2007-04-07

Existential Jesus extract

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

by Neil Godfrey

The Age has published an extract from The Existential Jesus by John Carroll. See Judging Pilate.

I have said a few things I like and don’t like about this book, but what I do like the most is that the ideas expressed in it are the result of years of collaborative discussion and study of the Gospel of Mark. I can’t resist exploring the insights of anyone else who has made that type of study and comparing notes. Only wish his Jesus wasn’t so much what I suspect John Carroll himself is, an existentialist. But what else should I have expected from the title! :-/

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"Neil, in my mature judgement (I am now an old man), this fine 4-part study is a brilliant reworking, an instructive restatement of Hayden White’s Metahistory (and his subsequent writings). Your critique of certain historiographic representations as imbedded in the case study of the “scientistic”, “empirical” Richard Carrier provides a solid starting point for the more honest “fictive” reading of the New Testament that you encourage. Your last paragraph is a very intelligent call to sensitive readers of these texts. I suspect a whole generation of biblical students has been educated without the insights provided by the incomparable White. Bravo!"

-- Timothy Bagley, - November 2024
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— James McGrath, – June 2009
This is superb work, Neil, and reminds me of Albert Schweitzer’s work from a century ago. . . . .

I commend you for being the first to even TRY to translate Bruno Bauer’s brilliant Kritik der Evangelien und Geschichte ihres Ursprungs, which is now more than 150 years old.

. . . . .Thank you for your historic effort.

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Editor, An English Edition of Bruno Bauer’s 1843 Christianity Exposed
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Nancy Fraser - June 2019 (personal email)
"Very good. This post is going straight to the March 2016 Biblical Studies Carnival."

—N.T. Wrong, – March 2016
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— Russell Gmirkin, – October 2016
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— Tom Dykstra, – JOCABS 2015
https://earlywritings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=145080#p145080
Neil made a good synthesis of the work without being an “expert” of the field.

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"Note that I do not use the term ‘amateur’ pejoratively. . . . In fact, Godfrey is extremely well read and his librarian skills have brought many important academic works to my attention."

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— Gregory Doudna, – January 2019
"Neil, this is actually rather useful. Good job."

— R. Joseph Hoffmann, – June 2014
"I’d like to thank you for this very nice representation of what I was trying to show in the book. It’s always gratifying when a reader zeroes in on exactly those aspects I thought were most interesting and most central to my argument. Thank you for this careful and engaged reading of my work – much appreciated!"

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— Anthony Le Donne, – September 2009
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— James Crossley, – April 2010
"Neil, You’ve done a clean job in your posting on ‘Jesus the Healer’. It reflects well on you. Best, John"

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It is worth saying another word of appreciation here for Neil Godfrey's effort to make Bruno Bauer accessible in English.

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Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “Occam’s razor: All things being equal, the simplest explanation is the best. If there is no reason to believe any…” Jul 6, 21:18
Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “Schmidt further observes: “The idea that Origen did know of at least some version of the TF is further supported…” Jul 6, 20:46
Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “Schmidt observes as have others: “Yet there is evidence for suspecting that Origen did know of some version of the…” Jul 6, 20:29
Andrew Dabrowski on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “I seem to recall reading somewhere that Origen had specifically checked Josephus and found no reference to Jesus. Perhaps my…” Jul 6, 20:03
James Faubel on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “So, how come NOBODY who read Josephus’s works noticed the FT until AFTER the 4th Century CE? Eusebius, anyone?” Jul 6, 20:00
Neil Godfrey on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “What ABuddhist is saying, I believe, is that what we read in Acts, whether Latin or Douay-Rheims or any other,…” Jul 6, 19:49
Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “I admit that Eisenman’s books are long winded, and it is hard to follow the thread. But the basic thread…” Jul 6, 19:18
Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “But according to the Latin and Douay-Rheims (Acts 21:20-22, and Acts 22:1-4) these Zealots of the Jerusalem Way did not…” Jul 6, 19:10
Stephen on “Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence” – Review 4 – ‘he led astray many’?: “Thanks, Neil. I will have to read the book. I find it hard to believe it is wholly authentic, and…” Jul 6, 18:58

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