Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ishnian" <ishinan AT comcast.net>]

Dear George,

I will of course obey the words of you, as one of the moderators of b-hebrew. 

But your words in reality imply in censorship of the list-members: those who 
do not share the view of most scholars, that the account of Genesis 1 and 2 
is mythical, are not allowed to express themselves fully; they ar not allowed 
to use  the SCHOLARLY arguments they want.  This means that a free discussion 
is not allowed (in "free discussion" I do not include theological discussion).

The consequence of your words can be illustrated in the following way: If I 
quote Job 26:7 ""He...hangs the earth upon nothing," I am not allowed to say 
that these words accord with modern science, because modern science has shown 
that there is nothing below the earth that holds it up.

I have been a member of b-hebrew since the last part of the 1990s, and while 
theological discussions have not been accepted, I have never seen this kind 
of censorship before.



Best regards,


Rolf Furuli
Stavern
Norway




Torsdag 6. September 2012 14:21 CEST skrev George Athas 
<George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>:


  Rolf wrote:

  "Did I violate the rules of b-hebrew when I argued that the account did not 
start with chaos, and that what is said in Genesis 1:1-2 accords with modern 
science?"

  In arguing that Gen 1 did not start with chaos — fine for discussion, 
because it's asking about literary content.

  In arguing that Gen 1 accords with modern science — not fine for 
discussion, because it's moving beyond the literature into a different field.

  Hence, keep things confined to the literature. Modern science is not on the 
table for discussion here at B-Hebrew.



  GEORGE ATHAS
  Dean of Research,
  Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
  Sydney, Australia