Substantial and substantially are sometimes used in overestimations of supporting evidence for one’s thesis, idea, etc. “A substantial number of scholars have suggested that . . .” or “a substantial amount of evidence lends to . . .” or “substantial attention has been paid to . . .”. In a context in which “substantial” is unpacked,… Continue Reading
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Words I'll Avoid in Thesis Writing
I spent a great deal of the previous week reading and began to notice a few words and phrases that authors (especially biblical scholars) like to use, and in my opinion, abuse, by either overusing them or misusing them. So here starts a new series perhaps. Word(s) to Avoid: Famous(ly) The truth is that when… Continue Reading
Word(s) to Avoid: (un)doubt(edly)
Last week I gave a few reasons for avoiding the overuse of famous(ly) in writing. This week’s word(s) to avoid: no doubt, doubt, undoubtedly. I often read in scholarly writing something like, “This conclusion is no doubt . . . ” or “Scholar X is undoubtedly . . .” etc. To be fair, the sense… Continue Reading
"Ubiquitous" is Ubiquitous
It seems I find the word ubiquitous, derived from Latin, showing up more and more in my reading. A quick Google Ngram search confirms that the word has gained steam more broadly, especially in the last 30 years. Compare its usage to two similar words, prevalent and omnipresent (1800–2008): This is one of many “academic”… Continue Reading
Schopenhauer, On Authorship and Style (excerpts p 2)
A continuation from yesterday… Arthur Schopenhauer’s “On Authorship and Style” is an essay full of nuggets on writing (and much more). On author’s rehashing older, better books they don’t understand: The writer often does not thoroughly understand the old books; he will, at the same time, not use their exact words, so that the result… Continue Reading
"I Can Do All Things" and Bad Christian T-Shirts
I was recently reading Rodney Decker‘s “Evaluation” of the 2011 NIV in Themelios (available here). I recommend the article as a careful summary of the issues, strengths and weaknesses of the latest edition of the NIV. In this post, I only wish to highlight a small section on “Changes Due to the Need for Greater Clarity”:… Continue Reading
Useful to the Master: Household Utensils in the Ancient World
(Another Tuesday Time Travel…) In 2 Timothy 2:20-21, Paul supports his argument that Timothy should avoid false teachers (and their ‘chatter’) with an illustration from a wealthy first century household. The setting is a ‘large house’ (μεγάλῃ οἰκίᾳ) which would indeed contain a variety of household vessels varying in value. Such a house would have… Continue Reading