PioneerSchmioneer
I actually studied Samuelsson's thesis and sat in on what turned out to be an overblown reaction to his work that ended up being AP getting "egg on their face," so to speak.
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I am somewhat surprised by this comment as one reviewer stated in a Book Review of Samuelsson's thesis "His work is not to be ignored, despite the criticisms I have made. It is a valuable contribution to the debate".
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The work is a philosophical work not an etymological one (based on the science of language). It is not a critical theory nor does he claim it to be. He does suggest that religion and iconography more than language has more to do with what people know about the crucifixion, and this has shaped what people know about what the gospels say about the event.
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I disagree that this thesis is 'a philosophical work not an etymological one'. Samuelsson clearly states in his methodology that his research is philological and its introductory section discusses the role of lexicography in its treatment of stauros and other related terms.
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In making any review of published scholarship it is an academic practice to consider literature or book reviews published in academic journals and one such review by John Granger Cook among others is worthy of attention.
scholar JW