Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Michael BG wrote:The mythicists see Jesus Christ as being crucified in the heavens....

A heavenly crucifixion is just one of the available mythicist options. (Admittedly, it is the one that has received the most recent press.)

Justin Martyr directly equated his "memoirs of the apostles" with the Gospels, however some critics believe that clause to be an interpolation. I assume most would accept that the gospel of Mark existed in its final form by the time Justin wrote, and Justin certainly quotes Mark's gospel ...

Michael BG wrote:The empty tomb was part of the pre-Marcan story and Mark’s redaction can be seen in what we now have.

Can you elaborate on that? Thanks.

Ehrman's "answer".... I think you are putting "answer" in quotation marks because Ehrman was not really responding directly to Pitre; is that correct? (It took me a few moments to realize you were probably not saying that Ehrman's response falls so far short of credibility that ...

It is also interesting to me that Luke 1.2 speaks of ὑπηρέται (assistants or servants) of the word who have passed down the gospel story, while Acts 13.5 calls John Mark a ὑπηρέτης (assistant or servant) to Barnabas and Saul. Ben. The later subjugation of John Mark to Barnabas and Paul would seem t...

..................................... Well I put as little weight as you do on the baptism, even if I think there is a good chance Jesus did get the immersion in the water as probably most visitors of John did. This sort of reasoning may be all that is needed to get the ball rolling. If John was kn...

So taking one perspective, the attribution of the gospels to the four evangelists was a (relatively) late development, essentially to give them apostolic authority after-the-fact. What are the theories then about how those "attributed authors" came to include Mark and Luke, as non-apostle...

if Mark invented this crucifixion with brigands, what was the point of making them brigands and not just malefactors (which would have satisfied the Isaianic reference)? Why make a choice that seems to dovetail with other downplayed bits of seditious material? If your answer is that Mark did not in...

Let me add that being crucified between two malefactors (as Luke has it) may well fulfill Isaianic prophecy ("numbered with transgressors") and thus have been created on that basis, but why the specific and more charged word λῃσταί (as Matthew and Mark have it)? That makes me wonder what ...

Let me add that being crucified between two malefactors (as Luke has it) may well fulfill Isaianic prophecy ("numbered with transgressors") and thus have been created on that basis, but why the specific and more charged word λῃσταί (as Matthew and Mark have it)? That makes me wonder what M...