These two links let us in on a conversation between two scholars who disagree! The basis for their disagreement is how to read the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas.
Stephen Patterson from Eden Theological Seminary initiates the "dialog" by reviewing April DeConick's book on Thomas. See his review here.
In response to his review, DeConick offers up a defense of her approach on her blog, The Forbidden Gospels. Read it here.
This interchange is instructive of scholarly methodology It demonstrates the difficulty of understanding the meaning of ancient texts. It also demonstrates why there is such diversity in the scholarly community over our canonical texts.
The next time you feel compelled to speak authoritatively on what Jesus or Paul meant when they said "this" or"that" think about methodology. What is the basis for your pronouncement?
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