I'm pleased to announce that it is now possible to purchase a hardback copy of my recent book Armaggedon: What the Bible Really Says about the End at half price from Barnes & Noble, either in a store or online, as part of their annual Book Haul promotion. The sale goes till Sept. 4. Interested? Know anyone else who might be? Go here and check it out: Armageddon | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
Another Platinum Post from Omar Robb--as always, intriguing! ****************************** Omar Abur-Robb omr-mhmd.yolasite.com I did discuss this subject in some comments here in the blog, but I prefer to put it in a formal post. We are going here to argue that the non-metaphysical data related to the exodus can be fit with the history of Egypt between Ramesses-the-Third (III, died 1155BC) and Ramesses-the-Sixth (VI, died 1136BC). Also, we will argue that Israel/Yisrael is unlikely to be the name mentioned in the Stele of Merneptah. 1# We will discuss this subject from a scientific historical perspective in which we will exclude all metaphysical data. So, if we looked at the Quran and the Old Testament (OT) and just extracted the non-metaphysical data (i.e. the viable data that doesn’t contradict with science and normality) then the summary of this data can be: The Israelite were a foreign tribe in Egypt, and they were oppressed there, but managed (gradually or swiftly) to immigrate to Arabia under the leadership of a man whose name was Moses. Now ... Quran [...]
In my previous post I argued that critical scholars who insist that the Gospels are not historically accurate accounts of what happened in the life of Jesus – even though they do contain some historically accurate information, which needs to be carefully and cautiously ferreted out of their narratives – are not trashing the Gospels. They are trashing unfounded fundamentalist assumptions about the Gospels. In this post I’d like to argue that this view -- that the Gospels are not sacrosanct-historically-accurate-to-the-very-detail accounts of what really happened in the life of Jesus -- is not merely a modern notion that emerged during the Enlightenment. It is that, to be sure; but it’s not merely that. In fact, I would argue that this is the earliest attested view of the Gospels from earliest Christianity. Let’s assume for this argument a view that most scholars hold and that I could demonstrate if I wanted to spend a lot of time doing so (for example here and here), that Mark was the first of our Gospels and that Matthew [...]
I am going to take a brief break from my response to Craig Evans’s critique of my view of Jesus’ burial. There are more things that I need to say – and I have not yet gotten to what I think are his two best arguments. But my sense is that some people are getting a little tired of a steady dose of posts on the burial stories, so… I’m going to break to deal with something else of more general interest. Over the years some people have responded to my argument that Jesus was not really buried by Joseph of Arimathea on the day of his crucifixion by asking me: Why are you trashing the Gospels? It’s a fair question, and deserves a fair answer. The short story is that I’m not intending or trying to trash the Gospels. In my view, what I’m doing is showing what the Gospels really are and what they really are not. And that is not a matter of trashing them. It’s a matter of revealing their true [...]
Here now is the third and final post on the Qur'an by scholar of Early Islam and Ancient Christianity Stephen Shoemaker, Professor at the University of Oregon. Stephen is an internationally-known scholar and his first two posts are highly informed and have been controversial among some of our blog members--as one would expect for someone whose research leads to conclusions different from what everyone has always said and assumed to be true! In this post he addresses the question many of us have long had: when was the Qur'an actually produced and could the traditions it contains have been changed over the years before it was written? ****************************** Creating the Qur’an: The Formation of the Last Ancient Scripture Hi again. Welcome to my final post, and I’d like to thank Bart for the opportunity to engage this lively forum and also all of its members for reading and considering my thoughts. In my two previous posts, you will recall, I noted some significant problems with prevailing understandings of how the Qur’an as [...]
