2017-11-22

The “Nugget” Theory

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

by Neil Godfrey

[S]ound historical method must lead a scholar to distrust any source much of which can be shown to be false — unless truly reliable material exists outside that source as a check.

Sometimes, however, we find that a scholar writes history

on the principle that a historian can safely mine “nuggets” out of otherwise worthless ore.

Both quotations are from Chester G. Starr in “The Credibility of Early Spartan History”, (Historia: Zeitschrift fur Alte Geschichte Bd. 14, H. 3 (Jul., 1965), pp. 257-272) …. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434883

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https://earlywritings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=145080#p145080
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"Very good. This post is going straight to the March 2016 Biblical Studies Carnival."

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Neil Godfrey on Interlude: Why I Doubt the Historical Existence of Jesus: “Can you claim to have subjected the historical integrity of the writings of Justin and Irenaeus to the same historical…” Feb 5, 06:17
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Darren on Paul’s Letters as Products of Marcion’s School: “re: “But biblical studies are not a monolith and any book published by Cambridge University Press, and by a scholar…” Feb 5, 02:56
LC on Interlude: Why I Doubt the Historical Existence of Jesus: “Can you claim to have subjected the historical integrity of the writings of Justin and Irenaeus to the same historical…” Feb 5, 00:51
Neil Godfrey on Paul’s Letters as Products of Marcion’s School: “I said “forget … the atheists” — of course I am an atheist, but what I meant was “forget atheists…” Feb 4, 21:32
Neil Godfrey on The Name of the Apostle Paul: “What arguments would refute the likelihood that in Acts we see the creation of the Paul figure?” Feb 4, 20:53
RParvus on The Name of the Apostle Paul: “Acts, in my opinion, is a proto-orthodox work. And if so, its reason for connecting Paul’s name to Sergius Paulus…” Feb 4, 20:21
roger sacco on The Magic Beyond Our Expectations: “Read “Incognito” by David Eagleman .Ties right in.Thanks Neil!” Feb 4, 11:34
Neil Godfrey on Paul’s Letters as Products of Marcion’s School: “If you really want to read the book without serious cost you can always request an interlibrary loan through your…” Feb 4, 10:00

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