[...]
> What surprises me is that Mr. Greene finds
>it offensive when a member of the minority objects when it appears that the
>majority is assuming that a mystical event in its own theology has
>applicability to other groups that reject the underlying premise of that
>theology.
>
>
>Laurence F. "Laurie" Friedman, Ph.D., CHP
>New York University
>205 Third Avenue, Apt. 16A
>New York, NY 10003-2526
>(212) 387-7957
Dear Laurence (if I may),
I believe the point is that on this list we have always tried -- and I would
say: most times we have also suceeded remarkably well -- not to express us
and not to address us as members of a minority or majority, but as people
with a common scholarly interest, because there are quite a number of
different and potentially conflicting religions and religious (or non- or
a-religious) attitudes assembled on this list. Since our common scholarly
interest is in medieval religion(s), it is, of course, not always easy to
deal with the matter in a way which does not get our actual religion and
attitude involved. But in such cases the general idea is to express our
views in an unoffensive way, and -- equally important: -- not to feel easily
offended, but to give potentially offensive postings the benefit of some
benevolent doubts. I for one very much appreciate your participation on this
list, and I could imagine that your partial dissent with the phrasing of the
CFP in question could lead to interesting discussions where nobody has to
state that somebody glosses over things or that somebody else should
ventilate his views on some other forum. With the help of our listowners
George and Carolyn, medieval-religion has become a sort of home for many of
us, and although we tease us a lot, we rarely beat us (those of us who
nevertheless like a bit of static from time to time entertain additional
subscriptions to other lists like for instance -- see me shiver -- AnSax-L).
Yours,
Otfried
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Otfried Lieberknecht, Schoeneberger Str. 11, D-12163 Berlin
Tel.: ++49 30 8516675 (fax on request), E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Homepage for Dante Studies:
http://members.aol.com/lieberk/welcome.html
ORB Dante Alighieri - A Guide to Online Resources:
http://orb.rhodes.edu/encyclop/culture/lit/Italian/Danindex.html
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