Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
How much has been written about that young man fleeing naked from those who came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane — how many literary analyses, how many theological interpretations. . . . But what if. . . . Here is the passage — in Mark 14 43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of … Continue reading “One more scene to delete from the original Gospel narrative?”
If you are looking for a serious, easy-to-read and up-to-date study of the question of how the gospels came to be written, what sources their authors used, what their authors were trying to achieve, and for the most part is delivered in conversational style, then you will have found it in Rhetoric and the Synoptic … Continue reading “A Brilliant New Book on Gospel Origins”
When I offered to post a comprehensive review of Writing With Scripture by Nathanael Vette the publisher sent me a copy and now I hope this first in a series of reviews will begin to do justice to all concerned and interested. I write primarily as a layman for interested lay readers. Who is Nathanael … Continue reading “How and Why the Gospel of Mark Used Scripture — a review of Writing with Scripture, part 1”
Note the historicizing imagination at work…. We find this same phenomenon with Chateaubriand. He writes at the beginning of the fifth part of his Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem: On October 10, early in the morning, I left Jerusalem through the Ephraim Gate, always accompanied by my trusted Ali, with the aim of examining the … Continue reading “The Gospels as Figurative Narratives (Charbonnel continued)”
I cannot prove that the gospel narratives are deliberately set in the time of Pilate so that the death of Jesus occurs a generation of forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE but I do think there are several reasons for suspecting that this setting was a conscious decision for theological reasons. … Continue reading “Why was the Gospel Narrative set around 30 CE?”
When we began Nanine Charbonnel’s [NC] discussion of the various Old Testament figures being epitomized in Jesus we had only two references to Adam, both in Paul’s writings (Rom 5:17-19 and 1 Cor 15:45-49). (The same post also introduced NC background discussions on the Adam figure per Paul Ricoeur and Philo of Alexandria.) A commenter … Continue reading “The Gospel of Mark’s Jesus as the New Adam”
sk With this post I conclude setting out Nanine Charbonnel’s tables associating the gospels with Jewish Scriptures and other Jewish writings. With this section completed I am free to move on to discuss the remainder of her book, Jésus-Christ, Sublime Figure de Papier. The value of tables like these comes more from preparing them — … Continue reading “Gospels Cut from Jewish Scriptures, #7 (conclusion)”
Not only are passages from Jewish Scriptures identified as sources of the gospels but we also find interesting overlaps with some of the other Second Temple literature and even the later rabbinical writings. It looks as though those later rabbinical writings originated in the Second Temple era given the striking overlaps with some of the … Continue reading “Gospels Cut from Jewish Scriptures, #6”
It’s been too long since I visited our French scholars of the Bible so here I continue with part 5 of Nanine Charbonnel’s table setting out the “Old Testament” sources of the Gospel narratives. In Jésus-Christ, Sublime Figure de Papier Charbonnel is presenting a case for the gospel figure of Jesus Christ being created entirely … Continue reading “Gospels Cut from Jewish Scriptures, #5”
Here we look at the sources in the Jewish Scriptures for: a. John the Baptist b. the Baptism of Jesus c. the wedding at Cana d. the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness
Here we look at a. the visions and rejoicing surrounding the birth of Jesus b. the shepherds, the magi c. massacre of the innocents d. flight to and return from Egypt e. Jesus twelve years of age in the temple Future posts will continue this series. The table is primarily a translation and slight modification … Continue reading “Gospels Cut from Jewish Scriptures, #3”
Here we look at a. the announcement to the parents of John the Baptist; b. the heralding role of John the Baptist. Future posts will continue this series.
* The table is primarily a translation and slight modification of pages 183-226 of Nanine Charbonnel’s Jésus-Christ, sublime figure de paper. All posts archived here. From time to time I will post a section of a multi-page table* suggesting “intertextual” (or “midrashic”) links between the canonical gospel narratives and the “Old Testament” or Jewish Scriptures. … Continue reading “Gospels Cut From Jewish Scriptures, #1”
Continuing the series on Nanine Charbonnel’s Jésus-Christ, sublime figure de paper . . . . –o– John the Baptist Maybe I’m just naturally resistant to new ideas but I found myself having some difficulty with Nanine Charbonnel’s [NC] opening stage of her discussion about John the Baptist. (Recall we have been looking at plausibility of gospel … Continue reading “The Symbolic Characters in the Gospels #2: John the Baptist and the Twelve Disciples”