John 6:44–Correcting An Old Mistake

Put up a file on the treatment of the Greek in John 6:44 in my old debate notes.

Excerpt:

When I looked up that passage and compared what I wrote with the Greek text, my response was to ask, “What the heck was I thinking? That analysis is unsupportable! That translation is horrendous! I would never accept something like that from one of my Greek students. Was I severely sleep deprived when I wrote that or something?”

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

10 thoughts on “John 6:44–Correcting An Old Mistake”

  1. Thank you for your comments and clarification. I would think that you just did something that Mr. White isn’t even remotely capable of doing – admitting possible error and tyring to discuss these topics in a meaningful way.

  2. Well done, Jimmy. It’s refreshing to see that some people can admit when they’ve made a mistake, and do so straightforwardly and graciously as you’ve done, which I’m sure wasn’t easy.
    Too bad other people feel compelled to defend every syllable they write, however preposterous. I’m so glad I now know that those with more merit than punishment on their souls go straight to heaven, that saints in Catholicism are those who don’t need to go to purgatory, that guilt in one’s soul is synonymous with punishment on one’s soul, and other important facts about Catholic eschatology as expounded by James White.

  3. Jimmy,
    I have always got a ton of respect for you – and you have only reinforced what I had felt.
    Great to see an apologist that can actually admit a mistake.
    Thanks, Jimmy…
    Pax,
    Chris

  4. This was not only a classy move but also a great way to clear away some confusion that may have muddied that waters in Catholic-Protestant dialogue. Thanks for making this correction.

  5. Bravo! Nice explanation and well-put. Your display of humility in acknowledging error does more for the spread of the faith than you might think.

  6. This was not only a classy move but also a great way to clear away some confusion that may have muddied the waters in Catholic-Protestant dialogue. Thanks for making this correction.

  7. “Ohfull kwa-yet roun hyeer,” as they’d say back home in Jax, FL. Where are the usual gripers and teeth-gnashers? Only a matter of time, I guess.
    Thanks (Jimmy? Mr Akin?) for taking the time to humbly rectify a mistake on your part AND throw one more sandbag against the self-perpetuating torrent that is James White.
    I’m a would-be Catholic who may be “coming out” sooner than expected here on the mission field in Taiwan. Long story, that; suffice it to say I’ve appreciated your careful and witty work as I explore the Church.
    Stop awn bah m’blog if yawn’to!

  8. For the truly hardcore, I compiled and posted SEVERAL pages of Fr. William Most’s writings on salvation, predestination, merit, etc. I think the late (great) Fr. Most deserves a much wider reading (not the least by me!).
    Any takers can go to http://www.xanga.com/trujillo for all the selections. Just do a CTRL F 1), 2), 3), etc. to jump from article to article. I realize a lot of the articles overlap, but I’ve always erred on the side of thoroughness. ;o)
    Also, Dr. James White, if you happen to see this, I recommend you give Fr. Most (and the wisdom of Scripture/Tradition which he marshals) a good, meditative, non-reflexive hearing.
    Blessings to all, I need to sleep.
    PS. Also available, just below the Mostfest, is a reply I made to Joe Perez, the Soulful Blogger, and a sometime homosexual propagandist/lurker on Mark Shea’s blog. Mark Shea actually linked to my reply (when Perez was being an exceptionally pronounced nuisance around Christmas-time) and many readers endorsed my anonymous comments. Enjoy.

  9. And here lies the difference between Jimmy and White. Jimmy has enough confidence, grace, and integrity to admit that he made an error early in his apologetics career. I would like to contrast this with White, who did misrepresent saints and sainthood, and yet can not admit he did so.
    Our Lord said that we would know a tree by its fruit. Here we can contrast an apologist who is sincere and honest with someone who is arrogant, mendacious, and cantankerous.

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