> From: Richard Landes [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> what about "gentiles," which doesn't have the necessarily negative
> connotations of pagan. gentile philosopher makes more sense than pagan
> (peasant) philosopher, and is unquestionably an accurate description of
> how
> both christians and jews saw such people as plato and virgil.
>
"Gentiles" has the implicit--and incorrect--connotation of always
being seen and defined in relation to Judaism.
Suggestion: "followers" or "philosophers" of "pre-Christian
religious traditions" or "Indo-European religious traditions".
Francine Nicholson
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