Crossan.
We spent a lot of time Thursday talking about the actually
history from when Jesus was alive to how it has been changed over the years.
Professor Silliman described the accuracy of biblical information to a game
of telephone.
So what I want to know is what makes Crossan right? Yes he
has done research and compared many different scriptures from different
texts and shown why they make sense. BUT he has also changed his views on
several things since he has written this version and Professor Silliman has
pointed out. So are we supposed to put
our faith in what Crossan says and assume its true?
I’m not saying I agree or disagree with what Crossan says in
his book I think it is very interest and well written. I just want to know why should believe what he writes?
No one is asking you to put your faith in Crossan; just do your best to understand the reasoning process by which he arrives at his findings, and take very seriously the implications of those findings. The only thing that gives his conclusions credibility is the reasoning process behind them, and the adequacy of the best available evidence -- as he says in his Preface, if his evidence, assumptions, or reasoning turn out to be wrong, then his conclusions will not be warranted. This is why he changes his position when new evidence emerges, like any good scientist, journalist, or indeed any intelligent person.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes Crossan one of the very best scholars in this area is how intellectually honest he is, as well as how comprehensively he considers ALL of the available evidence, whether or not it agrees with his own preferences (see the Philosophy Toolkit on the intellectual virtues).