But today I can't help it.
Have you ever noticed how it seems people can only specialise in one particular area? Now that may be an obvious thing to say. It is after all a specialty. But I am feeling lately that I am unable to say anything authoritatively. The reason is because there is always someone that knows more than me about it. I am not the foremost in any field. I'm like not even in the four-most. I'm just average at many things, including puns.
It could simply be a bad case of little man syndrome, however if you give me some scope to philosophise for a moment I think there's something of greater significance occurring.
I don't know if it's a big deal, but I think my conundrum has arisen because I'm too influenced by postmodern thought. Postmodernism seeks to rob words of meaning. Because we are not omniscient we are unable to make reliable statements. Yet is there really a need to undermine every statement emanating from my vocalising orifice? Do we need to know more about a subject than anyone else to say something true about it? With the depth of reasoned argument that I'm famous for, in answer to my own question; I think postmodernism, at this point, is stupid.
I apologise for this somewhat ranting post but let me finish with some sanity from a quote I found the other day here. I have no idea of the validity of the source but I agree with the statement. On Don Carson being a jack of all trades.
In an age of increasing specialization and fragmentation, Carson, to the admiring disbelief of many of his colleagues, persistently refuses to limit his interests His publications cover a vast range of subjects: New Testament Greek, Bible translation, hermeneutics, contextualization, the use of the Old Testament in the New, preaching, various aspects of New Testament and biblical theology, major commentaries on Matthew and John, and even poetry. Carson’s fielding of questions subsequent to a presentation at the 1993 annual meeting of the Institute of Biblical Research showed glimpses of his competence in an array of fields. As a reviewer of one of his books put it, “Professor Carson possesses qualities which are not often found in combination. He is a New Testament scholar who sees the Bible as a whole; a biblical scholar with a concern for both the theological and the practical implications of the Bible's teaching; a blunt writer with a pastoral heart; and (perhaps rarest of all) an academic with a clear, vigorous, occasionally even slangy style.”
In the light of these qualities, it is understandable that some compare Carson favorably with other evangelical scholars such as F. F. Bruce and I. Howard Marshall. While Bruce, unlike Carson, had a background in classical Greek, Carson may exceed Bruce in his exegetical and theological grasp. Significantly, Carson is not just a New Testament exegete but a biblical theologian who synthesizes materials that other scholars leave unrelated. Moreover, he is abreast of the latest developments in computer technology and linguistics. At the same time, some see Carson as taking over the mantle from John Stott as an evangelical leader and spokesman respected worldwide. That Carson can be compared with evangelical figures as diverse and influential as Bruce, Marshall, and Stott, is in itself a tribute to his versatility and increasing stature.
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