The fact that 10 notable scholars have taken the time to examine my book Against the Grain and provide thoughtful commentary is a form of flattery of which I am acutely conscious and very grateful. This would be the case even if their comments had ben totally damning! I braced myself for the onslaught of a phalanx of archaeologists justifiably indignant that a rank amateur should even dare trespass on their turf. When invited to reply to such a symposium convened by the CAJ, the thought crossed my mind that I was being brought to the symposium in the same spirit as the Romans ‘invited’ the Christians to the Coliseum. Happily, while there are gashes, bruises and perhaps a life-threatening wound or two, much of my argument seems to have come through the encounter. One or two of the commentators, I understand, believe they left me for dead!

中文翻译：

---

回复

10 位著名学者花时间检查我的书的事实反对谷物并提供深思熟虑的评论是一种奉承的形式，我非常清楚并非常感激。即使他们的评论完全是该死的，情况也会如此！我为一群考古学家的猛攻做好了准备，他们有理由对一个业余爱好者甚至敢闯入他们的地盘感到愤怒。当被邀请回答由委员会召集的此类研讨会时CAJ，我的脑海里闪过一个念头，我被带到研讨会上的精神与罗马人“邀请”基督徒到体育馆的精神相同。令人高兴的是，虽然有伤口、瘀伤，也许还有一两处危及生命的伤口，但我的大部分论点似乎都是通过这次遭遇来实现的。我理解，一两个评论员相信他们让我死了！