tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post8042738786174654942..comments2024-03-21T14:59:20.729-04:00Comments on NT Blog: Orality and Literacy VI: Literate authors of ancient textsMark Goodacrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-47006743414072939852008-11-26T23:29:00.000-05:002008-11-26T23:29:00.000-05:00Luke also said, "attempted to compile" (NASB).Even...Luke also said, "attempted to compile" (NASB).<BR/><BR/>Even we educated, highly literate folks today can answer the question: How dang hard is it to write a whole book? ;)Bill Heromanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283809456471966882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-51682540995112033172008-11-17T17:39:00.000-05:002008-11-17T17:39:00.000-05:00In response to Bill, I've suspected for a while th...In response to Bill, I've suspected for a while that the polloi mentioned in Lk 1:1-4 is just that - many. Not just Mark and Q, or not just Mark and Matthew, but there were many other attempts to write gospels that Luke is responding to because he found them all lacking and/or creating such an unacceptable climate of conflict with each other, where someone , like Theophilus, would not know where to start. Luke's editing of Mark (and Matthew) suggests fairly strongly to me that Luke saw himself as a badly needed editor and proofreader. There is, at least, something of a pecking order in the gospels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-30585335609144914312008-11-17T13:52:00.000-05:002008-11-17T13:52:00.000-05:00Mark, thanks for continuing this series. I'll loo...Mark, thanks for continuing this series. I'll look forward to more someday.<BR/><BR/>I can't decide precisely why, but I think it's worth pointing out that even published writers are not all literate to the same degree, nor equally skilled in the same areas of literacy. For example, my 1st grader composes beautifully but her spelling needs work.<BR/><BR/>What can we determine of the Gospel writers' literacy levels, by examining different facets of their compositions?Bill Heromanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283809456471966882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-11558456647952074962008-11-16T18:02:00.000-05:002008-11-16T18:02:00.000-05:00Mark, but wouldn't the illiterate be more likely t...Mark, but wouldn't the illiterate be more likely to be able to quote chunks of Scripture from memory than the literate could? Certainly people in oral cultures seem to remember greater quantities of material with greater accuracy than people from literate cultures expect to...Tim Bulkeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07289349880110581469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-23578990360600992812008-11-16T12:26:00.000-05:002008-11-16T12:26:00.000-05:00Hi Steve. Thanks for your comment. Good call on ...Hi Steve. Thanks for your comment. Good call on my laziness, even if you were lazier still by transliterating :) Cheers, MarkMark Goodacrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-59947850085397819842008-11-16T11:23:00.000-05:002008-11-16T11:23:00.000-05:00Yes, I do agree on your reading of agrammatoi in A...Yes, I do agree on your reading of agrammatoi in Acts 4 (although note that you have lifted it from an electronic Greek NT without correcting the accentation - there can only be two accents on a word if there is another word, an enclitic, following).To carry on a trade would mean writing bills and that would require at least a basic level of literacy, for instance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com