use of OS by ancient Aramaic-speaking Christians

[Paul Younan]

Akhi Dave,

What's this god-status you give to the "scholarly world?" Why should I trust them and not the evidence in the text themselves, my own history and culture?

You mean to tell me that if I lived back when Burkitt, the fool's, theories reigned supreme - that I should have listened to him and accepted that Rabbula of Edessa made the Peshitta? Everyone else followed him at the time - you would have, too, because you would have bought his books and have been impressed - just like you do with today's "Burkitts."

What do I care about the "scholarly world?" I'm not rushing out and subscribing to their "life happened by chance" bull, nor do I care if they don't believe in a God. Should I? Maybe I should, huh? They are, after all, the "scholary world."

I guess it's all about who you trust and what history you trust. You seem to want to trust anything that comes out of the western church history and western "scholarship", and that's of course your choice.

I don't trust a thing about them. I see what they've done in the manuscript tradition of theirs. That's their mess to clean up, yours to apologize for if you'll have it. Not me - I'll have none of it, thank you.

If a well-renowned secretary to the Patriarch of the Church of the East said that he translated Tatian's original Aramaic Diatesseron into Arabic, then I believe him. I have no reason not to, with the track record and with the respectibility of the manuscript tradition of the Church of the East.

They've never given me a reason to doubt their word. Why should I? Do they have any manuscripts where the scribe himself complained about revisions and "not leaving the old reading alone?"

No.

Again - you don't have to believe the Arabic Diatesseron. You can go right ahead and believe the modern-day Burkitts of the world. Just don't expect the rest of us to blindly follow along.

None of us here are "scholars", and thank God for that. Neither was Mar Aphrahat - and I'd much rather be like him any day of the week than like the people who currently sit on the chairs of universities.

You see this gentleman here, do you? He never held any degree from western "universities" nor did he ever care what Burkitt, Voobus or Metzger said. But I'll tell you what - when he was a mere 12 years old he could put the whole gang of them to flight with his knowledge.

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His only fault was, of course, that he was dark-skinned - an Assyrian, just like Tatian whom you claim used "western" texts. The irony is that if you ever read Tatian's "Address to the Greeks" (found in the "articles" section), you would realize how much love that particular Assyrian individual had for anything "Western."

Nevertheless, if this gentleman was alive today, Yuri would say he could not be trusted in scientific methodology because he has "pride" and "tradition"...and you would say that he is "bias." All because he belongs to a certain church and a certain tradition. Both are charges which, of course, you guys are immune to. We have bias - you guys are objective. You don't belong to any "tradition" or have any "pride" or "bias." Right.

This website, this whole endeavor, is a grass-roots effort for people who like to think for themselves. People who are not satisfied with the mess that the Western church and scholarship has created out of Chrisitianity and our Holy Texts.

We're not impressed with quotes from "scholars" - we are impressed by evidence. If you're impressed by evidence, then you should answer my posts.

For the sake of convenience, I will list them again so it will be very easy for any of you to try and convince me that Aphrahat (another Assyrian, ca. 280-341) used anything BUT the Peshitta. Here they are - all you have to do is click on the links and answer the post:

http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=400
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=298
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=297
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=277
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=273
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=231
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=225
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=224
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=223
http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=194

I can come up with 50 more examples, if you'd like. You know I can, too. But why don't we start off with these? Why are you guys silent about these examples?

Don't you believe me? Do you think I'm like the Greeks and made these readings up? Is this my "pride", "bias" and "tradition", talking again, and not my "scientific" self?

These examples are not "science" to you? They don't follow "scientific methodology?"

Well, then answer them. Why has it been EIGHT months, Yuri? Have you nothing to say?