2007-06-03

Baptism: Another Markan trap? Or, The Gospel of Perfection

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by Neil Godfrey


“I think the whole story of Jesus is a parable, an allegory. If you insist on making it literal you destroy it.” — Vridar’s thoughts in Vardis Fisher’s Orphans in Gethsemane (Vol.1, For Passion, For Heaven)


Why does Mark leave readers hanging right through to the end of his gospel and never show the fulfilment of John’s proclamation that Jesus would baptize with the holy spirit?

I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy spirit (Mk.1.8)

Or is this another one of those “Markisms” where he sets up the reader (and characters in his gospel) to expect one thing while he really means the words in a different sense? Continue reading “Baptism: Another Markan trap? Or, The Gospel of Perfection”


2007-06-02

John Carroll on the Existential Jesus (live this time) — (podcast/transcript)

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by Neil Godfrey

Mark’s Greek according to John Carroll (The Existential Jesus):

(pics nicked from here. Two faces or one vase?)

This is how Mark’s Greek works — surface text vs subtext — according to John Carroll: Continue reading “John Carroll on the Existential Jesus (live this time) — (podcast/transcript)”


2007-06-01

bauckham vs enlightenment (rev)

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by Neil Godfrey

(i have wondered if the more grammatically correct heading should be “bauckham vs the enlightenment” — but the more i think about it the more i realize that “bauckham vs enlightenment” is the more accurate.)

For those who are not history buffs, by Enlightenment I mean the rise of a rational/naturalist/’humanitarianist’ approach to knowledge, science, and religion that marked especially the 18th century. Think Newton, Franklin, Voltaire, Boyle, Hutton, Harvey, Linnaeus (300 years old this month– big celebrations in Sweden!), Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Kant, Louis XIV, Catherine the Great, Frederick ditto — not eastern mysticism.

When I first began reading Bauckham’s Eyewitnesses I simply assumed I would be engaging with a work by someone with a normal academic acceptance of normal scholarly standards. Continue reading “bauckham vs enlightenment (rev)”


2007-05-29

Tales of the 2 Judas gospels

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by Neil Godfrey

And one more — again a set of Rachel Kohn Spirit of Things interviews — this time discussions of the “real” gospel of Judas as recently made public, AND the novel! Why not! I haven’t had time to catch up with this program myself but I’m sure it will have much of interest — in both halves. Continue reading “Tales of the 2 Judas gospels”


Dead Sea Scrolls at 60

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by Neil Godfrey

Another gem on Radio National, this time again on Rachel Kohn’s Spirit of Things. Interviews with Drs George Brooke, Jodi Magness and Ian Young discussing the history and scholarship over the past 60 years relating to the Scrolls and the Qumran site, Continue reading “Dead Sea Scrolls at 60”


2007-05-26

Another cries out, “The Emperor Has No Clothes!”

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by Neil Godfrey

Intenet Infidels Discussion Board (IIDB) has a discussion thread on some recently/about to be published views of Professor of philosophy and religious studies Hector Avalos:

The primary interest is a Society of Biblical Literature article by Avalos, “The Ideology of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Demise of an Academic Profession“. But there is also reference to a new publication due out about now . . . . . Continue reading “Another cries out, “The Emperor Has No Clothes!””


2007-05-25

Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Chapter 18b

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by Neil Godfrey

Bauckham’s use of Paul Ricoeur

Bauckham pursues the fundamental role of testimony for history through reference to internationally renowned French philosopher Paul Ricoeur‘s “Memory, History, Forgetting” (2004). Before discussing this section of B’s final chapter I want to address a sentence of Ricoeur’s on which Bauckham places particularly heavy and repeated emphasis:

First, trust the word of others, then doubt if there are good reasons for doing so. (p.165, Memory) Continue reading “Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Chapter 18b”


2007-05-21

The subtext of Jesus’ family relationships — (1)

