Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

George:

Define “critical”.

According to the definition of “critical” from the dictionary found in the
Macintosh OS (copied and pasted below), I practice the second definition
regularly. That is what is behind my having written a dictionary from
Biblical Hebrew to English, as I analyzed word uses in Hebrew and compared
them to other dictionaries to which I had access and found that those
dictionaries did not always give accurate definitions that fit the contexts
where the words were found in Biblical Hebrew.

However, there is a fifth definition found among liberal theologians that
refers to a school of belief founded on an à priori belief in evolution, an
Euro-centric hubris with a dash of anti-Semitism (I don’t know if modern
practitioners continue that anti-Semitism) that has built up a rather
elaborate edifice upon that rotten foundation. No matter how intricate the
carving or elaborate the paintings on the edifice, using the second
definition of “critical” thought to pull out the rot in the foundation will
bring down the whole structure. Yes, a few pieces of art may be
salvageable, but most will have to be carted off to the trash heap after
the collapse.

So which definition of “critical” do you mean?

Karl W. Randolph.

On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 2:11 AM, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>wrote:

> Karl,
>
> That was a very elaborate way of saying, "I refuse to engage with critical
> scholarship."
>
> Happy building!
>
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Director of Postgraduate Studies
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
>

critical |ˈkritikəl|adjective1 expressing adverse or disapproving comments
or judgments: he was critical of many U.S. welfare programs.2 expressing or
involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature,
music, or art: she never won the critical acclaim she sought.• (of a
published literary or musical text) incorporating a detailed and scholarly
analysis and commentary: a critical edition of a Bach sonata.• involving
the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a
judgement: professors often find it difficult to encourage critical
thinking in their students.3 (of a situation or problem) having the
potential to become disastrous; at a point of crisis: the flood waters had
not receded, and the situation was still critical.• (of a person) extremely
ill and at risk of death: he had been in critical condition since
undergoing surgery.• having a decisive or crucial importance in the success
or failure of something: temperature is a critical factor in successful
fruit storage.4 Mathematics & Physics relating to or denoting a point of
transition from one state to another.• (of a nuclear reactor or fuel)
maintaining a self-sustaining chain reaction: the reactor is due to go
critical in October.


>
> On 04/01/2012, at 3:19 PM, "K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com<mailto:
> kwrandolph AT gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> George:
>
> On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 3:36 PM, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au
> <mailto:George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>> wrote:
> I know of no Copernican Revolution in our knowledge of Hebrew that
> relegates Blau's work to the Ptolomaic scrap heap.
>
> You miss the point. It is not a Copernican Revolution that relegates
> Blau’s work to the Ptolomaic scrap heap. It’s just that if the work is
> based on a faulty foundation, no amount of careful kludging together will
> rescue a faulty argument.
>
> Yes, Blau's work is worth the money and effort. Get it. Read it. Learn.
> You don't need to agree with everything you read in order to learn from it.
> In fact, I learn a lot from engaging with those with whom I end up
> disagreeing.
>
> The question here is a matter of prioritizing time: will I learn more from
> a hour of disagreeing with Blau, or analyzing a couple of chapters of
> Isaiah? If I have only an hour available, the answer is clear—Isaiah wins
> hands down. Blau only if I have time beyond that. Most of the time I don’t
> have that extra time available, beyond taking care of other matters.
>
> Of course, if one wants to judge the book before you've read it, go ahead.
> But I pity such epistemic folly and cannot really take seriously such ones
> as demonstrate that deplorable attitude, building their castles on sand.
>
> There are many things I don’t involve myself. For example, I haven’t read
> “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the
> Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life” by Charles Darwin
> because I already know he used faulty, unscientific logic in the writing of
> that book. The picture I am getting from this discussion is that Blau used
> faulty, unscientific logic in the compilation of this book under
> discussion: yes there may be a diamond in it, but it looks as if I may have
> to move a ton of rock to find it.
>
> The questions of faulty basis and prioritizing are what drive me here.
>
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Director of Postgraduate Studies
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
>
> Karl W. Randolph.
>