Ideally, a translation should give the readers of the Bible in their own language the same interpretive options that a reader of the original will have. I’ve been struggling with a troubling phenomenon in public discourse in the past two years, namely, the abuse of authority in interpretation. The above quote from a recent blog post by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace on Bible translation caught my attention, because it speaks directly […]
Read moreTag: intellectual honesty
What is Creative Open-Mindedness?
An online acquaintance recently sent me a private message recommending a Catholic apologetics book — my post on sola scriptura was an upshot of a debate with her and a few others. I thanked her for the recommendation, but politely declined, saying that I had a very long to-read list and wouldn’t have time for it. Her reply suggested that I was not “open-minded enough”. I was a little taken aback, […]
Read moreSocratic Dialectical Method
Why is Socratic Method so Effective? Most dabblers in philosophy, myself included, are the contentious sort. We assert our opinion and reject others’ offhand, without giving any reason as to why our opinion is better. Consequently, discussions tend to end in futility, with both sides going away unaffected and unimpressed. By contrast, the Socratic Method often ends in unanimous consensus among the interlocutors, with others agreeing with Socrates and seemingly unable […]
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