Just discovered a list of “Biblioblogs” — maybe I’m the last to know.
2010-01-08
Biblioblogs
Month: January 2010
Eddy and Boyd (The Jesus Legend) archive
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
by Neil Godfrey
As remarked in a recent comment I have been dwelling on a micro-section of The Jesus Legend (Eddy and Boyd) in this recent series of posts. But this is not the first time I have addressed specifics in their book. I am sure I will be addressing more in future, both macro and micro.
Other comments on their work is in my Eddy and Boyd archive.
This includes:
Destroying a story to save a geographical reference
Embarrassing or stereotypical narrative details
Miracles: Fundamentalist misrepresentation of David Hume’s sceptical argument
Eddy and Boyd: The Jesus Legend – Overview Impressions
Eddy and Boyd: Miracles and global human experience
A silly argument encountered so often in biblical studies
2010-01-06
Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (4)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
by Neil Godfrey
Continuing from Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (3) . . . .
Indicting “The Jews” for the murder of the Lord Jesus
Having insisted that 1 Thess 2:13-16 was indeed written by Paul, Eddy and Boyd (The Jesus Legend) must now attempt to argue that the contents of the passage are not antisemitic.
One of the slogans of antisemitism through the ages has been “the Jews killed Christ”. The author of this Thessalonians passage puts the blame for the death of Jesus squarely, solely and unequivocally on the Jews:
For you have suffered the same things from your own country-men, just as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us . . .
Birger A. Pearson (“1 Thessalonians 2:13-16: A Deutero-Pauline Interpolation” Harvard Theological Review (1971): 85) observes that in all other letters of Paul,
[Paul] never attributes the death of Jesus to the Jews. 1 Corinthians 2:8 is the best example of Paul’s own view: Jesus was brought to his death by the demonic “rulers of this age” who did not know that by doing so they would defeat themselves in the process.
(Pearson remarks in passing that Origen in his commentary on Matthew interprets “the rulers of this age” in this way.)
Eddy and Boyd’s “rebuttal” of the above
Could Paul really have accused the Jews of killing Christ? Why certainly! say E&B, but he didn’t mean to sound like he was blaming “all Jews”, or only the Jews, collectively:
There is simply no reason to suppose that Paul could not have believed that several groups — including some Jews and some secular authorities and/or spiritual powers — were responsible for bringing this event about. (213)
Note how E&B deftly convey the idea that only “some Jews” were indirectly responsible (“bringing this event about”) for the death of Christ. Only “some Jews”? That’s not what is said in 1 Thessalonians 2.
But what is the evidence E&B have that Paul did not write what he supposedly (according to E&B) believed? Continue reading “Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (4)”
2010-01-05
Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (3)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
by Neil Godfrey
Continuing from Eddy and Boyd (2) . . . .
The argument that 1 Thess. 2:13-16 is an interpolation generally includes the claim that the passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 c.e. — some years after Paul’s time. The last line of this section is
. . . . But wrath has come upon them to the uttermost (or ‘at last’) (1 Thess 2:16)
1st E&B argument
Eddy and Boyd, in The Jesus Legend, attempt to argue for the genuineness of the passage by denying this would have originally referred to the destruction of Jerusalem:
There is no reason to assume that the reference to God’s wrath overtaking the Jews refers to the destruction of Jerusalem. . . . It is not even clear that the reference to God’s wrath must be understood as an observable event in history. (p. 213)
E&B appeal to Romans chapters 1 and 9 (and again to a passage in 2 Thessalonians, a letter that is also strongly argued as being a forgery) to suggest that the wrath of God might simply mean that He has abandoned them to ungodly behaviour and delusion.
2nd E&B argument
But if the passage does refer to a specific event, they claim that it could refer to the expulsion of the Jews under Claudius in 49 c.e.
So E&B fail to argue a case themselves. They merely point to a couple of contradictory views and in effect say,
Take your pick. Pick any weakly supported solution we can think of so long as it denies the passage is a post-Pauline interpolation. And oh, by the way, we are not going to even repeat for you the arguments of those who insist it refers to the destruction of Jerusalem. Why bother if we can think up anything that says the passage is genuine? We don’t want to confuse you with the details.
One wonders if E&B have any idea (or if they even want to know) what it means. If the reader doesn’t like one explanation, then give them a choice so they can take one they are comfortable with. They outline no real argument for or against either conclusion. This is hardly making a “case for the historical reliability” of Jesus or the purity (no interpolations) of our Pauline letters.
3rd E&B argument
They also assert that the phrase “at last” or “to the uttermost” literally means “to (or until) the end”, and one can think of this meaning paralleling Jesus’ prophecy of future judgment at the end of the age. That is, E&B inform readers that the passage may simply mean that God’s judgment is on the Jews until the coming of Christ.
What Eddy and Boyd don’t tell their readers Continue reading “Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (3)”
2010-01-04
Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (2)
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by Neil Godfrey
Eddy and Boyd are often touted as having written some sort of authoritative rebuttal of arguments sceptical of “the historical reliability of the Synoptic Jesus tradition”, but as I began to show in my earlier part 1 post, and will continue here, their work
- misrepresents specific arguments they claim to refute;
- demonstrates a shoddiness, sometimes bordering on intellectual dishonesty.
Uncharitable post?
One commenter said I lack a sense of charity or humanity when I speak harshly against certain authors. I sometimes think he might have a point, and I reconsider. But other times I confess I have little patience with public intellectuals who are looked to as authorities yet whose work demonstrates a lack of respect for the integrity of their public audiences and/or the logical norms of wider scholarly discourse, and who substitute these for popular or partisan assertions and obfuscations.
