Thursday, November 09, 2006

Käsemann's Dictum on Dating Sources

When it comes to dating sources, Ernst Käsemann wrote:

"Wenn echt, um des Inhalts und des Stiles willen so spät wie möglich, wenn unecht, so früh wie denkbar"

"If genuine, as late as possible, because of the content and the style; if not genuine, as early as imaginable".

RGG 3.1728.

Of course whether certain NT sources are not genuine or inauthentic is another matter!

3 comments:

Peter M. Head said...

MB,
I think you'll find this is about Colossians.

J. R. Daniel Kirk said...

I always think that dating sources is a bad idea--conflict of interest and all that. I also think that "as late as possible" is a recipe for disaster. "Nothin' good happens after 10:00" my pappy used to say!

Of course, if your married, dating sources is entirely off-limits anyway, even if it WOULD allow you to write a better piece.

But who woulda thunk that Kaesemann was giving dating advice? I'm impressed by the pastoral spirit, even if I disagree with the particulars.

OK. I'm done hijacking your blog by making inane comments by way of exploitation of a minor ambiguity in the text. See you in Washington.

J. R. Daniel Kirk said...

Yes, I know my grammar: "you're", not "your" in paragraph 2 of my insightful comment.