05-14-2004, 05:17 PM
Akhi Dave,
There is a lot of evidence on the western side of the use of a western-style text. Ephraem is not the only one. A bunch of Greeks and Latins used western-style texts before he was even born. Ephraem was a Westerner - a Syrian.
There is a lot of evidence of the eastern side of the use of a eastern-style text. Aphrahat, the Arabic Diatesseron, and a whole bunch of them exist. Aphrahat and Tatian were both Easterners - Assyrians.
Trust what you like. Base your decision not only on your "bias", "tradition" and "pride" (like I have) - but also on the evidence provided by the manuscripts themselves. We have a whole bunch of examples on this forum.
There is a lot of evidence on the western side of the use of a western-style text. Ephraem is not the only one. A bunch of Greeks and Latins used western-style texts before he was even born. Ephraem was a Westerner - a Syrian.
There is a lot of evidence of the eastern side of the use of a eastern-style text. Aphrahat, the Arabic Diatesseron, and a whole bunch of them exist. Aphrahat and Tatian were both Easterners - Assyrians.
Trust what you like. Base your decision not only on your "bias", "tradition" and "pride" (like I have) - but also on the evidence provided by the manuscripts themselves. We have a whole bunch of examples on this forum.
+Shamasha Paul bar-Shimun de'Beth-Younan