This post will have to take the form of an open letter to David Withun. Hopefully it will make sense to other people as well.
Dear David,
I imagine that with your prodigious output of Youtube videos and the large number of people with whom you interact online it is quite likely you have completely forgotten I even exist, though we have debated a couple of points in the comments sections of some of your videos and on your blog. To say we have different perspectives on life is something of an understatement, but I admire the breadth of your scholarship and always enjoy the points you make. I don’t comment on your stuff very often. For a start there is always new stuff to catch up on. Also, I don’t really want to argue with you too much. I think there is still a chance you might come to rejoin the right side of the debate between reason and faith. So I doubt I form a big part of your mental world.
Even if you do remember me, I doubt you specifically remember challenging me to provide evidence for an assertion I made just over two years ago. This was on your video about the Christian rescue of classical knowledge. I claimed that while the Medieval period has been upgraded in our estimation of its level of cultural sophistication. You no doubt were expecting me to come up with references from academic texts – not unreasonably. I said I would come back with a video which, eventually, I have done. The form of the argument I have taken is not much like what you are used to but I hope you find it of some interest.
I must apologise for the sound. England is a windy place and the day I recorded it was a particularly blowy example. It was also the first time I had ever done anything like it. On top of that I had to fit it in with a business trip so had no time to prepare a script so what I am saying is straight off the top of my head. I dare say this shows. I had originally intend to post it as a video response as I think I said at the time. I either couldn’t work out how to do this, you have disabled the feature on your channel or YouTube have changed the way they work, so it will have to be a standalone effort.
Regards
Colin