“The Case for the Authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16” (Part 2)
Continuing from my Part 1 post, here is the passage under discussion: Continue reading “Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (2)”
The background to the Irish blasphemy laws: interview with Irish Times journalist
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by Neil Godfrey
This is a follow up post to Atheist Group Breaks Blasphemy Law
There is an online interview with journalist Elaine Edwards from The Irish Times discussing the political and legal background to the new blasphemy laws in Ireland, and the response of Atheist Ireland.
One interesting detail is the the Minister of Justice has had the law framed in a way to make any prosecutions unlikely to succeed.
It’s about 8 minutes long and you need either Real Player or Windows Media Player.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2010/2784674.htm
Check the Atheist Ireland website for their list of 25 delicious blasphemous quotations from Jesus, Richard Dawkins, et al.
2010-01-02
Atheist Group Breaks Blasphemy Law
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by Neil Godfrey
Atheist Ireland, a group representing atheists in the Irish Republic, has defied a new blasphemy law by publishing a series of quotes by writers Mark Twain and Salman Rushdie, Jesus Christ, the Prophet Mohammed and Pope Benedict.
Check out more details on the BBC news site: Irish Atheists Challenge Blasphemy Law.
Atheists Ireland says:
From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine.
In response, we have published a list of 25 blasphemous quotes, which have previously been published by or uttered by or attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, . . . . . Rev Ian Paisley, . . . . Pope Benedict XVI, . . . . .
Related articles
- Irish atheists challenge new law (news.bbc.co.uk)
- Irish atheists use Bjork, Mark Twain to challenge blasphemy law (cnn.com)
- Irish atheists test blasphemy laws (guardian.co.uk)
2010-01-01
That “Jesus-era” House in Nazareth “Discovery”
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
by Neil Godfrey
Yawn! What a crock! But it’s Christmas season and it’s good for the media and good for the tourism industry.
A professional archaeologist, no less, is quoted in the media, on the eve of Christmas, declaring the discovery of a house in the very hometown of Jesus. Wow. No-one quite says it, but it could even be the same house he grew up in, or maybe where his best friend lived and where he had sleepovers.
- http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/nazareth-house-dates-back-jesus-jesus-era-nazareth-home-found
- http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/jesus-christ-nazareth-house.html
- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1136599.html
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121724812
- https://nypost.com/2009/12/21/remains-of-house-from-jesus-era-found-in-nazareth/
- http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091221/first-jesus-era-house-found-in-nazareth/index.html
- http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early+History+-+Archaeology/Residential_building_time_Jesus_Nazareth_21-Dec-2009.htm
(I like finding ‘7’ things to support a bible case — adds a nice ring of numerological authenticity.)
So who is Yardenna Alexandre, the archaeologist quoted in the media, and what is the role of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) also cited as an authority in this news byte? I am not an expert to know, but I am a global citizen with access to the internet and here are some interesting finds (they took only minutes of googling to locate) that put this sensationalized news in an all too predictable context.
From Wikipedia on Mary’s Well:
Excavations by Yardenna Alexandre and Butrus Hanna of the Israel Antiquities Authority in 1997-98 – sponsored by the Nazareth Municipality and the Government Tourist Corporation – . . . .
So Nazareth Tourism sponsorship makes an appearance when one searches for Yardenna and the IAA . . . . ??
Then there is this piece on an Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website [it is the seventh listed link about the Jesus-era house discovery on this page above] that has a number of interesting oddities in it, but one in particular stands out. It’s final paragraph reads:
The “Association Mary of Nazareth” intends on conserving and presenting the remains of the newly discovered house inside the building planned for the “International Marian Center of Nazareth”.
What are the Association Mary of Nazareth and International Marian Center of Nazareth? Should we think that names like those represent neutral innocent bystanders in all of this?
When I mentioned the above google-finds to a group on the Freethought and Rationalism Discussion Board (FRDB) another (“yalla”) responded with more tidbits:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6743472/…ience-science/
That is the report linked by Orlando in post #66 where the same archaeologist, Yardenna Alexandre, conected to this current house discovery, announced the discovery of, possibly, the same wine jars with which JC performed his miracle at Cana. Or something like that.
Note this bit:
“Alexander has been digging in modern Cana since 1999.
The current find came in a last-ditch “salvage dig” before a house is built on the site. A Christian Arab family financed part of the excavation, in accordance with Israeli law, before construction can begin.
Alexander believes that with more substantial investment, the site could became a major tourist attraction and pilgrimage destination.
“We’re really working very hard to save some of this site because what we do have here is a village of Jesus,” she said. “And it was here that he carried out the first miracle.”
Meanwhile I learned that another name that seems to be frequently associated with Yardenna in the media, Dr Stephen Pfann, also has some interesting associations. I replied to the above with:
Thanks for this. Associated with Yardena Alexandre are several online articles is Dr Stephen Pfann of the University of the Holy Land (the name tells you its ideological bent), and he/it appears to be also associated with the Nazareth Village Project too http://www.uhl.ac/NazarethVillage/nazareth.html
Jeezus-Kabeezus! Who would ever have thought that economic and religious interests could be behind a misleading supposed “scientific” report in the mainstream media!?
.
For more information on Nazareth I recommend Rene Salm’s webpage, www.nazarethmyth.info. His page contains a link to the official IAA report on this particular archaeological find and its contents are a long ways away from the sort of hype Yadenna is quoted as having fed the media on the eve of Christmas. His book is well worth a read, too. I’ve reviewed a “scholarly” review of it here.
