Roger Hutchinson's weak response* to my article ("Matthew 24:34 & Genea: What the Scholars Say," The Skeptical Review, July/August 2000) proves once again that the best Biblical scholarship continues to come not from Christians, but from us atheists.
Did Hutchinson refute the 125 Christian scholars that I quoted? No, he refuted none, and mentioned but one, and the one he mentioned still says, "One may accuse Jesus of hopeless confusion."
Did he bother to present even one (1) piece of evidence or scholarship to support his unique claim that a Biblical generation should be defined as people, spanning however many eras having things in common? No, not one. He presented nothing more substantial than his own pontificated opinion, based upon wishful thinking, supported by nothing more than hot air.
As usual, Roger Hutchinson continues to steamroll his opinions on others, backed up by nothing more substantial than a because-I- said-so" mentality. He continues to be cheerfully oblivious to Biblical scholarship, Greek lexicons, Biblical commentaries, and encyclopedias and translations.
My article contended that a Biblical generation lasts about 30 years, and I supported that claim with 125 Christian scholars and authors. Hutchinson claims that a Biblical generation could last for "an extended period of time" even up to hundreds, if not thousands of years, and backed up his claim with zero (0) Christian scholars. What we have here is Christian scholarship (via an atheist) vs. hot air (via a Christian). I rest my case.
(Mark Smith, Set Free, 9766 Chapman Ave, PMB 192, Garden Grove, CA 92821; e-mail, JCnot4me@aol.com)
* Hutchinson's reply to Smith was in the January/February issue.
