I am struck once again by how similar the repeated assertion by Earl Doherty and other mythicists that “there is no evidence for a historical Jesus” resembles the similar-sounding claim of creationists that there is “no evidence for evolution.” The truth clearly is both that there is evidence, and that because we are in both instance dealing with theories (in the scientific sense), it is not a matter of finding one fossil or one text and that “proving” the case.... Read more
My criticisms of mythicism must be on target. At least, that seems to me to be the best explanation for why one of its well-known internet supporters, Neil Godfrey, has written a post offering accusations which are so off target that I regard them as laughable rather than genuinely slanderous, and asked me to “honorably step down” from the discussion. Godfrey has in the past even stooped to name-calling, and yet when someone offers substantive criticism of mythicism, he regularly... Read more
Chapter 9 of Doherty’s book Jesus: Neither God Nor Man is a mere six pages in length. Into this small space is packed, first of all, a brief presentation of Platonism and Stoicism, focusing on transcendence and immanence and the use of concepts such as Demiurge, Logos and Wisdom to bridge the gap between the transcendent creator (in those systems featuring such) and creation. As is widely known, two key aspects of Wisdom in Jewish thought – pre-existence and a... Read more
In a conversation I had today, two insights were offered that I believe are worth sharing. The first is that, while there is definitely an overall tendency for people to read things that confirm rather than disagree with their convictions, assumptions, and biases, this is less true when it comes to blogs. The second is an explanation why this might be the case: If you read a book you disagree with, you cannot shout at the author (well, obviously you... Read more
A couple of other bloggers have had some interesting things to say about the new perspective on Paul, from an Evangelical perspective. Mike Bird is up to part 2 in a series entitled “After the New Perspective.” Tim Gombis has a post on the willingness of Evangelical opponents of the new perspective to abandon their principles in the process. And also related, Scot McKnight continues his series on James D. G. Dunn’s most recent book, reaching the topic of Paul’s “conversion”... Read more
From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (via) Read more
For those friends and family who missed my series of posts about my trip to Israel while I was there, here’s a round-up of the posts from the trip: Tel AvivFrom Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to Bethlehem and HebronThe Old City of JerusalemQuote of the Day (Jerome Murphy-O’Connor)The Dead SeaLast Full Day in JerusalemOn the Holiness of the Temple MountTo Galilee by way of ArmageddonGalilee vs. JerusalemBlessed are Those who do not Vandalize Ancient TombsArchaeological Puzzles: Can You Identify These... Read more
P. Z. Myers shared this image indicating the status of the United States as a statistical outlier in at least one important respect (originally from Calamities of Nature): Alison Campbell tries to clear up the ongoing confusion about fact and theory. John Shuck shared some challenging thoughts inspired by Don Cupitt on solar living (and I was struck by both the similarities and the stark contrast between Cupitt’s message and this summary of the essence of Christianity by the famous... Read more
This is just a reminder that Exploring Our Matrix has moved to Patheos. All the things you’ve loved about this blog continue to characterize it at its new home. Hope you’ll continue to enjoy my blogging there every bit as much as you have enjoyed it thus far here! Read more
What do you think of this interpretation? In the Garden of Eden story…Yahweh places the two trees in the garden for the benefit of the elohim. I infer this because Yahweh did not allow the humans to eat from them, and the trees impart qualities by which the gods are identified. Apparently the elohim regularly consume the fruit provided by the two trees. Yahweh intended neither for the humans. The tree of life imparted to the elohim eternal life or... Read more
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