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Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

Is there a reason why theologians write like that? They even do it when they're writing for ordinary people.

If you don't know what I mean, grab a theology book and see how often you read:
- dense nounification of verbs like "the becoming", "being", "othering", "being the Church", etc,
- adjectives that sound like the product of Greek classes like "salvific", "pneumatological",
- Older English terms in the middle of sentences like "the mire", "despond", "thou".

I'm used to academic waffle but theology, which talks about God who deliberately went out of the way to be understood and to talk in words everyone, even the uneducated could understand, should maybe set the example for clarity and concreteness.

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch

I think it's more academia in general than theology specifically.

During my sadly abortive tenure as a Humanities grad student, I got pretty sick of reading "foo qua foo" and "rôle" in academic articles. Lots of silly "ain't I smart?" filler words like that.

At least "X qua X" has some philosophical and historical backing, even though it is just as easy to say "as" as "qua," and doesn't convey any less meaning.
I could never find the origin of the custom of using "rôle," and it's literally just the French word for "role."

Obnoxious. 🤦‍♂️

royal
Public

@CharismaticBatman @multilingualchurch I really wonder whether the point is not to obscure, so that one's own sloppy thought may not be detected.

Charismatic Batman
Public

@royal @multilingualchurch

Well, I'd call it puffery before I'd call it obfuscation, but in many cases, it wouldn't surprise me.

The thing is, the mind can adapt to such language to the point that it becomes natural.

*cough* Hegel *cough*

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal Have you read Habermas?

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal
I have not. What are they like?

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal Apparently Jürgen Habermas wrote lots of deep and meaningful writings. I have tried to read some. It flew over my head higher than a Chinese "weather balloon".

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal

Ah, I thought you might have been referring to Gary Habermas ^___^

Any idea where I could get started on Jürgen? I love a challenge ^__^

Edit: I keep forgetting that I have to backslash escape caret symbols in my favorite emoticon when using Markdown. :/

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal Try "Democracy and the Public Sphere" and "Truth and Justification".

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal

Sounds like a good excuse for a day visit to my University Library that I've been longing to do for a couple years now.

I so miss Uni. 😢 (Only undergrad, though)

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal I'm near our National Library. Once you learn the system, everything opens up.

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal

You mean the library system? Like how the stacks are organized?

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal You don't get to see the stacks there. I was thinking more about how to put in a reservation, how to find related books and when book drops happen as it's reference only.

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal

Oh man, I couldn't deal with a hidden-stacks library. It's just not the same. There's something so soothing about walking the stacks and laying hands on a random book.

Both of my parents were professors, and I grew up spending a lot of time on campus (and specifically at the huge Perry-Castañeda Library) at UT Austin.

Big libraries always feel like home to me. More so than home, haha. ^___^

Dr Jonathan Downie

@CharismaticBatman @royal In the case of the National Library of Scotland, it's because they are a legal deposit library so if it was published in Scotland, they have a copy. A big chunk of their books are one of a few left in the world. Borrowing is forbidden but, if they happen to not have a book, they have ways of getting a copy.

I do love stack browsing too though. Looking forward to my uni library letting alumni back in.

Dr Jonathan Downie
Public

@CharismaticBatman @royal I like physical books. I love putting in my order and then getting them from the desk in the reading room.

Charismatic Batman
Public

@multilingualchurch @royal

Yes, there's no really good replacement for a physical book.

eBooks during the era of got close, but now they're more abstract than ever. Not the same feel, by a long shot.