Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
Some critics have portrayed me as being like a moth fluttering to the nearest flame, as one who is always attracted to the latest most radical viewpoint, and therefore my views cannot be taken seriously. What those critics generally fail to recognize, however, is the consistency of my readings of the sources and the fact … Continue reading “Gospel and Historical Jesus Criticism — Method and Consistency”
Update: 3rd August 2023 I somehow managed to complete a first draft of a translation of the entire near 700 pages of the work that significantly contributed to the case for the Gospel of Mark being the first gospel. It can be accessed here on my vridar.info page. Link is to a PDF – 27 … Continue reading “Christian Gottlob WILKE — Der Urevangelist Translated into English“
When I translated Bruno Bauer’s studies of the New Testament writings I encountered numerous references to one of the pioneers of the Markan priority hypothesis, Christian Gottlob Wilke. Bruno often but not always deferred to Wilke’s judgments relating to the relationships among the synoptic gospels and how to account for their variations, what passages appeared … Continue reading “Another Old German Treasure Translated into English”
Theological Explanation of the Gospels Die theologische Erklärung der Evangelien by Bruno Bauer 1852 III. The Original Evangelist. 136 Yes, it must be difficult to grasp a perspective that no longer aligns with the entanglement of theological assumptions, especially when even academically trained theologians, in their struggle with criticism, in a moment when they should … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Theological Explanation of the Gospels – III. The Original Evangelist”
Theological Explanation of the Gospels Die theologische Erklärung der Evangelien by Bruno Bauer 1852 II. Strauss’ tradition hypothesis. Topic headings in the text below are my additions to Bauer’s text. 68 The proposition that language is the man and the word is the thing remains valid even when the language of a point of view … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Theological Explanation of the Gospels – II. Strauss’s tradition hypothesis”
Theological Explanation of the Gospels Die theologische Erklärung der Evangelien by Bruno Bauer 1852 I. The theological explanation of the fourth Gospel. 45 For the German Protestant Church, the Johannine age of disintegration and instability began, if we leave Fichte’s declamations to the past as a prophecy of this completion of the indeterminacy that … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Theological Explanation of the Gospels – I. The theological explanation of the fourth Gospel”
Critique of the Gospel History of the Synoptics by Bruno Bauer Volume 1 —o0o— 391 Appendix. The Messianic Expectations of the Jews at the Time of Jesus. All those who have spoken out against Strauss’s interpretation of the evangelical history in recent years also felt it was their duty to protest against the derivation of … Continue reading “Appendix. The Messianic Expectations of the Jews at the Time of Jesus”
Until recently, an English translation of Bruno Bauer’s Christianity Exposed (1843) has only been available through a library or Edwin Mellen University Press. Now, however, Google Books has made Bruno Bauer’s famous work public — though it is in German. BUT the better news is that when one opens it in Google Reader and runs … Continue reading “Bruno BAUER — Seven (now Eight) Works Translated into English“
Critique of the Gospel of John by Bruno Bauer —o0o— 302 §. 13 The adulteress 7:53 – 8:11. ——- 1) The position of the question as to the authenticity of this passage. The tale of the adulteress possesses an irresistible power which, by its first impression, excites and captivates the hearer by evoking in him … Continue reading “§ 13. The adulteress”
Critique of the Gospel History of the Synoptics by Bruno Bauer Volume 2 —o0o— 280 § 50. A sabbath healing. Matth. 12, 9-14. Whether it should have happened on the same Sabbath, on which they had just been severely treated, or on another, is irrelevant. It is incomprehensible and inappropriate that the Pharisees should … Continue reading “§ 50. A sabbath healing”
Other posts arguing against the view that Second Temple Jews were longing for the appearance of a messiah: Were Jews Hoping for a Messiah to Deliver Them from Rome? Raising Doubts (2019-05-07) “The Chosen People Were Not Awaiting the Messiah” (2019-05-05) Myth of popular messianic expectations at the time of Jesus (2017-02-03) Questioning Carrier and … Continue reading “Bruno Bauer: Messianic Expectations of the Jews at the Time of Jesus”
11 I. Seneca’s Religious Foundation. Before we begin, we will present the reader with the dismissive judgments passed by a newer school of history on Stoicism, the starting point of Seneca, for examination. 1. Recent judgments on Stoicism. One of the signs of the impending imperialism that dominates our present time is a fraction of … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Christ and the Caesars – I. Seneca’s Religious Foundation”
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”
All posts reviewing Nathanael Vette’s Writing With Scripture are archived at Vette : Writing With Scripture With thanks to T&T Clark who forwarded me a review copy. The claim that the scriptural character of early Christian narrative illustrates its non-historical character is one conservative exegetes have been anxious to dismiss and radical exegetes have been … Continue reading ““Some Underlying Tradition” — a review of Writing With Scripture, part 10″