Short question:
Is there any kind of book, article or any sort of literature that focuses on the origin, dissemination and acceptance of supernatural accounts?
Long explanation:
Christian apologists often claim that historian “Sherwin-White meticulously examined the rate at which legend accrued in the ancient world. His conclusion: not even two full generations was enough time for legend to develop and wipe out a solid core of historical truth.” Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ 264 (Zondervan 1998). This is BS. Sherman-White never claimed any such “meticulous examination.” He looked at one example from Herodotus’s Histories. A.N. Sherwin-White, Roman Law and Roman Society in the New Testament 190-91 (Baker Book House 1963).
Are there any real “meticulous examinations” that deal with the origin and spread of supernatural stories? I see certain commonalities between the crucifixion accounts in the Gospels, stories from other religions and urban legends about supernatural events such as the Angel of Mons and the “well to hell.” However, I don’t want to pontificate about my ideas. Has any qualified person actually studied how supernatural stories begin and grow?
Cass R. Sunstein wrote an interesting book, On Rumors, which deals with the origin and dissemination of rumors. Seems like there might be something similar for supposed miracles.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I can give you a place to look. I just received a book in the mail, “History of New Testament Research Vol 2”. This book only goes up to the 1940s, but it descriptively lists major areas of New Testament research from (I think) the late 1800s to the 1940s (or through the research of Rudolph Bultmann in any event…..the latter being the reason I bought this book). I checked the index and it does have an entry for “supernatural” listed, cross-referenced to miracles. The latest research it lists for the supernatural is by Shirley Jackson Case (a man by the way) writing in the first half of the 20th century. In 1946 he published “The Origins of Christian Supernaturalism” which was a re-working of an earlier publication of his. My book has about a page and a half on Case and his work. I think the part you might perhaps be interested in is this:
Supernaturalism, according to Case, was rampant in the ancient world; only the Epicureans — heroes in Case’s eyes— opposed it.
I list that quote since it might give a sense of what his book is about.
Next, you’ll notice that I said the book I had is volume 2. Amazon has volume 3 in hardcover. Their sneak preview let’s you see the index. Volume 3 covers research up to the present (I presume since it lists Ehrman). The index has no entry for supernatural, but it does list extensive entries for miracles. So, maybe you want to try to get that book if you’re interested enough.
Amazon also has the Case book on supernaturalism for a very cheap price, but obviously it’s 70 years old research.
When I Google Case’s name it pops up on sites related to mythicism, but I can’t really tell if they’re for or against him. All I can say for sure is that his name is on a short list of researchers on one site (along with Prof. Ehrman’s name) who are “short-sighted” in their claims about the historicity of Jesus. I dislike mythicists so I’m always curious how they lean on researchers who I’ve never come across before, hence my curiosity.
Gmatthews,
You’re right it’s not really what I need, but also he gave me some ideas for further research and helps me clarify my question.
Psychologists theorize about WHY people believe in religions, but that is not what I’m looking for. I want something that deals with the characteristics of supernatural stories and how they are spread.
Wikipedia says that Comparative historical research is a method of social science that examines historical events in order to create explanations that are valid beyond a particular time and place, either by direct comparison to other historical events, theory building, or reference to the present day. That is essentially what Prof. Ehrman does in the first chapter of JESUS – APOCALYPTIC PROPHET OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM. He compares Jesus to other apocalyptic prophets.
Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken and Stanley Schachter compared instances of failed prophecy in their 1956 book “When Prophecy Fails” in order to develop some general observations.
Strangely enough, the closest thing I found what I’m looking for is from the website of a small church warning good Christians not to fall for urban legends. The church warns Christian internet users to examine themselves for symptoms of the Urban Legend Virus. Symptoms include the following:
* The willingness to believe improbable stories without thinking.
* The uncontrollable urge to forward multiple copies of such stories to others.
* A lack of desire to take 3 minutes to check to see if a story is true.
** you do not have permission to see this link **
This strikes me as good common sense, and I wish there were more a complete and scholarly analysis and not limited to modern urban legends.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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