Quote:
Originally Posted by YP0534
1. I don't understand the benefit of saying "Lee was merely derivative" when, if nothing else, he benefited so many merely by the synthesis and fresh presentation of often neglected writings of others. Alford is long out of print, and if you have any benefit from brother Alford's ministry, it is most likely due to Lee (even if you don't realize that it originated with Alford.)
2... your quoted clever and poetic critical quip could well be a mere short circuit to rational thought on the topic. The synthesis and harmonizing of older material is in fact "new" and I'd hope you could find it within yourself to begrudgingly admit that.
3. I concur that the insufficient attribution issue casts a shadow over anything which might be claimed to be Lee's contribution, to the extent that anyone really cares to uphold it and say "This is of Lee." But I have to testify that studying the Bible in conjunction with Lee's ministry, I learned it better and faster and know it more thoroughly today than associates who got saved around the same time and that's a phenomenon that I've seen and heard repeated. I think some of the folks around here are probably a product of that themselves.
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1. We are all derivative, post "Revelation". We have a closed canon, by universal acceptance. We are all commenting on earlier works. We often use earlier commentaries as the basis of our own. But Lee was quite possessive about "his" light. I remember him repeatedly stressing, "I invented this", this term, or saying, or synthesis, or interpretation. Evidently some of what we thought was "his" writing was in fact not his. Fine, I am willing to leave it at that. He was far sloppier with his scholarship than I would care to be.
2. I am a fan of quips because they occasionally help me to cut to the point, and they often help me organize and remember trains of thought. But I often misapply them. Shoot first, aim later. Or mea culpa later, as in this case. I am willing to do so without begrudging (I have to smile, often, at the reaction I get... I always expect, "Brilliant, aron! Brilliant!", and often see something less effusive. I guess I forget that being clever and being intelligent are not always synonymous).
3. I am enormously grateful for my time under the aegis of Mssrs Lee & Co. Eventually it became somewhat restrictive, not in a good way but an uncomfortable way ("We will do all your thinking for you") so I cast my eyes afield. But I remain grateful for my early experiences there. Occasionally the "root of bitterness" springs up, but eventually I always have to confront that as my own creation, and not look to someone else.
The "defenders of Lee" are so zealous, and sometimes unbalanced, that those who attempt to restore balance may themselves inadvertantly lean the wrong way. I certainly have been guilty of that many, many times. I always appreciate a whiff of moderation when I sense it (Maybe moderation is one of the manifestations of "grace"...
