Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
314 4. Die Vorgeschichte des Matthäus. 4. The prehistory of Matthew. 314/316 Jn zwei Formen konnte sich die Anschauung von dem Wunder der Empfängniß Jesu darstellen. Das Wunderbare wurde entweder durch die Engelsbotschaft an die Jungfrau einfach angekündigt, das Auffallende, daß eine Jungfrau, die noch von keinem Manne wußte, schwanger wurde, im Voraus gedeutet und … Continue reading “Ch 4 – The Prehistory of Matthew”
Hi. I’m back again, for better or for worse. Over the past few weeks I have immersed myself in reading but have finally come to a point where I need to pause and take stock. The book I have to blame for pulling me up and forcing me to stop and think afresh is König … Continue reading “New Thoughts on Christian Origins”
Here is an extract from The Dawn of Everything (see previous post) that I feel at liberty to quote in full since Youtube programs of public discussions (see below) of the book show co-author David Wengrow reading this section in full to his audiences: If there is a particular story we should be telling, a … Continue reading “The Big Question We Should Be Asking of Human History”
What is midrash? I use here the explanation of the Jewish scholar Daniel Boyarin: Although a whole library could (and has been) written on midrash, for the present purposes it will be sufficient to define it as a mode of biblical reading that brings disparate passages and verses together in the elaboration of new narratives. … Continue reading “Reading the Gospel of Mark as Midrash”
By the time I finished reading Nanine Charbonnel’s penultimate chapter of Jésus-Christ, sublime figure de papier a queasy sense of déjà vu dragged my mind back decades to a time when I believed that the Bible was a coded book that needed “keys” to open up its true meaning to modern readers. Before Michael Drosnin‘s … Continue reading “Are There Really “Keys” to Understanding the New Testament? (Charbonnel continued)”
This post continues my series on Nanine Charbonenel’s Jésus-Christ, Sublime Figure De Papier but this time I will begin with a personal experience. I posted about it a couple of years ago under the title The Faith Trick. The experience was the realization that the power by which I was “transformed into a new person” … Continue reading “The Secret of the Power Behind the Gospel Narrative (Charbonnel Continued)”
Several discussions have broken out on “Biblical Criticism & History Forum” over the verses in 2 Corinthians describing Paul’s escape from Damascus by being lowered in a basket from a window in the city wall. 2 Corinthians 11: 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and … Continue reading “Reason to Doubt the Only Historical Date Marker in Paul’s Letters?”
We now arrive at Nanine Charbonnel’s discussion of the source of the Passion narrative in the gospels. Her approach is in three parts: the failure of traditional approaches to bring us to a satisfactory answer and a recognition that the expectation of a suffering messiah who liberates his people was very much a part of … Continue reading “Understanding the Sacrifice of Jesus (Charbonnel contd)”
Continuing from Getting History for Atheists Wrong (Again) — #4 An examination of the claim that “Paul refers to his teachings that Jesus made during in his earthly ministry, on divorce . . .” Source-Data Interpretation External facts / context related to interpretation 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 To the married I give this command (not I, but … Continue reading “Did Paul Quote Jesus on Divorce? — Getting History for Atheists Wrong (Again) — #5”
But the fact is this huge consensus exists. So in history, that means something. After all, academics work in an environment where it pays to find reasons to disagree with each other. — Tim O’Neill Since watching Tim O’Neill’s 28-minute video Did Jesus Exist? Yes (Probably) I have been toying with the idea of bringing … Continue reading “Getting History for Atheists Wrong (Again) — #1”
I conclude* continue here my posts presenting Rivka Nir’s case for the John the Baptist passage in the Antiquities of Josephus being a Christian interpolation. All of these posts are archived at Nir: First Christian Believer. (* I had expected to conclude the series with this post but as usual, checking sources and being sure … Continue reading “John the Baptist in Josephus — What was his baptism?”
This post is detailed. But it is getting down to the nitty gritty of a case for the midrashic creation of the Jesus figure in the gospels. Performative utterance: In the philosophy of language and speech acts theory, performative utterances are sentences which are not only describing a given reality, but also changing the social … Continue reading “4 Jewish Word Plays behind the Word Becoming Flesh / 3 … (Charbonnel: Jésus-Christ, Sublime Figure de Papier)”
Let’s continue looking at Rivka Nir’s proposal that the John the Baptist passage in Antiquities of the Jews was not part of Josephus’s original work. We continue from John the Baptist’s Place in Josephus’s Antiquities. But be warned. I get sidetracked and explore the broader evidence for both Christian and Jewish views on divine retribution … Continue reading “On John the Baptist per Josephus – and the murder of Zechariah son of Jehoiada”
A question that for many years sat half-hidden, rarely if ever articulated, in the back of my mind — and no doubt in the minds of many readers with some awareness of ancient history: When did any culture in the ancient Levant start writing “books” as we would recognize them in, say, the first five … Continue reading “Another (major) pointer to a late date for the Pentateuch”