OK, so you may need to keep dictionary.com open on your browser, but it is well worth your effort. Steve Hays has commented on the current state of dialogue between myself and Mr. Holding. I truly appreciate the perspective he brings as well as his wit. I found myself chuckling frequently in reading through this article. I appreciated especially the last section. I have not, as yet, invested the time to go read through everything Holding has posted—I’ve been seeing enough being posted in our channel, sent in e-mails, etc., to know its character. I had not seen the quote, however, that Hays chose to comment upon last. He cites:
10. “Sorry, but White clearly does not have his exegetical ducks in a row. I recommend he read Kasemann, Fitzmyer, Esler, and Witherington. That should run the gauntlet for him, and maybe throw in a healthy dose of Cranfield for the grammar.”
I love when folks who show no evidence of first-hand ability in exegetical work fall back upon listing commentators in this fashion. What is more, the list is quite humorous. You might as well say, “If you really want to get your political ducks in a row, go read Bush, Kerry, Jackson, Boxer and Peroutka.” Yeah, that’ll give you a real clear view of things. I use Kasemann as a door stop, I will honestly admit (why do I have it? I went to Fuller Seminary!), and learned a lot from Cranfield—however, what strikes me as odd is that I can evaluate Cranfield directly (Greek, Hebrew, textual issues)–can Mr. Holding? If not, why offer this list? Hays commented on the above:
Well, it would be quite a trick for Dr. White to line up all these ducks in a row. Kasemann is a liberal Lutheran duck, Fitzmyer is a liberal Catholic duck, Witherington is an Evangelical Arminian duck, Esler is another liberal duck (subspecies: Anatidae Sanders), while Cranfield is a Barthian duck.
In addition, only two of the five (Esler, Witherington) belong to the sociorhetorical school of criticism. So it would, indeed, be no small feat to point all these ducks in the same direction. However, a quack like Holding may have just the right birdcall to make it happen.
