Search Results for: messianic expectation

“Son of David” as an anachronism (or metaphor?) in the Gospels, Paul and Acts?

Updated with NT passages for reference This follows my previous post that set me thinking along a related line. The verse for the day is Horsley’s sentence that I quoted there: It would thus appear that the supposedly standard Jewish ideas or expectations of the messiah are a flimsy foundation indeed from which to explain … Continue reading ““Son of David” as an anachronism (or metaphor?) in the Gospels, Paul and Acts?”

Did the Jews before Christ expect a national Messiah?

The answer is, I think, no. In this post I quote a few sections from Professor Richard Horsley‘s work Bandits, Prophets & Messiahs: Popular Movements in the Time of Jesus. (Since there is currently a discussion under way at the Freeratio Discussion Board that relates to this question, and since this is a topic I … Continue reading “Did the Jews before Christ expect a national Messiah?”

Doherty’s Chapter 8 in outline & Review of McGrath’s review

11 am 18th July 2011, Revised the section “What the Chapter is about” James McGrath begins his review of chapter 8 protesting that Doherty is placing a different interpretation on some known and agreed facts in order to argue a mythicist case. The chapter gets several things right and mentions important information about the context … Continue reading “Doherty’s Chapter 8 in outline & Review of McGrath’s review”

Jesus out-spitting the emperor

An interesting thing happened to me while I was on my way to write this post this evening. (I was intending to expand on the discussion relating to another post but now have something much more interesting to write about.) I saw a reference online to a scholarly article that was suggesting that Mark’s account … Continue reading “Jesus out-spitting the emperor”

Doherty’s argument in chapter 5, and correcting falsehoods in a certain “review”

Updated to include link to Doherty’s own comments: 1:20 pm, 15th May 2011. Doherty’s chapter five is titled “Apocalyptic Expectations” and that, indeed, is what the chapter is about. Firstly, I will address an unprofessional falsehood published by McGrath in a comment added to his review. McGrath in his review cited Hebrews, 1 Timothy and … Continue reading “Doherty’s argument in chapter 5, and correcting falsehoods in a certain “review””

“Is This Not the Carpenter? The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus

The introduction of Thomas L. Thompson’s and Thomas Verenna’s edited volume, Is This Not the Carpenter?A Question of Historicity has been published on The Bible and Interpretation. The first essential step in any historical inquiry This is a heartening introduction to the essential basics of valid historical methodology that has been very fudgy in the … Continue reading ““Is This Not the Carpenter? The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus”

Jesus, constructed from Moses and other OT passages — according to the Gospel of Matthew

One of the first books I read when beginning to question my faith was one that struck my eye while scanning the shelves of a local bookshop, John Shelby Spong’s Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism. It introduced me to many issues being addressed by biblical scholars. I have told the story before, but I like … Continue reading “Jesus, constructed from Moses and other OT passages — according to the Gospel of Matthew”

More nonsense from biblical archaeologists: turning a Taliban text into a proclamation of human rights and dignity!

Two archaeologists, one Israeli (Israel Finkelstein) and one American (Neil Asher Silberman), have bizarrely managed to repackage a Taliban-like ancient biblical legal code into a modern enlightened expression of human rights, human liberation and social equality. Presumably this is done in order to preserve some (mythical) legitimacy for traditional claims among certain Jewish quarters that … Continue reading “More nonsense from biblical archaeologists: turning a Taliban text into a proclamation of human rights and dignity!”

Introduction to Earl Doherty

I recently received Earl Doherty’s new book, Jesus: Neither God Nor Man. The Case for a Mythical Jesus, and have finally caught up with a chance to begin reading it. It may take a little while since I have a vicious habit of reading several things at once and a need to attend to real … Continue reading “Introduction to Earl Doherty”

James McGrath’s reply. Enjoy :-(

— updated with edits 4 hours after original post — Why do academics, public intellectuals of all people, need to resort to abuse, insult, apparently deliberate misrepresentation and outright fabrication in order to counter a view they believe to be wrong? James appears to be bowing out from his public mockery of arguments for a … Continue reading “James McGrath’s reply. Enjoy :-(“

Did Jesus exist on youtube? Dismantling the “evidence” presented by James McGrath

21:20 Feb 16, Edited to add a quote from Mack in a book, edited by Neusner and others . . . The following is presented by Dr James McGrath on his Did Jesus Exist Youtube video as fundamental evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. It is a standard line, almost a “historicists’ creed”, and … Continue reading “Did Jesus exist on youtube? Dismantling the “evidence” presented by James McGrath”

Response (2): the Bethlehem-Nazareth fallacies

Continued from Responding to standard arguments for Jesus’ historicity (1) . . (ii) he was from Nazareth . . . . Not only is the fact that he was from Nazareth a feature of all versions of the stories but Nazareth itself appears, with Jesus being scorned and rejected there. This was clearly a problem … Continue reading “Response (2): the Bethlehem-Nazareth fallacies”

Responding to standard arguments for Jesus’ historicity (1)

edited and added TLT quote Jan 26, 2010 @ 20:05 I think of myself as neither a “Jesus mythicist” nor a “Jesus historicist”, but as someone interested in exploring the origins of Christianity. Whether the evidence establishes a historical Jesus at its core, or an entity less tangible, then so be it. Nonetheless, I cannot … Continue reading “Responding to standard arguments for Jesus’ historicity (1)”

Dating the Book of Acts: Characterization of Paul

Continuing notes from reading of Tyson’s Marcion and Luke-Acts. . . . After discussing the shifting directions of the scholarly debates over Paul’s characterization in Acts vis a vis the Paul we find in the epistles, Tyson asks if a more definitive answer is to be found to the question of whether the Paul of … Continue reading “Dating the Book of Acts: Characterization of Paul”