How Strong Is the Claim

Throughout this book, the strength of a statement will matter as much as its subject. Saying that a passage mentions a heavenly gathering is different from saying that a Greek tradition remembers that gathering. The first can be checked in the text. The second needs an argument connecting witnesses across cultures.

The working source record uses five categories. Known covers what a text directly says, what Catholic doctrine teaches within its proper scope, or what relevant evidence establishes. Strongly suggested identifies a reading that explains the evidence well while leaving serious alternatives. Possible describes a proposal that has a reason to be considered but remains unproved.

Speculative applies when a proposal extends beyond that support. We may consider such an idea, but it should not carry the weight of a conclusion. Unknown marks a question the available evidence cannot answer.

These categories need not become badges attached to every paragraph. Ordinary language can often do the work: Genesis says; the parallels suggest; the tradition may preserve; we cannot yet identify. Used carefully, these phrases let the reader follow both the argument and the degree of confidence it deserves.

The categories also prevent repetition from manufacturing certainty. If three chapters depend on one disputed interpretation, the third chapter has not gained three independent pieces of evidence. A possibility remains a possibility until something new supports it. This matters especially when the book's overall pattern begins to feel convincing.