Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
Greg Doudna once again challenges us to think outside the box (recall his thoughts on the John the Baptist passage in Josephus and related discussion): this time, regarding Paul. See his conference presentation online at: A Case for Apollonius of Tyana = Paul. A prolegomenon for a more in-depth research development Note his second part … Continue reading “Another Angle on Paul”
Arthur Droge has made available on his academia.edu page an article in which he presents a strong case for that “rulers of this age … crucified the Lord of Glory” passage in 1 Corinthians not being part of the original letter reasons to think the passage was added to the letter around 140 CE evidence … Continue reading “Celestial or Earthly Christ Event? Why So Much Confusion About Paul?”
Many scholars assert that behind the obviously interpolated words about Jesus in the Antiquities of the Jews Josephus did in fact write something, either mildly positive or neutral in tone, about him. The problem with that assertion is that it is well recognized among scholars of Josephus that the Jewish historian absolutely hated everyone who, … Continue reading “What Did Josephus Think of John the Baptist?”
I have been sidetracked from blogging regularly for a while now so I’m long overdue for continuing Rivka Nir’s case (The First Christian Believer: In Search of John the Baptist) for the John the Baptist passage in Josephus being a Christian interpolation. Previous posts are John the Baptist Resources John the Baptist: Another Case for … Continue reading “John the Baptist’s Place in Josephus’s Antiquities”
Presentations and readings are now available at the online site for the John the Baptist Enoch Seminar (11-14 January 2021) James McGrath has additionally posted his take on many of the presentations: McGrath, Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. “John the Baptist Enoch Seminar Nangeroni Meeting Day 1.” Religion Prof: The Blog of James … Continue reading “John the Baptist Resources”
Here’s another contribution to our quest for the origins of John the Baptist as found in the synoptic gospels. Recent discussions have centred on the account found in Josephus — see Is Josephus’s John the Baptist Passage a Chronologically Dislocated Story of the Death of Hyrcanus II? Greg Doudna’s article behind the post, Another Pointer … Continue reading “The Death of John the Baptist — Sources and Less Obvious Contexts”
Back in August this year, I introduced a hypothesis that what we read in Josephus’s Antiquities about John “the Baptist” is actually a misplaced episode about the John Hyrcanus II. (See the relevant section linked here in the discussion of the festschrift for Thomas L. Thompson, Biblical Narratives, Archaeology and Historicity: Essays In Honour of … Continue reading “Another Pointer Towards a Late Date for the Gospel of Mark?”
Here we [begin to] conclude our overview of Russell Gmirkin’s chapter ‘Solomon’ (Shalmaneser III) and the Emergence of Judah as an Independent Kingdom by addressing his view that the Acts of Solomon that we read about in 1 Kings were sourced from records of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser. For context see the previous two posts: … Continue reading “Is Solomon’s Glory Based on the Assyrian Shalmaneser III’s Exploits? – part 1”
The first part of this review is at https://vridar.org/2020/08/25/biblical-narratives-archaeology-historicity-essays-in-honour-of-thomas-l-thompson/ . . . Continuing the section Part 2. History, Historiography and Archaeology . . . Jesper Høgenhaven’s chapter explores evidence in the Qumran texts for how Second Temple Judeans thought about the Biblical writings. We can be puzzled by the way biblical passages were joined to … Continue reading “continuing … Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, Historicity – Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson”
Another Thompson aphorism: ‘When everyone is agreed on something, it is probably wrong’. In other words, as Thompson has also put it, ‘in our fields, if all are in agreement, it signifies that no one is trying to falsify the theory: an essential step in any scientific argument’. — Doudna 2020 That’s not being perverse. … Continue reading ““When everyone is agreed on something, it is probably wrong” — Thompson’s Rule”
[I have copied the following comment by Greg Doudna to a post here so the thoughts do not get lost in the comments section and are easier to read and engage with. Format slightly changed — Neil] –o– The argument that the “we” passages of Acts are an origin story of the church at Rome … Continue reading “Guest Post: Further Thoughts on the “We Passages” in Acts”
Questioning the historical existence of Jesus attracts something other than mere curiosity or intellectual debate among many biblical scholars and some of the public who don’t even have any personal interest in religion. I can understand people with a personal faith in Jesus either simply ignoring the question with disdain or amusement or responding with … Continue reading “Understanding the Hostility to the Christ Myth Theory”
Of special interest to many readers are questions over the authenticity of passages about Jesus and John the Baptist in Josephus’s Antiquities. We know the tell-tales signs that a passage has been inserted into Josephus’s Antiquities: It breaks the narrative flow of the surrounding passage; It contradicts what is known about information from other sources … Continue reading “Interpolations in Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews“
The interview with John Curington is available as a single file at Greg Doudna’s academia.edu page. For more about the book go to hlhuntmotiveandopportunity.com The installments that were posted here are still accessible in an updated archived topics page.