Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
Here’s a little more on Bruno Bauer’s arguments on Gospel origins. (My recent post on Roland Boer’s discussion has put me on a little roll.) It’s a shame that more of Bauer’s works are not available at a reasonable cost in English. I take this as an indicator that scholarship in the English speaking world … Continue reading “Bruno Bauer (through Albert Schweitzer)”
The second chapter in Is This Not the Carpenter? is an interesting discussion by fellow Aussie Roland Boer titled “The German Pestilence: Re-assessing Feuerbach, Strauss and Bauer”. (The link is to Australia’s University of Newcastle tribute page to Roland Boer as one of their “research achievers”.) It is easy to see where Leftie Red Roland … Continue reading “The German Radical Theologians: Why did they happen and what is their relevance today?”
* Scholarly Reconstructions of the Historical Jesus . COVERED IN THIS POST: Consensus scholarly views of the historical Jesus The tyranny of the Gospels What Q does not tell us about an historical Jesus How New Testament scholarship operates Conflicting scholarly views about who and what Jesus was Finding Jesus in the Q prophets An … Continue reading “31. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 31 (Scholarly Reconstructions of HJ)”
* Bart Ehrman vs. Earl Doherty . COVERED IN THIS POST: Using previous scholarship with a different end result Ehrman’s numerous misreadings and misrepresentations of my text Platonic (and other) ancient views of the universe What was the interpretation of the cultic myths: allegorical or literal, heavenly or earthly? among the philosophers? among the devotees … Continue reading “Bart Ehrman vs. Earl Doherty. Part 29 of Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism”
* 1. Did Jewish Personified Wisdom generate Paul’s Christ Jesus? 2. Was Jesus an Unknown Jew Who Lived a Century Before Paul? . COVERED IN THIS POST: The (partial) mythicism of G. A. Wells The problems in Wells’ interpretation of Paul Jewish personified Wisdom as inspiration for Paul’s Christ Hellenistic Judaism and the Wisdom of … Continue reading “28. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 28 (G. A. Wells)”
Slightly edited 3 hours after original posting. * Did the earliest Christians regard Jesus as God? . COVERED IN THIS POST: Did the earliest Christians see Jesus as God? God vs. an emanation of God Concepts of the Son and Logos; Paul and Philo Epistolary descriptions of the Son The Synoptic Jesus: Man or God? … Continue reading “27. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 27”
My recent encounter with Matthew Novenson’s Christ among the Messiahs has led me to a few other publications of his and one of them I found particularly surprising and interesting: Why Does R. Akiba Acclaim Bar Kokhba as Messiah? that appeared in a 2009 Journal for the Study of Judaism (40). (Bar Kokhba was the … Continue reading “A model history lesson (or, Why Does Rabbi Akiba Proclaim Bar Kokhba the Messiah?)”
* Mythicist Inventions: Part One – Creating the Mythical Christ from the Pagan Mystery Cults . COVERED IN THIS POST: Jesus as a dying and rising god Common creations of the religious mind The demise of James Frazer’s The Golden Bough The case for borrowing lies in syncretism Jewish and Greek forms of resurrection Paul … Continue reading “26. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 26”
The previous post surveyed the range of arguments over whether Paul uses the word “Christ” (χριστός) as a personal name for Jesus or as a title. The answer to the question has implications for Paul’s Christology and theology. (Did he view Jesus as a messianic figure in the traditional Jewish sense or not?) I also … Continue reading “Christ among the Messiahs — Part 3b”
* A Crucified Messiah COVERED IN THIS POST: Jesus and David Koresh Was a crucified criminal believed to be the messiah? Ehrman’s “story” of a resurrection A story missing in Q and the epistles The actual picture in the epistles Did Jews invent a crucified messiah? Did Jews anticipate a suffering messiah? The sources and … Continue reading “22. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 22”
Did the Jewish philosopher Philo influence the story-line and character-portrayals that we read in the Gospel of Mark? I cannot yet commit myself to believing he did but I am keen to follow up the question since encountering it in Reimagining Christian Origins: A Colloquium Honoring Burton L. Mack. (Mack, of course, is famous for … Continue reading “Is the Gospel of Mark Creatively Emulating Philo’s Life of Moses?”
* The Brother of the Lord . COVERED IN THIS POST: brother of the Lord the meaning of “brother” in the epistles brethren of a sect? plain meanings apologist objections: who is “the Lord”? battle of the prepositions question begging as methodology why not “brother of Jesus”? or “brothers of Jesus”? separating Cephas and James … Continue reading “20. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Part 20”
Blogger Casey (of The Jesus Process ®©™ blog series now published on the internet) expresses regret and shock at the “frightful” work of Earl Doherty, notably because with a regrettable lack of information about conventional scholarship, he shows no knowledge of the fundamental work of the anthropologist E. T. Hall, who introduced the terms ‘high … Continue reading “Blogger Godfrey’s Blog Reply (2) to Blogger Casey’s Blog Post on the Internet”
* The Pauline Epistles – Part One . COVERED IN THIS POST: Born of woman, born under the Law: authentic to Paul? Jesus ministering to the Jews a “missing equation”: Paul’s Christ = the Gospel Jesus Romans 1:3 – “of David’s seed kata sarka“ “brother(s) of the Lord”: a preliminary look “the twelve” Paul’s “Lord’s … Continue reading “18. Earl Doherty’s Response to Bart Ehrman’s Case Against Mythicism – Pt.18”