Search Results for: baptism jesus historic

5 reasons to suspect John the Baptist was interpolated into Josephus

Frank Zindler (The Jesus the Jews Never Knew) gives five reasons to think that Josephus said nothing at all about John the Baptist. This is something that is not generally welcomed by those who are primarily interested in defending the possibility of any independent (non-Christian) evidence at all for the historical background to the gospel … Continue reading “5 reasons to suspect John the Baptist was interpolated into Josephus”

Where Did John the Baptist’s Parents Come From? Reading the Gospels “with Jewish Eyes”

The names of the parents of both Jesus and John the Baptist were arguably created from the imaginations of the Gospel authors working on Old Testament passages for inspiration. The names were fabricated because of the theological messages they conveyed. There is no evidence to indicate that they were handed down from historical memory. This … Continue reading “Where Did John the Baptist’s Parents Come From? Reading the Gospels “with Jewish Eyes””

Embarrassing failure of the criterion of embarrassment

So I hear from commenters that a new foray into demolishing mythicism has been launched by James McGrath with yet one more account of the “criterion of embarrassment”. The curious — yet tedious — thing about this is that while McGrath in particular has faulted mythicists for (supposedly) failing to engage with the scholarship on … Continue reading “Embarrassing failure of the criterion of embarrassment”

Nothing the Early Church Would Want to Make Up?

In his newly published Jesus of Nazareth, one of Emeritus Professor Maurice Casey’s criteria for deciding if a Gospel detail is truly historical is that the passage “contains nothing that the early church would want to make up”. Though I have read very many works of history, I never heard of this as a rationale … Continue reading “Nothing the Early Church Would Want to Make Up?”

Goguel’s critique of the Christ Myth. Hoffmann’s response. And Doherty

I discuss here Goguel’s critique of the Christ Myth as seen through the eyes of two biblical scholars, mainly R. Joseph Hoffmann, and very briefly Christopher Price. I conclude with my own understanding of the reason (bias) underlying Hoffmann’s perspective of Goguel in his anti-mythicist arguments, and an alternative perspective from Earl Doherty. Hoffmann compares … Continue reading “Goguel’s critique of the Christ Myth. Hoffmann’s response. And Doherty”

Bible and the Argonauts: Chapter 1

Anyone who treats the Bible too seriously as history needs to take time out to read Jason and the Argonauts, or the Argonautica, composed in the third century BCE by Apollonius of Rhodes.  They could also read a lot of other ancient literature, epic poetry, tragic dramas, Hellenistic novellas, to find a more grounded perspective … Continue reading “Bible and the Argonauts: Chapter 1”

The Elijah-Elisha narrative as a model for the Gospel of Mark

Thomas L. Brodie presents an argument that the Gospel of Mark was in its basic outline, plot and structure based on the Elijah-Elisha narrative in the Old Testament. I am not quite sure what to make of his case at times, but cannot deny its interest. I have no problem accepting that Mark used some … Continue reading “The Elijah-Elisha narrative as a model for the Gospel of Mark”

Christianity won over paganism by epitomizing pagan ideals

This continues my previous post, which was slightly misleadingly titled Why Christianity Spread So Rapidly . . .. It is for most part a distillation of Gregory J. Riley’s chapter, “Mimesis of Classical Ideals in the Second Christian Century”, found in Mimesis and Intertextuality edited by Dennis MacDonald. A related post is my discussion of … Continue reading “Christianity won over paganism by epitomizing pagan ideals”

Weaknesses of traditional anti-mythicist arguments

This post addresses R. Joseph Hoffmann’s discussion of Maurice Goguel’s 1926 defence of the historicity of Jesus in response to the early mythicist arguments, initially launched by Bruno Bauer in 1939, and developed in particular by Reinach, Drews and Couchoud. Hoffmann divides Goguel’s defence (Jesus the Nazarene: Myth or History?) into the following six sections. … Continue reading “Weaknesses of traditional anti-mythicist arguments”

“It is highly unlikely . . . “

Following on from the 17+ mantras of biblical scholarship —- It is highly unlikely that the Church went out of its way to create the cause of its own embarrassment. [i.e. the account of the baptism of Jesus] Once again, it is highly unlikely that the Church would have taken pains to invent a saying … Continue reading ““It is highly unlikely . . . “”

Why Christianity Happened: Origins of the Pauline Mission” (reviewing ch. 5 of James Crossley’s book)

Earlier I reviewed chapter 2 of Why Christianity Happened by James Crossley, and here I look at his final chapter (5), “Recruitment, Conversion, and Key Shifts in Law Observance: The Origins of the Pauline Mission“. I was curious to understand what Crossley had to say in favour of a social history approach to explaining how antinomian … Continue reading “Why Christianity Happened: Origins of the Pauline Mission” (reviewing ch. 5 of James Crossley’s book)”

A common meaning behind Gospel of Mark’s cornplucking and divorce controversies

Though Crossley and Casey have written many thousands of words to show how these two episodes (sabbath cornfield dispute and divorce controversy) can be used to date Mark before 40 c.e., I find their arguments circular, convoluted and ultimately speculative. If I thought they had a widespread impact I would take the time to address … Continue reading “A common meaning behind Gospel of Mark’s cornplucking and divorce controversies”

Engaging E. P. Sanders point by point: John the Baptist

Of John the Baptist Professor E.P. Sanders (Jesus and Judaism) writes: That John himself was an eschatological prophet of repentance is clearly implied in Josephus’s account. Further, the depiction of John and his message in the Gospels agrees with Josephus’s view: the preaching in the desert; the dress, which recalled Elijah; the message of repentance … Continue reading “Engaging E. P. Sanders point by point: John the Baptist”

Ten myths about mythicist arguments, as advanced by James McGrath

Myth #1 Mythicist arguments do not reflect an understanding of the historical enterprise James has said he believes mythicists are wanting absolute certainty before they will accept the existence of Jesus, but that the historical enterprise by its nature only deals with probabilities, not certainties. (See Mythicist Misunderstanding) It is clear that James has not … Continue reading “Ten myths about mythicist arguments, as advanced by James McGrath”