Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Mailbox

Today's Mailbox:

I get a lot of e-mail. I get a lot of things from people thankful for something I've written, and I do get critiques as well. I get people writing with genuine questions, and I also get people near exam time needing a paper on Luther. Here are some recent letters:

My friend Turretinfan sent me the following "heads up" which gave me such a chuckle I had to share it-

TQuid, Steve Ray's got an insult-riddled response to your critique of his citation in his book Crossing the Tiber, posted. I noted with amusement his claim: "It seems he is a James White wanna-be, though he’s no where near as clever." It's funny because he's trying to insult your intelligence and poison the well, while misspelling "nowhere." It's hard to take that guy seriously, but lots of people read his stuff. Ah well. May God be glorified, -Turretinfan

Mr. Ray's response was only an 11 page PDF file. I'm very flattered Mr. Ray took time away from his pilgrimages and promotional work to compose such a heart felt response [by the way, the Roman Catholic typo-police got me on that one]. I will deal with Mr. Ray this weekend.

And here's another letter from my mailbox, in which the writer thinks my name is "Luther":

Luther, perhaps you could help me with one of my many theological inquiries. When it comes to Sola Scriptura, I have my doubts towards its dependability ever since I read Bart Ehrman's book, Misquoting Jesus. The book has leads me to believe that the Scriptures are flawed because of human error. Also there is the matter of interpretation. Is the Bible to be taken literally or metaphorically? How am I to interpret meaning from a source of authority which is flawed? Theologian In Training

Well, the premise of Ehrman is flawed. Because there is not a perfect original copy of each book of the Bible does not mean we do not have reliable text. I suggest an in-depth study of textual criticism.

Finally, Carrie has sent me a recent batch of e-mails filled with research that I've thought about all day, and will think about the rest of the week. They were TRUE blessings! Thanks Carrie!

2 comments:

Carrie said...

They were TRUE blessings! Thanks Carrie!

I am delighted I could help. Otherwise, I flooded your inbox for nothing.

research that I've thought about all day, and will think about the rest of the week.

Geek! :)

Rhology said...

Also there is the matter of interpretation. Is the Bible to be taken literally or metaphorically?

I love questions like that.
And by "love", I mean "think are really shallow". Take that as metaphorically as you like.