Pet peeves about theology textbooks/commentaries:
1. Untranslated German.
Just because I know Greek or Hebrew, that doesn't mean I also know German.
2. Endnotes instead of footnotes.
Why are you making me flip so many pages? If it's worth noting, it's worth noting at the relevant place in the book, not hundreds of pages away.
3. Transliteration instead of Greek or Hebrew letters.
If I know the language, transliteration is an unnecessary nuisance. If I don't know it, does it really add to my understanding to say the sounds that the word makes?
4. Transliterations and Greek or Hebrew letters.
The above, plus this objection: If I know the language, why do I want to read the word three times?
Can anybody identify with these? Do you want to add to the list?
4 comments:
Haha... I agree with 2, 3, 4
Especially number 2. I HATE ENDNOTES
You don't know German? What business do you have reading commentaries then?
How about 5) giving 90 pages of discussion for all 18 points of view on an irrelevant genitive?
Be nice to Douglas Moo :)
hmm. i think i agree with 2, 3, and 4. the german wouldn't be a problem if it was only a sentence or two.
Oh, and DOWN WITH ENDNOTES! Is There a Meaning in This Text? had pages and pages of endnotes, and it drove me nuts. Wasn't there enough to chew on?
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