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  • From: Ron Snider <sarasotapt AT comcast.net>
  • To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] [Fwd: Re: Qoheleth]
  • Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:39:39 -0400

George,

I meant to add, but forgot to, that the acronmym KISS (keep is simple stupid) is a good one, and Occam's razor "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better" is the way I generally try to approach things.

Occam's further thought that "plurality should not be posited without necessity" is germane to these authorship issues .
When competing hypotheses are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selection of the hypothesis that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities while still sufficiently answering the question. I think Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch and the other authors of their respective books fulfills these general principles. Even if I am incorrect, does adding unknown authors, with whatever motivation, bring us any closer to understanding what the text says. Much of this is largely due to the advent of Higher Criticism, which I believe to be largely rationalistic in nature, and which I fear has muddied the scholarly and theological waters.

Regards,

Ron Snider <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor#cite_note-2>



  • [b-hebrew] [Fwd: Re: Qoheleth], Ron Snider, 09/13/2009

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