Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
The tendency within New Testament studies is not to consider that the Johannine perspective might possibly reflect a Jewish sectarian perspective, but to see John and the Johannine Jesus, who is Messiah, as anti-Jewish. A recent publication with a challenging title and edited by Benjamin E. Reynolds and Gabriele Boccaccini is Reading the Gospel of … Continue reading “The Gospel of John as a source for Jewish Messianism? (Part 1)”
Eight years ago I posted Starting a New Religion with The Gospel of John. In that post the punch line was: Where the Gospel of John is different: Where the fourth evangelist differs from all of these [books written in the names of other prophets], as well as from those who exploited the Moses tradition, is … Continue reading “Gospel of John as the turning point in a New Religion and a New God”
You may or may not agree with the following summary of the way Jesus is depicted in the Gospel of Mark. I don’t think the account is very far off. I also suggest that such a narrative of Jesus is closer to what one may expect if the figure of Jesus and his story had … Continue reading “Why Jesus in the Gospel of Mark is so Sparsely Drawn: An Explanation”
When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. … Continue reading “The Abomination of Desolation in Mark 13: What Did the Reader Need to Understand?”
In a recent comment, Giuseppe asked about Mark 8:27-30 (the Confession at Caesarea Philippi). At issue is a grammatical error in the text, mentioned in Robert M. Price‘s Holy Fable Volume 2, but first (apparently) noticed by Gerd Theissen in The Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition. Both Theissen and Price argue that the error reveals … Continue reading “A Redactional Seam in Mark 8:28?”
Anyone wishing to harmonize the gospel of John with the Synoptics will have a great deal of trouble explaining the beginnings of Jesus’ career. In the Fourth Gospel, on his way back to Galilee, Jesus has already poached many of John the Baptist’s followers. In fact, he has started up his own dunking franchise, luring … Continue reading “How John Used the Synoptics: The First Temptation vs. The First Sign”
In an earlier post, I wrote: Seen from the perspective of believers, the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John are disconcertingly different. On the other hand, if we clear our minds of the anxiety of historicity, we see that Mark and John resemble one another much more than they do any “other” Greco-Roman … Continue reading “The Enigma of Genre and The Gospel of John”
Especially since reading Theodore J. Weeden’s Mark — Traditions in Conflict, and several other works influenced by Weeden’s thesis, I have tended to assume that the Gospel of Mark seeks to denigrate Peter and the Twelve. They are nothing but failures, “obtuse and wrongheaded” (John Drury’s phrase) in every way. Was the author of the gospel … Continue reading “If the Gospel of Mark Condemns Peter, Why Do We Sympathize With Him?”
Westar Institute has posted an update on the health of John Shelby Spong [link (https://www.westarinstitute.org/membership/westar-fellows/fellows-directory/john-shelby-spong/) no longer active: Neil Godfrey, 24th July 2019. Try: https://www.westarinstitute.org/membership/westar-fellows/fellows-directory/john-shelby-spong/) by Cassandra Farrin. Back in September Episcopal Café announced that he had had a stroke. Spong’s book Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism had a major impact on my understanding of … Continue reading “Bishop John Shelby Spong Update”
Though in recent years I have preferred to see the author of the second gospel as a creative writer (with some subsequent editorial additions made to give us the canonical version we know today) my reading has only skimmed the surface of what is available and I remain open to other possibilities. Roger Parvus cited … Continue reading “Evidence Mark Used Written Sources”
I skip ahead to the fourth paper of the first day of the Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity Conference (10th-11th June 2016, St Mary’s University): “The Reception of Jesus in the Gospel of John” by Helen Bond I will return in the next post to the third and the discussion following. … Continue reading “How the Gospel of John Uses and Completes the Gospel of Mark”
For all posts in this series: Roger Parvus: A Simonian Origin for Christianity One problem with accepting Mark as a Simonian/Pauline allegory (see the previous post) is the role it gives to John the Baptist. As it stands canonical Mark seems intent on presenting John as the foreshadower of Jesus. His preaching of repentance foreshadows the … Continue reading “A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 17: Mark and Proto-Mark”
For all posts in this series: Roger Parvus: A Simonian Origin for Christianity It has been more than a year since I wrote the previous installment in this series. I have some excuses: new location, new job, and separation from well-stocked libraries. And also, I must admit, something unexpected happened during the break: I started losing … Continue reading “A Simonian Origin for Christianity, Part 16: Mark as Allegory”
Michael Kok is addressing the arguments for and against Q on his blog where he explores the “history and reception of New Testament writings”. In his latest post he raises the question of whether Luke knew Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus. Unfortunately his comment policy does not encourage responses from outsiders hence this … Continue reading “Scrutinizing the Case for Q: Why Luke Sidestepped the Baptism of Jesus by John”