Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
In my “dating the gospels late” post I made a few statements that would appear outrageous to some. Rather than attempt to answer some of the objections raised in the tiny comments box I am opting to make separate posts justifying the points I made. Here I cite reasons for claiming one anachronism in the … Continue reading “Pharisees in Galilee?”
There are two passages in Josephus that refer to Jesus Christ. The first one in Book 18 of his “Antiquities of the Jews” is widely known as the Testimonium Flavianum (TF) (=the testimony of Flavius Josephus). Another, in Book 20, is a briefer reference but it is cited in major works as authentic to Josephus, … Continue reading “That other suspect entry in Josephus”
Josephus (War.6.5.3-4) lists 8 astounding signs sent by God to warn the Jews of their impending disaster:
8. Anonymous Persons in Mark’s Passion Narrative I enjoyed Backham’s opening paragraph. Until reading this I had not had opportunity to discover some of the more detailed reasons scholars have wondered if the Passion Narrative pre-existed independently before being incorporated into Mark’s gospel. It is logical to conclude that if an author writes the bulk … Continue reading “Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Chapter 8”
Hoo boy, looks like Simon of Cyrene is as mutable as Proteas, and like the man in the raincoat at the funeral in James Joyce’s Ulysses — not to mention the young man fleeing naked in Mark (Kermode), with no end of attributable meanings. Paul Naradin Tarazi in Paul and Mark sees a play between … Continue reading “Simon of Cyrene & Golgotha (Tarazi)”
Mark 13 is often called the Little Apocalypse or the Mount Olivet Prophecy. Many scholars use its content to calculate that the gospel of Mark must have been written either during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 ce or shortly afterwards. (A minority see in this chapter evidence to date the gospel much earlier, to … Continue reading “Little Apocalypse and the Bar Kochba Revolt”
More afterthoughts, oversights, erratum, from the chapter 4 posts: 4th Feb 07, 9.00 am
Why do I always seem to catch up with the older work last? Here are my notes from Alfred Loisy’s Origins of the New Testament (originally 1936) on the evidence for tradition concerning the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John was a latecomer and “the elders” in Asia, specifically Ephesus, who were pushing for … Continue reading “Loisy on The Gospel of John”
I have revised the following 18th January to include a comparison with Doherty’s treatment of Suetonius. Oh dear, this is embarrassing from the historian’s point of view. I am sure F.F.Bruce represented the brightest lights of his time but, well, 1974 was another generation ago, even if I was part of it, and the series … Continue reading “R.I.P. F.F.Bruce on Suetonius and Chrestus — revised”
I originally posted this elsewhere in 2000: A New paradigm: On page 125 of his book Doherty writes: “When any set of assumptions is firmly in place, the evidence is usually interpreted in accord with those assumptions. Yet it is clear that the New Testament epistles present the Christian reader and scholar with difficulties and … Continue reading “The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? / Early Doherty. (Canadian Humanists, 1999). Review”