Bart D. Ehrman,
As always, I will not be posting comments that are rude to others.

Steve Campbell, Author of the carefully, objectively well-reviewed
Historical Accuracy (Which sad calamity has caused God to turn his face away from you?)
Yes, please, do not post comments that are rude to others.

In the itinerant preacher model of historicism, who founds the Jesus cult? Jesus clearly thinks the end is upon them, within a generation. Even the final dinner is thought to be a later interpolation, not done by the itinerant preacher model Jesus. Paul writes the epistle of Romans to Judeans following Jesus before he actually gets to Rome! The supposed disciples running the supposed Jerusalem branch of Judeans following Jesus have left no records, and evidently fell off the face of the earth.

FocusMyView, I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking.  The Jesus “cult” begins when Jesus attracted disciples of his own.  It’s likely these were also disciples of John the Baptist. 

Historically the “Last Supper” was probably a Passover Seder.   The religious imagination of Jesus’ followers transformed the memory into something else. 

The existence of the Roman community to whom Paul wrote his letter demonstrates that there existed a pre-Pauline Gentile ministry and that he did not create Christianity. 

When Paul addresses the Jerusalem leadership he usually finds himself in opposition.  Why would Paul invent enemies?  Especially enemies at the heart of the movement he identified with.  Enemies whose existence required him to be constantly justify his own position?  The invented part is the lovefest in the Book of Acts.    

Argumentation Specialist
The Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism originates from ** you do not have permission to see this link **.

JGRChJ accepts books for possible review in the electronic version, including review articles of several books on a given subject. Books are to be sent to the Senior Editor for consideration for review.

Here are books reviewed by JGRChJ

** you do not have permission to see this link **

I found a book review that might be of interest to me:

Reading Mark’s Christology Under Caesar: Jesus the Messiah and Roman Imperial Ideology

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Editorial Review:

“Adam Winn offers a stimulating reading of Mark’s Christology. He positions the Gospel in post-70 AD Rome, addressing a church in a crisis created by Flavian propaganda, claims of victory, and divine sanction. Winn sees Mark’s Christology bridging two emphases on Jesus’ suffering and power in the key passage of 10:42-45 that presents Jesus in terms of Roman political ideology as an ideal, powerful ruler who serves and sacrifices his life for his people. In all regards Jesus is superior to Vespasian. This book adds a rich synthesis of Markan Christology in context to continuing debates about the Gospel’s presentation of Jesus.”
— Warren Carter, professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University

Steve Campbell, author of the well-reviewed book, Historical Accuracy
Mark Ch 10, verses 42-45 emphasizes Jesus’ suffering and power in terms of Roman political ideology?

Let’s look at those verses:

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

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Warren Carter’s statement is not strong.

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Book Description

#1 Could it be that Mark wrote his Gospel in response to Roman imperial propaganda surrounding this event [The Roman Putdown of the Jewish Revolt]?

# 2 Could a messiah crucified by Rome really be God’s Son appointed to rule the world?

Winn considers how Mark might have been read by Christians in Rome in the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem. He introduces us to the propaganda of the Flavian emperors and excavates the Markan text for themes that address the Roman imperial setting. We discover an intriguing first-century response to the question “Christ or Caesar?”

Argumentation Specialist
Regarding Question #2, if you want to say an insurrectionist, either from the late 20s to the early 30s or from 66 to 70 was both crucified (insurrection put down) and ruled the world, please explain who was ruling 70 to 138 CE–not the whole world, just the Roman Empire.

Reference:
4) Gerd Theissen, “What Can We Know of Jesus and His Activities?—Arguments for the Historicity of Jesus,” Iesus Aboensis 2 (2017): 34-50

5) Raphael Lataster, Questioning the Historicity of Jesus: Why a Philosophical Analysis Elucidates the Historical Discourse (Value Inquiry Book Series, 336; Leiden: Brill, 2019)**

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Steefen, member since July 2013 (2,800+ posts)

#4 comes from Abo Akadmi University in Finland.

