Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
[A]ll we need for the case for the historicity of Jesus to be solid is some evidence that weighs strongly in favor of his historicity. And we have it, and so in theory, mythicism should simply vanish. But as with all forms of denialism, it will persist regardless of the evidence. — McGrath, Jesus Mythicism: … Continue reading “That one piece of solid evidence that weighs strongly in favour of historicity…..”
Before I address specific points of Daniel Gullotta’s review of Richard Carrier’s On the Historicity of Jesus here is my overall assessment. Despite having the appearance of a comprehensive review of the primary argument of OHJ (37 pages that includes a detailed background discussion on “who Carrier is” certainly has all the appearance of being … Continue reading “Gullotta’s Review of Carrier’s OHJ: A Brief Comment”
Posting here a few more of my responses to questions that were raised on the BC&H forum about my stance on the Jesus mythicism question. (The first post in this series is Why I don’t see myself as a Christ Mythicist) On making reasonable assumptions and seeing where they take us Is it reasonable to assume … Continue reading “Follow up questions to my post on not seeing myself as a “Jesus mythicist””
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”
One of the purposes of Vridar is to share what its authors have found of interest in biblical scholarship that unfortunately tends not to be easily accessible to the wider lay public. (Of course, our interests extend into political, science and other topics, too. For further background see the authors’ profiles and the explanations linked … Continue reading “Reply to Larry Hurtado: “Why the “Mythical Jesus” Claim Has No Traction with Scholars””
Warning: If you are looking for snazzy gotcha type parallels that demonstrate a genetic relationship between the letters of Paul and Enoch you will be disappointed. This post is not about direct imitation or identification of “a source” for Paul’s letter. The first page addresses form parallels; to see the content and ideas click “read … Continue reading “Meet Paul and Enoch; both come from the same place”
The following is a write up from notes I took at the time of my first listening to the debate supplemented by a second listening earlier today. So there will be more detail than in with my summary of Ehrman’s opener. If anyone thinks I have been unfair to Ehrman then let me know and … Continue reading “Ehrman-Price Debate #2: Price’s Opening Address”
The following is a write up from notes I took at the time of my first listening to the debate. I have not been able to access the online debate since to check the details of the following. I think most listeners on the mythicist side would have been disappointed because this was an opportunity … Continue reading “The Ehrman-Price Debate: Ehrman’s Opening Address”
No doubt there will be to-and-fro on “the brother of the Lord” passage in Galatians 1:19. I would love to see any such discussion go beyond the face-value interpretation of the words and to explore both the provenance and nature of the source containing that line. That is, some serious discussion of the historical evidence … Continue reading “Price-Ehrman Debate Wish”
I trust I have set out Professor McGrath’s proofs for the historical existence of Jesus fairly and accurately in my previous post. Since the Professor has declined to engage in discussion with me I wonder if any interested readers would like to raise the following questions with him and alert us here of his responses. … Continue reading “Questions for Professor McGrath re Those Proofs”
There is no need for any argument to prove Jesus existed. In Galatians 1:19 Paul says he met Jesus’s brother so of course Jesus existed. What need is there for any further discussion? That’s how the case for the historicity of Jesus goes. But some would say that I’m being unfair. Paul also says in … Continue reading “How Many Bible Verses Does It Take to Prove Jesus Existed?”
Daniel Gullotta followed up his Miami Valley Skeptics podcast discussion with another podcast interview, this time on Logicast. The Logicast page and Daniel himself speak of the discussion as a “debate” with David Fitzgerald. This week I was invited to join the Logicast podcast to share my thoughts on New Testament scholarship, Biblical history, and talk about my recent debate … Continue reading “Daniel Gullotta’s Followup Podcast on the David Fitzgerald Discussion”
Way back in the previous century, I attended Ohio University at Athens. A young, naive freshman, I headed off one gloomy autumn day to the campus library, searching for source material for an astronomy paper. The stacks were vast; I was looking at more books than I had ever seen in one place. By New World … Continue reading ““It is absurd to suggest . . .” — Shirley Jackson Case on The Historicity of Jesus“
For all posts in this series: Roger Parvus: A Simonian Origin for Christianity Previous post in this series: A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 14: Simon/Paul and the Law of Moses (continued) . The Apostle, in Gal. 3:7, asserted that “It is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” In Galatians the Apostle apparently viewed … Continue reading “A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 15: Simon/Paul and the Law of Moses (continued)”