Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <Peter_Kirk AT sil.org>]

Ian, is the comment below intended personally against me? Translation may be
my main occupation, and I admit to being an amateur at history, but I don't
see why a translator cannot also be a good historian, unless you are arguing
at a personal level. In fact I am seriously trying to understand the
principles of history. I had hoped to find that they were based on proper
scientific logic. If their foundation is the type of logic I have often seen
in your postings, then those foundations need to be relaid. I may be forced
to agree with Henry Ford (was it?) that "history is bunk" and start an
alternative way of looking at the past on proper scientific principles.

I would love to do a study of your uses of the word "if". It seems that you
love to prefix an outrageously speculative statement with "if",  state a
logical (sometimes) conclusion from it, and then continue as if your
conclusion has been demonstrated. This is not logic! How about this for a
proof that 2+2 is not equal to 4: If 2+2 = 5, then 2+2 is not equal to 4,
QED. Agreed?

Peter Kirk

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Hutchesson [mailto:mc2499 AT mclink.it]
Sent: 11 December 2000 11:22
To: Biblical Hebrew
Subject: Re: Question Concerning Inspiration (was Joe)

<snip>

If one doesn't want to understand the principles of history, then I don't
see why one should even bother to comment. History is not important to such
a person. They wash their hands of significant input if they are in the
business of translation.

<snip>