Parallels : Use , Misuse and Limitations

As is made clear at the outset, he by no means wanted to deny the existence of discernible points of contact betwe(!n distinct religious 193 traditions; the study of parallels, in his view, is valid and should be encouraged. His criticisms were directed, rather, at what he saw to be misuses of this kind of comparative study. These misuses fall generally into two categories. The first of these concerns those instances where parallels are adduced which, on closer inspection of their respective contexts, turn out to be more imagined than real. Decrying the practice of 'juxtaposing mere excerpts', Sandmel warned that