Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
86 3. Die Bergpredigt. 3. The Sermon on the Mount. 86/87 Wir kommen zu einem Wendepunkt. Es wird sich zeigen, ob diejenige Schrift, auf welche die Geschichtsdarstellung des Lukas und Matthäus zurückweist und die im Einzelnen wie im Ganzen des Pragmatismus mit dem jetzigen Marcusevangelium*) übereinstimmen mußte, die erste Composition der evangelischen Geschichte war, oder … Continue reading “Ch 3 – The Sermon on the Mount”
77 2. Die Berufung der vier ersten Apostel 2. The calling of the four first apostles 77 Nachdem Lukas den Herrn sogleich im Anfänge mitten in sein Werk versetzt hatte, konnte er die Berufung der vier ersten Apostel nicht mehr so einfach geschehen lassen, wie sie in der Schrift des Marcus geschieht. Derjenige, der bei … Continue reading “Ch 2 – The Calling of the First Four Apostles”
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)”
All posts in this survey of Nanine Charbonnel’s book are archived at Charbonnel: Jesus Christ sublime figure de papier. Getting Real The striking difference between pre-Christian Jewish concepts and those of Christianity is that the latter eschewed abstract notions of messiahs and divine messengers and fleshed them out with names and personalities. Where we read … Continue reading “The Incarnation of The Name – Continuing Nanine Charbonnel’s Sublime Paper Figure Jesus Christ”
Continuing from Getting History for Atheists Wrong (Again) — #4 An examination of the claim that “Paul refers to his teachings that Jesus made during in his earthly ministry, on divorce . . .” Source-Data Interpretation External facts / context related to interpretation 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 To the married I give this command (not I, but … Continue reading “Did Paul Quote Jesus on Divorce? — Getting History for Atheists Wrong (Again) — #5”
It may be that the pattern of events in the Old Testament sometimes foreshadows a similar pattern in the New, for the God of both Testaments is one. — C. S. C. Williams C.S.C. Williams authored the 1958 Acts commentary from which the following parallels are taken. I think there are other explanations. A wicked … Continue reading “Peter, a real “son of Jonah” – part 2″
Let’s continue looking at Rivka Nir’s proposal that the John the Baptist passage in Antiquities of the Jews was not part of Josephus’s original work. We continue from John the Baptist’s Place in Josephus’s Antiquities. But be warned. I get sidetracked and explore the broader evidence for both Christian and Jewish views on divine retribution … Continue reading “On John the Baptist per Josephus – and the murder of Zechariah son of Jehoiada”
There can be little doubt that many of the gospel stories are derived from the Jewish Scriptures: Jesus in the wilderness reworks the nation Israel’s and the prophet Elijah’s sojourn there; Jesus feeding the multitudes and raising the dead are surely inspired by comparable miracles by Elijah and Elisha and many more. What I find … Continue reading “Rewritings and Composite Contradictions: the Way of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation”
We now continue our exploration of Nanine Charbonnel’s case for Jesus Christ being a literary-theological creation using the techniques of a “midrashic” re-reading and interpretation of Jewish Scriptures. The full series is archived at https://vridar.org/tag/charbonnel-jesus-christ-sublime-figure-de-papier/ Double Personification The gospel figure of Jesus Christ was created as a “double personification”: he was created as a personification … Continue reading “Jesus Christ Created as an Epitome of Old Testament Figures (1) — Charbonnel and Jésus-Christ, Sublime Figure de Papier”
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”
At about 57 mins of the MythVision podcast O’Neill underscores the importance of Paul’s claim to have met James the “brother of the Lord”. Not only is Paul’s claim from a contemporary of Jesus but it is even from one who is opposed to his source: Paul is saying, says O’Neill, “Yeh, I have met … Continue reading “Bad History for Atheists (3) — Proof-texting, Circularity, Fake Facts, Insults”
This post is based on some of the citations in the early pages of Hercules-Christus, a 1947 article by Dutch Radical Critic Gustaaf Adolf van den Bergh van Eysinga, translated into German by Frans-Joris Fabri and posted on Hermann Detering’s RadikalKritik webpage. I have supplemented some of van Eysinga’s references in places. Other posts addressing … Continue reading “Hercules, a Fitting Substitute for Jesus Christ”
Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2 . . . All the same notes apply re my modifications of some sections of the translation, additional notes and hyperlinks. 3. Tacitus and Josephus The information we get from Ehrman about Tacitus and the Testimonium Taciteum, which he highly values, on 2 (two!) pages of the book is … Continue reading “Prof. “Errorman” and the non-Christian sources — Part 3: Tacitus and Josephus”
I am catching up on too my long-neglected RSS feeds and came across this post from James McGrath: Jesus, James and Peter Mythicism. It is worth noting precisely what it is that mythicists do with Paul’s references to Jesus in his letters, and just how easily the same could be done with James, the brother … Continue reading “Trumpian Style Response to Mythicism”