Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Thank you Peter. I know the last time my behaviour was becoming erratic, a consequence of real life bleeding into my participation on this forum. I apologize for the bad blood I caused.

Here is another rub to the question of priority: from what point of the sediment are we starting from for our excavation? If we are looking at these texts like fossils, and concluding that those on top came after those below them, then we can brush our hands off and call it a day. But Marcion above ...

I take issue with dabber's characterization of Marcion's priority. Of course if consensus' dating of the synoptics and Paul are correct then Marcion's priority would not be feasible. But consider: if the consensus is correct it doesn't explain why Marcion would feel compelled to do what he is accuse...

??? "And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it up...

I think in regards to the Judeo-Christian mystery interpretation, the gymno initiation rite is to return to a pre-fall state where Adam and Eve were naked in Eden. Also makes me think of Christians calling themselves athletes of Christ, since athletes performed naked in Greece.

Epiphanius never says "after 70 CE". This is just rank traditionalism. He only says the Ebionites came after the Nazarenes. Epiphanius says that Ebion came after the Nazoraeans, whom had moved to Cocabe shortly before Jerusalem fell. The Ebionites' 'origin came after the fall of Jerusalem...

I don't think the Ebionite Matthew was "anti-Jewish" for being anti-sacrifice and largely unobservant. That would be like saying Reform Jews are "anti-Jewish" for being anti-sacrifice and largely unobservant. But I figure a Jewish writing that promoted these things would have ap...

But Paul was Jewish, so there is already a precedent for Marcion using Jewish writings. It's baked into Marcionism even if we set aside his gospel (unless Paul wasn't Jewish in Marcionism). So having access to and using a Jewish gospel wouldn't be unusual for Marcion (especially one that was largel...

And it makes more sense for Ebionites to have been influenced by Elxaii since they were all Jewish, rather than Ebionites being influenced by Gentile Christianity or by a document that circulated among Gentiles. But that logic cuts both ways as Marcion's gospel is dependent on a Jewish bedrock to s...

:cheers: Cheers MrMacSon To give an example of what I am driving at, we can look to Mark and its longer ending. For an unknown length of time Mark circulated with the narrative terminating at the women fleeing the empty tomb, telling no one of the resurrection, implied to include the disciples thems...