Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
I was recently reading a historian’s discussion of the events of Masada that attempted to unravel the myth from the historical fact. The similarities and differences with the way biblical historians attempt to unravel the myth and history of the Passion of Jesus were unavoidable. Masada Josephus created the myth of Masada — 960 Jewish … Continue reading “The Myth and History of Masada and Jesus’ Passion”
There’s a lot I like about James Crossley’s publications. I found myself relating in many ways to his views expressed in “Jesus in an Age of Terror”. We have a lot in common politically, and I share some of his views on the peculiar scholarship that Christian dominance of biblical studies has generated. I have … Continue reading ““Why Christianity Happened”. Reviewing chapter 2 of James Crossley’s book”
I suggested in Did Jesus exist on youtube? that the original message of the crucified messiah, contrary to a common claim that it must have been a “hard sell”, had so much going for it that it was probably not hard to sell at all. If we follow the usual historical model of Christian origins … Continue reading “Selling the comfort of a crucified-messiah”
21:20 Feb 16, Edited to add a quote from Mack in a book, edited by Neusner and others . . . The following is presented by Dr James McGrath on his Did Jesus Exist Youtube video as fundamental evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. It is a standard line, almost a “historicists’ creed”, and … Continue reading “Did Jesus exist on youtube? Dismantling the “evidence” presented by James McGrath”
This post addresses an argument that is found well beyond the covers of Eddy and Boyd. Nevertheless, I have been discussing in this blog bits of Eddy’s and Boyd’s case for refuting what they label the “‘legendary Jesus’ thesis” and defending the historicity of Jesus, and to mention them here seems an appropriate anchor. One … Continue reading “Paul’s understanding of the Earthly Leprechaun (not necessarily Historical) Jesus”
Continuing from Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (3) . . . . Indicting “The Jews” for the murder of the Lord Jesus Having insisted that 1 Thess 2:13-16 was indeed written by Paul, Eddy and Boyd (The Jesus Legend) must now attempt to argue that the contents of the passage are not antisemitic. One of … Continue reading “Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (4)”
Eddy and Boyd are often touted as having written some sort of authoritative rebuttal of arguments sceptical of “the historical reliability of the Synoptic Jesus tradition”, but as I began to show in my earlier part 1 post, and will continue here, their work misrepresents specific arguments they claim to refute; demonstrates a shoddiness, sometimes … Continue reading “Taking Eddy & Boyd Seriously (2)”
Revised: added Self-Opening Doors and P.S. In the following I am not suggesting that the gospel resurrection appearance scenes were directly borrowed from ancient sources. Rather, that when we read of similar scenes in pagan literature we can recognize them as patently mythical. This is Robert M. Price‘s argument (Deconstructing Jesus, p.39), although Charles … Continue reading “Resurrection Appearances and Ancient Myths”
After a couple or more years I’m finally completing the formatting of my notes from Philip R. Davies’ In Search of Ancient Israel, the book that is said to have sparked the public debate between “minimalists” and “maximalists”. The earlier chapters are outlined on my In Search of Ancient Israel web page. The first section, … Continue reading “Origins of the Israel of the Bible’s narrative (1)”
I love to read fresh insights that potentially open new understandings on how a biblical author worked to produce what became a part of the foundational canon of western civilization. I’ve recently been catching up with New Testament Interpretation Through Rhetorical Criticism by classics professor George A. Kennedy (1984). Acts 1:1-15:35 seems to be a … Continue reading “A classicist’s insights into how Acts was composed and stitched together”
Obviously I don’t know what the author had in mind when he wrote about the cursing of the fig tree, but it’s interesting to think about the possibilities. It is easy, even necessary, for readers to interpret Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree as a symbolic act. Unless we do, we are left with a … Continue reading “Making Sense of the Cursing of the Seasonal Fig Tree”
Anyone who suspects graphic details in a narrative are a sign of authenticity of a text or eye-witness source needs to read Anthony Grafton’s Forgers and Critics : Creativity and Duplicity in Western Scholarship (1990). In this blog post I’m sharing my notes from his first chapter. According to Anthony Grafton, there are two claims … Continue reading “Forgery in the ancient world”
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”
An illustration of how evidence is manufactured to support historicity in biblical studies: the twelve disciples (The following criteria are taken from John Meier’s defence of the historicity of the Twelve, JBL, 116/4 (1997) 635-672 that promises to apply “with rigor” “the criteria of historicity” (636). This post is also in one sense a complement … Continue reading “Manufacturing “evidence” for the historicity of 12 apostles”