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stewstew03
Guest
Clearly you have a dizzying intellect…not sure about the pets…otherwise you are golden
first, it was “somewhat level”
yep, if it is other than perfectly level, then the incline is in my favor (IMHO)
to be precise, the assumptions involved are not so much about the term “household”…we kinda know how that term was used. The assumptions are about the particular situations regarding Lydia’s household and Luke’s usage
it is not whether the term includes children, it is whether Lydia’s household in particular included INFANT children (by “infant” I mean children who are too young to form a belief)…you need an infant child to be present
how much stronger in your opinion? …can you put a percentage on the likelihood of Lydia’s household containing an infant child? Let’s say that you put it at 75%…if that were the only assumption involved, then the field would be slanted in your favor…but you require a second assumption.
thanks for the quote, but you missed this one:
I salute all by name, and in particular the wife of Epitropus, with all her house and children.
Such usage of “household” by Ignatius highlights your second assumption, which is, that in the context, Luke’s usage of “household” would have included infant children (if such even existed in Lydia’s case). IOW, just b/c infant children would be included within a household in some cases, it does not mean that they would be included in all cases. For example, in the NT, belief is strongly connected to the act of baptism…a number of specific instances of baptism are described and in each case the specific person being baptized is a believer. B/c of that and b/c of statements such as “believe and be baptized” there could have been a tacit understanding (between Luke and his readers) that only believers would be included w/i those baptized. It then becomes a question of whether the term “household” could be used in a fashion that would not always include infant children, even though infant children existed within the household under consideration. That brings us to the usage of the term by Igantius. He seems to distinguish between “household” and wives and children. If you want to suggest that Epitopus’ kids had moved out (and that is why they are listed separate from “household”) then:
a) if kids are moving out in that culture, such a thing would reduce the likelihood of your first assumption; and
b) the problem with that suggestion is that it conflicts with Ignatius’ specific mention of wives (who would not have moved out).
As such, it would seem that we have a usage of “household” (by Ignatius) that does not necessarily include chlidren. So then, in the face of those considerations, how strong is your assumption that Luke’s usage of “household being baptized” would have included infant children being baptized? Is it a 67% likelihood?
IMHO the allocation of a 75% likelihood to your first assumption may not be too generous, but the allocation of a 67% likelihood for your second assumption is too generous…even still, if you rely on two asssumptions with likelihoods of 75% and 67% respectively, then you are still only at a 50% likelihood for the thing actually occurring.
chew on the above.