Search Results for: detlev fehling

Where does John the Baptist fit in History? — The Evidence of Josephus, Pt 4

Continuing…. (3) The Passage’s Reference to God’s Punishment of Herod Peter Kirby asserts that contradictory viewpoints in Josephus are no reason to suspect the involvement of an alien hand somewhere in the transmission of our manuscripts. He quotes my (somewhat facile) paraphrase of Zindler’s point: Neil Godfrey notes another one of the reasons that Zindler … Continue reading “Where does John the Baptist fit in History? — The Evidence of Josephus, Pt 4”

Lying Eyewitnesses — Always With Us

It ain’t necessarily so, the things that you’re liable to read in Bible, or in Der Spiegel, or in the ancient histories. Three weeks ago I posted “Now we know” — how ancient historians worked There I wrote: In 1935 the foreign correspondent of a certain English newspaper, finding himself without much material to report, … Continue reading “Lying Eyewitnesses — Always With Us”

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”

Theologians’ Miracle: Turning Fallacy into Proof

Professor of History, David Hackett Fischer, has long been known for his book, Historians’ Fallacies, in which he amasses copious examples of fallacious historical analysis and argument committed (at least on occasion) even by otherwise highly reputable historians. Unfortunately, critical fallacies that he identifies as periodic blights on the work of his peers are standard … Continue reading “Theologians’ Miracle: Turning Fallacy into Proof”

The Historical Jesus and the Demise of History, 2: The Overlooked Reasons We Know Certain Ancient Persons Existed

In the previous post in this series I concluded by pointing out the fundamental difference between the sources used by historians concerning nonbiblical historical figures such as Napoleon, Alexander or even Socrates, and those used by New Testament scholars for Jesus. In the former, the sources leave no doubt at all that certain individuals lived … Continue reading “The Historical Jesus and the Demise of History, 2: The Overlooked Reasons We Know Certain Ancient Persons Existed”

Take Two: Chapter 2 of Jesus, Criteria, and the Demise of Authenticity

Continuing from Historical Method versus Jesus Research: Chapter 2 of Jesus, Criteria and the Demise of Authenticity. . . . Jens Schröter reminds us of flaws with the criteria approach to find the historical Jesus. They encapsulate what I have covered in my posts on Chris Keith’s chapter one: Criteria were designed as a tool … Continue reading “Take Two: Chapter 2 of Jesus, Criteria, and the Demise of Authenticity”

What if the Gospels did cite their sources and identify their authors?

Would the Gospels be any more credible if their authors clearly left their names in them, along with a little biographical information clearly linking them to known historical persons, and if they at every point in their narrative informed readers of their sources for each set of sayings by Jesus and for each incident? Some … Continue reading “What if the Gospels did cite their sources and identify their authors?”

Where does John the Baptist fit in History? — The Evidence of Josephus, Pt 6

Continuing, with an interlude …. Study the historian before you begin to study the facts. . . . It is what is already done by the intelligent undergraduate who, when recommended to read a work by that great scholar Jones of St Jude’s, goes round to a friend at St Jude’s to ask what sort … Continue reading “Where does John the Baptist fit in History? — The Evidence of Josephus, Pt 6”

Why the Rabbis (and Gospel Authors, too) Wrote Fiction as “True History”

Chaim Milikowsky gives his answer to the question in the title, or at least he answers the question with respect to rabbinical literature. I have added the connection to our canonical four gospels, and I could with equal justice add Acts of the Apostles. I read CM’s answer in Ancient Fiction: The Matrix of Early … Continue reading “Why the Rabbis (and Gospel Authors, too) Wrote Fiction as “True History””

History (or something else?) as Fulfilled Prophecy

Once again I am succumbing to the temptation to do an easy post, little more than a copy and paste of something I posted on the earlywritings forum recently. A topic I was addressing had to do with the significance of prophecy, or rather, fulfilled prophecy, in the narrative of our apparently earliest gospel, that … Continue reading “History (or something else?) as Fulfilled Prophecy”