In my previous post I tried to show why Craig’s argument that Roman governors on (widely!) isolated occasions showed clemency to prisoners (those not sentenced to death) has no relevance to the question of whether Jesus, condemned to crucifixion for treason against the Roman state, would have been allowed a decent burial, contrary to Roman practice. The “clemency” argument – even in the sources that Craig himself cites, only seems to show that in cases that were completely unlike that of Jesus himself, Roman governors could on rare occasions be merciful and/or bribed. Craig goes on to say that this clemency was extended to the burial of executed criminals. Now in theory, this should be relevant to the question of whether Pilate showed mercy on Jesus by allowing his body to be buried on the day of his execution. But when you actually look at the evidence, once again it is not just irrelevant to Craig's argument, it actually supports the *opposite* view that is opposite to the one Craig wants to argue. See for [...]
In my previous post I began to discuss Craig Evan’s essay “Getting the Burial Traditions and Evidences Right,” which was his attempt to show that the views I set forth in How Jesus Became God were flawed. In his view, the New Testament portrayal of Jesus’ burial is almost certainly historical: Jesus really was buried, in a known tomb, on the afternoon of his death, immediately after he expired, by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin who had, the night before, called for his execution. My view is that this is entirely unlikely, that Jesus was probably left on his cross to suffer the ravages of time and, possibly, scavenging animals, as was the practice of Romans for crucified victims. In no instance was this practice more constant than in the case of “enemies of the state,” anyone, for example, who was involved in an insurrection or who threatened a violent opposition to Roman rule (or was thought to have threatened). Jesus himself, of course, was executed on just this charge, of [...]
A while ago we had an unusually intriguing Movie Club event on the blog as a fundraiser. The movie Tár with an absolutely stellar performance by Cate Blanchett was nominated for six academy awards; as you probably know, it was about the downfall of a brilliant woman who is an orchestra conductor. As it turns out, an active member of the blog is an internationally known orchestra conductor, Gisele Ben-Dor (see: Gisele Ben-Dor Conductor – A champion of Latin American music ), and we asked her if she would lead a discussion on the movie from her vast experience. It was terrifically interesting! We recorded it and are now offering it for those who make a donation to the blog. What about it? The donations are tax deductible and you'll find it a great experience! To give it a shot: First, go to the Blog Home page and scroll to the bottom to find the donation buttons. Then, grab your invoice number from the email the blog just sent you, and head to the Tár [...]
Dear Platinum members, That time again — an opportunity for you to vote on one of our Platinum guest posts, to see which one will be posted on the blog at large. Take a look — they’re all terrific. To vote, just send a quick note to Diane at [email protected] Your deadline: this Saturday, June 18, midnight your time. And remember — you’re always welcome to submit a post yourself. Anything connected to the blog that strikes your fancy that you’d like others to read about? Any ideas/thoughts you’d like to have disseminated and discussed? Here’s your chance. Just zap Diane a note at [email protected]. May 22, 2023 Was Jesus Literate or Illiterate? Omar Robb May 26, 2023 Did Jesus Believe The End Would Come Within His Lifetime? Rizwan Ahmed May 29, 2023 Was Jesus a Simplistic Person or an Extraordinary One? Omar Robb June 2, 2023 The 3rd Rail - A Critique of Jesus. Steve Clark
On the questions of mortality and moving on.... A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing for my recent course "Why I Am Not a Christian," I was reminded of one of my favorite modern novels, The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, which won the Booker Prize in 2011. What a terrific book. Short but completely compelling. Beautifully written. Moving. Thought provoking. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I won’t give up the plot, but, well, it’s about life, death, getting older, memory, and remorse. Two lines really struck me. The first is spoken by one of the characters in a history class in school in his upper sixth (that’s the year English students prepare for university; it’s a lot more rigorous than our senior years in high school) (mine anyway; and I went to an unusually good high school!). When asked, at the end of the term, what history is (looking back at all they had studied), he responds: “History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of [...]
I recently did an interview with Glenn Siepert for his program "The What If Project," on my book Armageddon, What the Bible Really Says about the End. His new book, "Emerging From the Rubble: Thirty Stories About Grief, Broken Dreams, Shattered Relationships, and Finding the Courage to Keep Going," just came out, as well. Glenn asks very good questions, and we got into some unusually interesting topics. I hope you enjoy it! *****************************
