(February 2, 2013 at 2:50 am)apophenia Wrote:
I don't have an opinion either way, as something like this can't realistically be boiled down into a one-size fits all rule. There will be times when scriptural quotations might add to your presentation, and times when it would detract from the presentation; times when just a link to John 3:16 adds to the presentation, just the mention of it in parentheses, a full quotation, full quotation plus a link to a commentary, or the quote with excerpts from the commentary, with or without hide tags is best. Ultimately, this boils down to matters of taste, judgement, style and goal. There is no shortcut for the application of intelligence to context.
That being said, I will point out something which you may not be taking into account. Because of your background, you're likely a lot better informed about the context of specific scriptural passages, both in terms of the text itself, but also in terms of how the passage fits into larger themes of theology and the set of stories as a whole. While atheists are generally fairly familiar with the bible, they are familiar with it in a radically different way than you are. So what might seem plain to you on the basis of a short quotation of scripture, may actually include a whole ton of information that you're aware of that the typical non-Christian reader might not glean from a quotation. Again, it's a matter of judgement in any individual case, but you might be better served by explaining the point in your own words, using references to scripture as supplements to your own explanation; you'll likely be able to more effectively communicate what you "have in mind" that way, and still provide the resources for anyone who wishes to dig deeper or who wishes to focus on the scriptural evidence itself.
thanks for the insight. I do believe you are correct, in that who I am speaking with is as important as how I present it. Something else to think about...
