Thinking through the “James, the brother of the Lord” passage in Galatians 1:19

Some time ago I was attempting to think through the pros and cons surrounding the disputed claims over the significance and meaning of James being described as the brother of the Lord in Paul’s letter to Galatians. I set out the various factors in a discussion of Bayesian probability. But since Bayesian analysis is a … Continue reading “Thinking through the “James, the brother of the Lord” passage in Galatians 1:19″


BRUNO BAUER: Criticism of the Pauline Letters – I. Origin of the Galatians Epistle

Criticism of the Pauline Epistles by B. Bauer First Section The Origin of the Galatians Epistle 1850 3 Preface We will put an end once and for all to the mistakes and unsuccessful attempts of the apologists, who started from the assumption that it is both possible and necessary to integrate the Pauline letters with … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Criticism of the Pauline Letters – I. Origin of the Galatians Epistle”


When Did James Become the Brother of the Lord?

What we have is a tradition that fairly consistently understood James to be the biological relative of Jesus, even when it eventually found it awkward to view him as Jesus’ biological brother because of other doctrines that had been developing surrounding Jesus and Mary. — Religion Prof Yes, and the earliest evidence we have of … Continue reading “When Did James Become the Brother of the Lord?”


How Matthew Invented the Lord’s Prayer (A Goulder View)

The two earlier posts on The Lord’s Prayer: “Jesus Did Not Compose the Lord’s Prayer” On What Grounds Would Anyone Argue That Luke’s Lord’s Prayer Post-Dates Matthew’s? Let this be my third and final post on the Lord’s Prayer. I return to the article by Michael Goulder with which I began these posts. Our Father … Continue reading “How Matthew Invented the Lord’s Prayer (A Goulder View)”


Gullotta’s review of Carrier’s On the Historicity of Jesus, point #4, “James, the brother of the Lord”

This is not the first time we have seen Gullotta inexplicably fail to acknowledge that Carrier is prepared to concede for the sake of a fortiori argument the very position Gullotta is arguing. The focus of my response will center on Carrier’s claim that a pre-Christian angel named Jesus existed, his understanding of Jesus as … Continue reading “Gullotta’s review of Carrier’s On the Historicity of Jesus, point #4, “James, the brother of the Lord””


What If James Really Were “the Brother of the Lord”?

Since posting the following I have pointed to another detail that gives further reason to pause before assuming Lord = Jesus in Galatians. Galatians 1:19 but I saw none other of the apostles, but James the brother of the Lord. Fear not. I will not here repeat the arguments that James was/was not the brother … Continue reading “What If James Really Were “the Brother of the Lord”?”


Reply to James McGrath’s Criticism of Bayes’s Theorem in the Jesus Mythicism Debate

James McGrath in a recent post, Jesus Mythicism: Two Truths and a Lie, made the following criticism of the use of Bayes’s theorem in the Jesus Mythicism debate: . . . . as I was reminded of the problematic case that Richard Carrier has made for incorporating mathematical probability (and more specifically a Bayesian approach) … Continue reading “Reply to James McGrath’s Criticism of Bayes’s Theorem in the Jesus Mythicism Debate”


The never-ending “brother of the lord” proof for the historical existence of Jesus

James McGrath has posted that it is time to return to the Jesus mythicism question. He writes: It’s time to return once again to the subject of Jesus mythicism, the stance that denies the overwhelming consensus of professional historians and scholars that there most likely was indeed a historical Jesus of Nazareth. Translated, that means … Continue reading “The never-ending “brother of the lord” proof for the historical existence of Jesus”


Does “Brother of the Lord” settle the Jesus myth question?

On another forum I recently posted a discussion of the passage in Galatians where Paul says he met James, “the brother of the Lord”, setting out why I believe the passage is not necessarily the “slam dunk” that many say it is to prove Jesus was a historical figure. I have other posts on other topics … Continue reading “Does “Brother of the Lord” settle the Jesus myth question?”


The Function of “Brother of the Lord” in Galatians 1:19

It seems hardly a month passes without somebody on Vridar bringing up Galatians 1:19, in which Paul refers to James as the “brother of the Lord.” Recently I ran a search for the phrase here, and after reading each post, it struck me how much time we’ve spent wondering what it means and so little time asking why … Continue reading “The Function of “Brother of the Lord” in Galatians 1:19″


James the Brother of the Lord and James the Theologian of the Matrix

In his crusading zeal to slash and burn mythicism James McGrath is demonstrating once more his unfortunate lack of awareness of the actual content mythicist arguments and has done his readers a more general disservice by misrepresenting the nature of mainstream arguments on how various interpolations have worked their way into manuscript traditions. Somehow a … Continue reading “James the Brother of the Lord and James the Theologian of the Matrix”


The “Born of a Woman” / Galatians 4:4 INDEX

Proper indexing of my posts has fallen behind. One small step towards correcting this has been to collate all Vridar posts that have dealt with Galatians 4:4 and the famous “born of a woman” phrase. First I list persons whose various views have been presented here. Then . . .  well, you can see how … Continue reading “The “Born of a Woman” / Galatians 4:4 INDEX”


A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 5: The Transformation of Simon/Paul in Galatians

The Transformation of Simon/Paul into Proto-Orthodox Paul in Galatians 1:1 – 2:14   This post will consider Galatians 1:1 – 2:14 from the perspective of my Simonian hypothesis. That passage contains some of the few bits of biographical information the Pauline Corpus provides about Paul. If my hypothesis is correct, it should be able to … Continue reading “A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 5: The Transformation of Simon/Paul in Galatians”