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by Neil Godfrey

Unlike Greek saviour-type heroes such as Achilles (and even Socrates), not once in the canonical gospels is Jesus shown to have had a healthy relationship with a normal loving woman, not even at birth. And is there a complementary dark significance to the absence of any hint of a relationship with his presumed stepfather, Joseph? What follows is my extrapolation of some thoughts brought to the surface by Richard Holway in his discussion of the mythology and psychology of Achilles and Socrates in his article Achilles, Socrates, and Democracy published in Political Theory, Vol. 22, No. 4. (Nov., 1994), pp.561-590. Continue reading “The subtext of Jesus’ family relationships — (1)”


2007-05-19

Mark, The Embarrassing Gospel

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by Neil Godfrey

The criterion of embarrassment is a “rule” commonly appealed to by scholars to argue that certain events must be historical because they were so well-known and undeniable that, although gospel authors were clearly embarrassed by them, they nevertheless could not avoid addressing them. One example is the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Why would gospel authors say that Jesus was baptized by his inferior unless it really happened? Surely it was not in the interests of presenting Jesus as the superior to John the Baptist to publicize such an event. The only explanation could be that the event was so well known that the authors had no choice but to report it and put the best spin on it that they could muster.

(This reasoning sounds so “self-evident” that it deserves to be kept in mind when reading the scholarly explanations for why Paul does NOT mention so much about Jesus for the reason that it was “so well known that there was no need to address it” — even if to do so would (a) support his position, or (b) require spin to get around how Jesus embarrassed Paul’s position.)

But there is a problem. One of those canonical gospels demonstrates not a single ounce or gram of embarrassment over Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist, nor any of the other episodes to which spin has to be plied by the other gospels to get around various “embarrassing but unavoidable historical facts.” The Gospel of Mark simply waltzes in and unashamedly offers us a point by point account of how John the Baptist baptized Jesus (his superior)! Continue reading “Mark, The Embarrassing Gospel”


2007-05-11

Is Mark mocking Joseph of Arimathea, and Pilate?

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by Neil Godfrey

Joseph of Arimathea is most commonly viewed as something of a partial redemption of the harsh conclusion of Mark, given that he is said to have had courage where courage failed the disciples; and Pilate is seen as almost an innocent bystander in some ways. But I’m playing with an interpretation here that suggests their roles in Mark’s narrative were not quite so untouched by Mark’s well-known penchant for savage irony. Continue reading “Is Mark mocking Joseph of Arimathea, and Pilate?”


2007-05-10

Pilate and the cosmic order in Mark

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by Neil Godfrey

This is a disorganized collage of thoughts stimulated partly by the unlikely combo of John Carroll’s The Existential Jesus and Michael Patella’s The Lord of the Cosmos. Continue reading “Pilate and the cosmic order in Mark”


2007-05-08

Ancient historians at work: Polybius, Herodotus (cf Gospels, Acts)

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by Neil Godfrey

For what it’s worth, I’m posting a few excerpts from a couple of nonbiblical historians, mainly for benefit of those following some of the posts and discussion re my Bauckham and Acts 27 (Paul’s sea voyage/shipwreck) reviews. The point is to compare nonbiblical historical methods, approach, critical analysis, with what we read in the Gospels and Acts. For those familiar with the Gospels and Acts I invite where possible any comparisons with the following methods we find among two prominent ancient historians: Continue reading “Ancient historians at work: Polybius, Herodotus (cf Gospels, Acts)”


2007-05-06

Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Chapter 18a

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by Neil Godfrey

Check my book review list for complete set of chapter by chapter comments

What is Testimony and Can We Rely on It?

This concluding chapter does not sum up Bauckham’s reasons for thinking the gospels may be the testimony of eyewitnesses. It argues, rather, that eyewitness testimony should be more highly regarded by modern historians as a valid historical source. Of course the argument misses its point in this instance if one has failed to be convinced that the gospels are indeed records of eyewitness testimonies.

Bauckham’s discussion relies heavily on Continue reading “Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Chapter 18a”


2007-05-03

Playwright Howard Brenton does St Paul

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by Neil Godfrey

And another one from Radio National’s “Religion Report”: interview with British playwright Howard Brenton. (Not related to RN is this link reviewing the UK performance of the play.)

Excerpt from the transcript: Continue reading “Playwright Howard Brenton does St Paul”