Search Results for: independent controls

How and Why the Gospel of Mark Used Scripture — a review of Writing with Scripture, part 1

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”

Historical Research: The Basics

Hello again everyone. It’s been too long since I’ve posted here. One of the reasons for my absence was that I have been working my way through several new works in other languages that I have had to scan and translate mostly “by machine” as I go. Reading one work led to several more and … Continue reading “Historical Research: The Basics”

How to Read Historical Evidence (and any other information) Critically

no claim is above the requirement of justification Anyone who reads widely about how historians work and how we can know anything about the past — as well as how to critically analyse news and media reports and any information at all — will likely at some point come across an interesting perspective in an … Continue reading “How to Read Historical Evidence (and any other information) Critically”

The End of Global Capitalism and the Rise of China

I once read a thick biography of John Maynard Keynes and a less thick book by John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society, that expressed a very high regard for Keynesian ideas, and over the years have often found myself thinking back on ideas and turns of phrase in both of those works. I suppose that’s … Continue reading “The End of Global Capitalism and the Rise of China”

Another Interlude with Morality — Why Moral Beings Can Be Brutes

Let’s stay on detour from our Why People Believe in Gods series of posts for another moment . . . . Returning to that earlier quotation of James Q. Wilson, here it is in full (the bolded highlighting is my own) . . . . Contrary to Freud, it is not simply their innate aggressiveness … Continue reading “Another Interlude with Morality — Why Moral Beings Can Be Brutes”

Once More: The Fictions of the Beloved Disciple and Johannine Community

Free for all who are interested: Sage publishers have made one of their recently published articles open access: Méndez, H. (2020). “Did the Johannine Community Exist?” Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 42(3), 350–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X19890490 Speaking of devils, the same themes of false (literary) communities and false witnesses (Beloved Disciple) have been addressed … Continue reading “Once More: The Fictions of the Beloved Disciple and Johannine Community”

Understanding the Hostility to the Christ Myth Theory

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”

Multiple Sources or a Single Source? Two Views

Multiple sources Matthew and Luke did indeed use Mark, but significant portions of both Gospels are not related in any way to Mark’s accounts. And in these sections of their Gospels Matthew and Luke record extensive, independent traditions about Jesus’s life, teachings, and death. . . . But that is not all. There are still … Continue reading “Multiple Sources or a Single Source? Two Views”

Some Stray Thoughts on Paleography

Recently on Vridar, Neil posted about the untimely passing of Hermann Detering. A person commented with a link to his own blog, in which he called Detering a crank, and described Vridar as a blog that is “run by a fraternity who hope that Jesus never existed.” While I am a huge fan of unintended … Continue reading “Some Stray Thoughts on Paleography”

Bible Scholars Who Get History Right

Philip R. Davies, In Search of Ancient Israel (1992) pp. 35-36 historical research by biblical scholars has taken a . . . circular route, whose stages can be represented more or less as follows: Davies then lists the four assumptions that these scholars have brought to their study: 1. The biblical writers, when writing about the past, … Continue reading “Bible Scholars Who Get History Right”

Putting 4 sticking points on the historical/mythical Jesus argument into perspective

On the AFA forum someone suggested I address the following 5 points often used to argue for Christianity originating with a historical Jesus. how about addressing the main points of the evidence offered up by the historicists? 1. The Brother of The Lord 2. Born of a woman 3. Born in the line of David … Continue reading “Putting 4 sticking points on the historical/mythical Jesus argument into perspective”

James McGrath and I Finally Agree on Mythicism

A week ago James McGrath posted Earl Doherty as Christian Reformer in which he expressed a point I have been making for some years now and especially since Thomas Brodie “came out” as not believing that there was a historical Jesus. Approvingly citing Matthew Green, McGrath writes if mythicism did turn out to be true, … Continue reading “James McGrath and I Finally Agree on Mythicism”

Focus, Focus, Focus — but Not Blinkered

Larry Hurtado’s ongoing attempts to defend the reasons biblical scholars opt to ignore the arguments of the Christ Myth theory reinforce fundamental points in my original post, Reply to Larry Hurtado: “Why the “Mythical Jesus” Claim Has No Traction with Scholars”. Hurtado’s latest response is Focus, Focus, Focus. Some excerpts and my comments: The question is … Continue reading “Focus, Focus, Focus — but Not Blinkered”

Deuteronomy’s Military Law — So Very Greek

Continuing from previous posts, the following draws upon a secondary source used by Russell Gmirkin in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible in his discussion of military law as set out in Deuteronomy. The extracts that follow are from Anselm C. Hagedorn’s Between Moses and Plato: Individual and Society in Deuteronomy and Ancient Greek Law. … Continue reading “Deuteronomy’s Military Law — So Very Greek”