Åbo Akademi University is an internationally acknowledged research university with an extensive responsibility for providing education in Swedish in Finland. The activities cover research and education in most disciplines from the humanities, pedagogics and theology to social sciences, natural sciences and technology.

Iesus Aboensis is the Abo Akademi Journal for Historical Jesus Research [in Finland].

Gerd Theissen one of the earliest pioneers in the application of the principles and methods of sociology to the study of the New Testament.

From the Fourth Conclusion in this article
Concerning Pilate, Herod Antipas and John the Baptist, we come
across so many scattered data that fit perfectly together that we may be sure
to encounter historical facts. A conclusion by analogy can state that we can ex-
ploit the Gospels for historical data concerning Jesus. The Gospels are rooted
in history.

Steefen, member since July 2013 (2,800+ posts)
I do not question the existence of Pilate, Herod Antipas, or John the Baptist.

One cannot convincingly make the above conclusions by analogy
when dealing with a composite character of historical fiction.
By nature of historical fiction, the author of that fiction has already transferred information 
from Pilate, Herod Antipas, and John the Baptist to a Jesus who did not exist late 20s/early 30s
(fictitiously, he was not conceived via sexual intercourse with a biological male,
he resurrected the dead, he, himself, resurrected from the dead, he made no
diplomatic attempts to establish his political ambitions peacefully with
government authorities (he allegedly goes down to Jersualem from Galilee,  with
no pre-arrangements to discuss the benefits of his political movement of apocalypticism).

Where is Jesus’ dinner plans to meet with Caiaphas and Pilate to promote the benefits
of his vision of a glorious kingdom. What was in it for the Jewish elite? What was in it for
making Pilate’s governing easier or more successful? What was in it for one level above Pilate, Syria?
What was in it for the Roman Empire? What was Jesus plan to mitigate his view of Tribulation?

How did Jesus gain support from a Sanhedrin to let him usurp Yom Kippur?

Jesus could tell pharisees that he could forgive sins and they were supposed to accept that.

Did Jesus say to a Sanhedrin, although I can forgive sins; sometimes, I cannot; and then, I need to die for sins to be forgiven?

I disagree with Gerd Theissen that by the existence of actual historical personages analogies can be made to assert Jesus existed.

On 7 December 1941, at the White House, the Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hawkman, Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Plastic Man, and Robotman met with President Roosevelt, who told them about that day’s Pearl Harbor attack, and asked them to mobilize all the costumed heroes they could find, to form an “All-Star Squadron,” responsible to to no one but himself. Plastic Man was appointed as the team’s FBI liasion, and their first mission was to fly to the west coast, to guard against any follow-up attacks.

Reference:
5) Raphael Lataster, Questioning the Historicity of Jesus: Why a Philosophical Analysis Elucidates the Historical Discourse (Value Inquiry Book Series, 336; Leiden: Brill, 2019)**

Steve Campbell, author of the well-reviewed book, Historical Accuracy
The above recommended text has a price tag of $210.

On amazon, it has two ratings average 3.5 stars.

Let’s see this $210 book’s description:

This volume moves beyond the mainstream scholarly scepticism over the Christ of Faith and considers if there is sufficient evidence to establish the existence of the more mundane Historical Jesus.

Using the logical tools of the analytic philosopher, Lataster finds that the relevant sources are unreliable as historical documents, and that the key method of those purporting that the Historical Jesus existed is to appeal to sources that do not exist.

Considering an ancient hypothesis suggesting that Jesus began as a celestial messiah that certain Second Temple Jews already believed in, and was later allegorised in the Gospels, Lataster discovers that it is more reasonable to at least be agnostic over Jesus’ historicity.

Richard Carrier is not alone.

Raphael Lataster, Ph.D. (2017), University of Sydney, is an associate lecturer at that university. He has published monographs and articles on God’s existence and Jesus’ existence, including The Case Against Theism (Springer, 2018).

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