Search Results for: baptism jesus historic

The diverse Jewish religious environment of Paul outmatches the imagination of Borg and Crossan

Following on from this previous post . . . . . Borg and Crossan (B and C) (The First Paul) attempt to argue that despite Paul’s clear assertions that he sought to preach only “Christ crucified” and that “Jesus is Lord”, that this could not possibly have been true: [W]e think the notion that Paul’s … Continue reading “The diverse Jewish religious environment of Paul outmatches the imagination of Borg and Crossan”

The “oral tradition” myth of gospel origins

Bart Ehrman (BE) in Jesus, Interrupted, summarizes the standard view of how a long period of “oral tradition” preceded the writing of the first gospels. The Gospels of the New Testament, he writes, were written thirty-five to sixty-five years after Jesus’ death by people who did not know him, did not see anything he did … Continue reading “The “oral tradition” myth of gospel origins”

Cuckoo in the nest, 3 — why ALL proposed TFs are unJosephan

Back into Josephus and the TF. I think my original draft really began at the heading Continuing the context of TF in Book 18 below — that is probably the best place to start for continuity with my previous post. I can scarcely recall where I left off now, and the first part of this … Continue reading “Cuckoo in the nest, 3 — why ALL proposed TFs are unJosephan”

Marcion and Luke-Acts: The Body of Luke – Luke 3-23

Tyson has argued that there are good reasons for regarding Luke’s Infancy Narratives (Luke 1-2) [discussed here] and most of the Resurrection appearances (Luke 24) [discussed here] “as additions by a post-Marcionite author to an earlier text.” (p.116) Without attempting to reconstruct an “original Luke” upon which Marcion and the canonical author appear to have … Continue reading “Marcion and Luke-Acts: The Body of Luke – Luke 3-23”

Luke’s Infancy Narratives (Luke 1:5-2:52) as an integrated response to Marcionism

Broken links fixed — 25th November 2009 The Infancy Narratives of Luke, the first 2 chapters of this gospel, are well integrated into the larger narrative of the rest of Luke and Acts (Tannehill). But that does not preclude the possibility that they were added later to an original Luke, with the final redactor reworking … Continue reading “Luke’s Infancy Narratives (Luke 1:5-2:52) as an integrated response to Marcionism”

The Call of Levi not to be one of the Twelve

The Gospel of Mark contains a story about the call of Levi, a tax collector, to follow Jesus as one of his disciples, but then mystifies readers by not listing this person in the ranks of the famous Twelve. The reason this omission is so mystifying is that the call of Levi is described in … Continue reading “The Call of Levi not to be one of the Twelve”

The wrong questions to ask about myths — and the gospels

Ancient myths and the gospels are not modern novels but it’s tempting to ask questions about their characters and plots as if they were. Questions like, Why did such and such a person do this and not that? Are there not too many unlikely coincidences in this story to make it plausible? Ancient myths are … Continue reading “The wrong questions to ask about myths — and the gospels”

Mark, The Embarrassing Gospel

The criterion of embarrassment is a “rule” commonly appealed to by scholars to argue that certain events must be historical because they were so well-known and undeniable that, although gospel authors were clearly embarrassed by them, they nevertheless could not avoid addressing them. One example is the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Why … Continue reading “Mark, The Embarrassing Gospel”

Bauckham’s eyewitnesses vs Petersen’s narrator

Is there any evidence in Mark’s narratives that the author is reporting the point of view of anyone other than his own? Is there any indication that he is relaying a third party’s “eyewitness” testimony? Do we ever catch the author stepping outside his own perspective for a moment and finding himself reliant on the … Continue reading “Bauckham’s eyewitnesses vs Petersen’s narrator”

The Twelve: Justin Martyr vs Richard Bauckham

Richard Bauckham writes in “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: the Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony” that the Twelve had been companions with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry and were chosen to be an authoritative body to act as eyewitness guarantors of the preservation and transmission of message of his life and resurrection. This is a … Continue reading “The Twelve: Justin Martyr vs Richard Bauckham”