to be true is free from the need for "objective" validation, ie validation that can be done in controlled circumstances, so that others can see the process of validation. If someday someone comes along and asks you to justify yourself in some way, there's a chance that you mightn't have done it before, and the content of the matter has never been evaluated, so validation can be useful.
2. Take nothing that anyone says as gospel, not even me. It's not authority that counts but the quality of the perception. And you judge that quality when you attempt to validate the perception. It's not your conclusions that matter so much as your methods. Your conclusions may well change as your methods improve.

"He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water."

--

Cheers Peter.


spin

Ted Hoffman

We would like to thank the interviewer, Peter Kirby - for his witty, entertaining and insightful questions and the interviewee for his useful responses. We hope that the audience have been able to capture some pertinent issues for further discussion since Mr. Spin has agreed to delay his next flight to respond to any follow-up questions.
I will now lead the second part of this series and will be firing questions to participants at random.
Uh, to set the ball rolling let me start with Vorkosigan, who has done extensive work on GMark and the chiasms employed therein. I will presume that he prefers cotton underwear and get straight to the questions.
Vork after several hours of studying Mark, and having read the Gospel Hoax, who, in your opinion, was the naked man who fled in Mark? Do you regard the passage as original to Mark and authentic?
What point is the writer or redactor trying to make with that scene?

Vorkosigan

I am not worthy of such a post. Please pass on me. Why not interview Gibson or someone else here who actually knows something. I haven't even published on Mark yet.

Besides, I owe Ben a reply.