Search Results for: "David henige"

Testing (or not) Historical Sources for Reliability

Continuing from the previous post. . . . Fallibility of eyewitness accounts Eyewitness accounts are not necessarily more reliable than other sources. Timothy Good compiled 100 eyewitness accounts of the assassination of President Lincoln and its immediate aftermath in We Saw Lincoln Shot: One Hundred Eyewitness Accounts. David Henige comments in Historical Evidence and Argument (2005):df Reading these … Continue reading “Testing (or not) Historical Sources for Reliability”

Understanding Historical Sources: Primary, Secondary and Questions of Authenticity

There is no need, when I have found the source, to follow the streams (John Bolland in Acta Sanctorum 1845: vol. 1, xx). — cited by Henige (2005) . In fact, the historiography of historical Jesus scholars is eclectic and often unconscious or uninformed of a specific historiography. (McKnight 2005, p.16) . In my recent … Continue reading “Understanding Historical Sources: Primary, Secondary and Questions of Authenticity”

Comparing the sources for Caesar and Jesus

How do the roots of the Gospels compare to those of classical works? Is the historical evidence for Jesus Christ as good as that of Julius Caesar? People often raise such historical questions critically, claiming the evidence for Caesar’s life is better attested than for Jesus’s. But is this really so? ~ Darrell L. Bock . Professor Darrell … Continue reading “Comparing the sources for Caesar and Jesus”

If Scepticism Does Not Come Naturally. . . It’s Worth Fighting For

Whatever you do, don’t just believe everything you’re told; every statement should be taken apart and scrutinised before, reluctantly, you accept that it might conceivably be true. . When a reader once tried to advise me that New Testament scholars of Christian origins were not unique among historians of the ancient world for their resistance … Continue reading “If Scepticism Does Not Come Naturally. . . It’s Worth Fighting For”

The Positive Value of Scepticism — and Building a Negative Case — in Historical Enquiry

To continue the theme of fundamental principles of historical reasoning this post selects points from Historical Evidence and Argument by David Henige (2005). They all come from the fourth chapter titled “Unraveling Gordian Knots”. Pyrrhonist scepticism To begin, notice what scepticism means to Henige. He explains: Skepticism takes many forms—I am concerned with pyrrhonist skepticism. In theory, and … Continue reading “The Positive Value of Scepticism — and Building a Negative Case — in Historical Enquiry”

Failure of the Logic of History in Christian Origins Studies

I have finally found two books on the practice of history, each by a scholar (other than Richard Carrier), that address the core questions I have often raised with respect to flawed methods of New Testament historians dealing with Christianity’s origins. Both works address historical studies in general and only one from time to time casts a glance at what … Continue reading “Failure of the Logic of History in Christian Origins Studies”