Search Results for: how john used mark

Authenticity of Paul’s letters: Holding versus Detering

I recently posted reasons to question the Pauline authorship of Galatians, which was a distillation of Detering’s challenges. Since some fundamentalists prefer J. P. Holding’s arguments against these challenges, am posting these little ripostes: Holding 1: Detering seems to be under the impression that where Paul offers his credentials (eg, “an apostle”) this somehow could … Continue reading “Authenticity of Paul’s letters: Holding versus Detering”

Resurrection: Response to Wright, 4

Revised May 8 2008 Continuing from a previous post: Wright argues that the narratives of the resurrection appearances in our canonical gospels are based on traditions that were set and hardened well before the gospels came to be written. Discussed one in previous post and attached comments. Two more to go: the different gospel accounts … Continue reading “Resurrection: Response to Wright, 4”

Why did no-one edit gospel gaffes about the Second Coming?

When prophecies of the end fail those who placed their hopes in them commonly attempt to explain and understand differently what they once expected to happen. When Christ failed to return to earth between March 1843 and March 1844, the schedule was re-written as April 1844. When that passed, it was revised again to October … Continue reading “Why did no-one edit gospel gaffes about the Second Coming?”

The post 70 construction of Jesus’ tomb

The earliest narrative involving the tomb of Jesus constructs that tomb from images and scenarios that suggest the author was looking back on the 70 c.e. destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Firstly, in none of the writings of Paul, generally dated well before 70 c.e., is there any mention of a tomb of Jesus. … Continue reading “The post 70 construction of Jesus’ tomb”

“They pierced my hands and my feet”: Psalm 22 as a non-prophecy of the crucifixion

It is an axiom among fundamentalists and even many mainstream conservative Christians that Psalm 22 contains an incontrovertible prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus, and that the key verse establishing this “fact” is the one that reads: “They pierced my hands and my feet” — Psalm 22:16 There is no doubt that two of the … Continue reading ““They pierced my hands and my feet”: Psalm 22 as a non-prophecy of the crucifixion”

Missing a real Peter in Acts

Crazy as it might sound to some, there is simply no biographical information about Peter in the book of Acts. Every story told in relation to Peter has a miracle as its absolute base. In other words, remove the mythical element from each anecdote concerning Peter and there is nothing left. It is not as … Continue reading “Missing a real Peter in Acts”

Dating the Book of Acts: Marcionite Context 2 — and beyond

Continued from Dating Acts: Marcionite context . . . (see also Tyson and Marcion archives) After attempting a form of controlled analysis for determining the main themes and their supporting literary patterns in Acts, and arguing that the results are best explained as a response to the Marcionite challenge, Tyson examines the characterizations of Peter … Continue reading “Dating the Book of Acts: Marcionite Context 2 — and beyond”

Tracing the evolution of the Twelve Apostles from monkey rejects to angelic pillars.

The three rejects — Paul Paul in his letter to the Galatians equates the namesakes of the three leading apostles in Mark (Cephas/Peter?, James and John) as holding an unimpressive rank in his eyes (Gal. 2:6), and who became the leaders of the hypocrites at Antioch (Gal. 2:13), and were thus cursed teachers of “another … Continue reading “Tracing the evolution of the Twelve Apostles from monkey rejects to angelic pillars.”

Marcion – Synoptic Problem (4): birth narratives

Continuing from Marcion and the Synoptic Problem (3) The argument for Q rests on the understanding that Luke did not know the gospel of Matthew. One of the reasons for this view is Luke’s “otherwise inexplicable” failure to draw on some of the most memorable of material unique to Matthew, such as Joseph planning to … Continue reading “Marcion – Synoptic Problem (4): birth narratives”

Tradition and Invention: & the date of Marcion

The “heretic” Marcion is a significant figure in the history of early Christianity but the sources for our dates for his activity are contradictory. It is quite possible that if we attempt to understand the reasons for these contradictions in the sources we will see that Marcion’s influence on our canonical New Testament texts as … Continue reading “Tradition and Invention: & the date of Marcion”

The literary genre of Acts. 6: style and content

Continuing notes from Pervo’s Profit with Delight: the Literary Genre of the Acts of the Apostles — with a few additional references and citations of my own . . . . However the structure and design of Acts may resemble monographs or other writings, the criteria of style and content must be taken carefully into … Continue reading “The literary genre of Acts. 6: style and content”

The origin and meaning of the Emmaus Road narrative in Luke

The Emmaus Road narrative in Luke 24 raises many questions. Why is the hitherto unknown Cleopas one of those who appears to be the first to meet the resurrected Jesus? Who is his unnamed companion? Why does the narrative conclude with a statement that Jesus has appeared to Simon when no such appearance is described? … Continue reading “The origin and meaning of the Emmaus Road narrative in Luke”

The women at the cross

It is sometimes said that the women followers of Jesus showed more resolution and loyalty than the male disciples of Jesus. One scene often pointed to as a demonstration of this claim is the women staying within range of Jesus on the cross while the other disciples had either betrayed him, fled for their lives … Continue reading “The women at the cross”

The anti-marcionite, catholicizing Peter-Paul equivalence in Galatians

The passage in Galatians (2:7-8) that civilly explains how Paul and Peter were each separate but equal apostles, the former preaching the gospel to the gentiles and the latter to the Jews, is evidently a second century catholicizing attempt to re-write history and bring the two apostles into the same “orthodox” fold. The idea of … Continue reading “The anti-marcionite, catholicizing Peter-Paul equivalence in Galatians”