In recent discussions about mythicism, it has sometimes been hinted that the academy is biased and it is impossible for mythicist views to get a fair hearing, much less get published. If I were asked for a single clear reason I find that hard to believe, my answer would be: Morton Smith. Smith published, among other things, a book which suggested that Jesus was a magician (as well as hinting that his magical practices may have had a homosexual character).... Read more
I thought I’d reverse the comparison and say “Young-earth creationists are a lot like mythicists.” This is just an experiment. I’m curious whether young-earth creationists will get as upset about the comparison as mythicists have… Read more
By Beavotron, HT Daniel Florien on Twitter Read more
There are many things around the web and blogosphere related to Darwin’s birthday. Darwin Day Celebrations. My colleague Michael Zimmerman suggests ways to celebrate. And of course there’s the usual quote-mining and misinformation, alas. Read more
Although I can empathize with mythicists’ avoidance and/or skepticism of Josephus as evidence for a historical Jesus, given the clear evidence for tampering, I do not understand why anyone who had not already set out in advance to disprove the existence of Jesus would doubt the testimony of Tacitus (Annals 15.44) writing in the early second century: Such indeed were the precautions of human wisdom. The next thing was to seek means of propitiating the gods, and recourse was had to the... Read more
The student whose blog about LOST I recently mentioned has already moved to a new address: http://smokymcgee.blogspot.com/ Having mentioned the blog, it seemed appropriate to let you know that it has moved and where it has moved to. Also of interest is Diglotting offering a theory about Jacob and Esau, and DocArtz blogging about “the theological smoke monster.” So the show’s theological themes are getting attention on regular LOST blogs, as well as among bibliobloggers! Finally, I just noticed an older piece... Read more
Daniel Kirk has a post on (1) whether Jesus is “treated like God” and (2) even if he is, would that imply that he was understood to be God in some essential or substantial sense. Given my interest in Christology and monotheism, and concepts such as agency, it is probably obvious why I thought this post was worth sharing. But what’s more, there is a lively discussion going on in the comments section, and apparently no mention of my own views... Read more
No, of course I don’t think this post will end mythicism or even discussion of mythicism. But I still find myself most puzzled by mythicists’ treatment of the crucifixion. If we only had the Letter to the Hebrews, I might find the mythicist account of things more persuasive: when the action takes place in a heavenly tabernacle, the protagonist of the story might indeed be a purely mythical creation. But what Hebrews says about the sacrifice of Jesus being offered in... Read more
HT Pasarea Phoenix Remixed & Co. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In