Search found 101 matches

by Bertie
Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:55 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Galatians 4:4 --- What Happened in "The Fullness of Time"?
Replies: 11
Views: 10866

Re: Galatians 4:4 --- What Happened in "The Fullness of Time"?

My question is: Why did't Paul be less oblique about the timing? It's not just here, but throughout all his letters? And it's not just on Jesus Christ, but about everything that happens. Few concrete historical pointers exist, not only in Paul's letters, but in the other early letters as well, and ...
by Bertie
Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:24 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: John 1:3: a very much Gnostic verse
Replies: 3
Views: 4883

Re: John 1:3: a very much Gnostic verse

While τὸ ὀυδέν would mean "the nothing" or the void or zero in an abstract philosophical or mathematical sense, the definite article is not present here, only ὀυδέν by itself (in some manuscripts; others have οὐδὲ ἕν = not even one) and getting "the nothing" out of that seems qui...
by Bertie
Tue Mar 05, 2019 11:54 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: The Skeptical Critical Commentary - Gospel of Mark
Replies: 52
Views: 111596

Re: The Skeptical Critical Commentary - Gospel of Mark

Apologies if you have addressed this in one of your many other posts in this series, but does your methodology here account in someway for the fact that "first sentences" in many ancient works are stylistically different from the rest of the text? For example, it would seem to me that if y...
by Bertie
Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:36 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Romans 1:1-5
Replies: 48
Views: 49745

Re: Romans 1:1-5

The Montanari Brill Dictionary gives the meaning of ὁρίζω in the passive tenses as "to be determined, fixed, or established", but it also gives one additional example "by extension", Aristotle Poetics 1452a 32: πρὸς εὐτυχίαν ἢ δυστυχίαν ὡρισμένων destined to happiness or misfortune
by Bertie
Tue Feb 26, 2019 12:55 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Romans 1:1-5
Replies: 48
Views: 49745

Re: Romans 1:1-5

>>> gospel The word is εὐαγγέλιον, the same thing that is either translated as "gospel" or "(good) news" everywhere in early Christian writings. >>> again Agree that this word is spurious translation. >>> by announcing the gospel I don't know that embellishment is the right word;...
by Bertie
Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:18 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: How "complex and sophisticated" is the No-HJ argument - and is that a good thing?
Replies: 14
Views: 21249

Re: How "complex and sophisticated" is the No-HJ argument - and is that a good thing?

Right. Skepticism is suspicious when an idea needs to be propped up by a complicated intellectual framework ("Big Ideas"). Skepticism is suspicious when an idea needs a bunch of ad hoc carve-outs to protect it from being overthrown. Skepticism is empirical and would err on the side of bein...
by Bertie
Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:28 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: a possibility so remote that it deserves a little reflection
Replies: 129
Views: 110120

Re: a possibility so remote that it deserves a little reflection

The discussion does seem to circle back to the question of homosexuality. Is that the strongest argument for Secret Mark being modern, or is there another that is stronger? As I understand it, the problem isn’t homosexuality per se, but the specific practices of Ancient Greek homosexuality, for whi...
by Bertie
Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:21 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Sator Square
Replies: 37
Views: 50228

Re: Sator Square

http://www.jjmjs.org/uploads/1/1/9/0/11908749/jjmjs-3_tuccinardi.pdf Back when I was most interested in Christ mythicism, I heard about the Pompeii graffiti and wondered why it wasn't discussed more; I made some effort to find out more about it but struck out -- a pretty common opinion about it aro...
by Bertie
Tue May 09, 2017 4:51 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Marcion, 2nd Century Bad Boy -- Could It Be True?
Replies: 66
Views: 46808

Re: Marcion, 2nd Century Bad Boy -- Could It Be True?

If I remember right, and there's a reasonable chance I'm not, reconstructed Marcion has all the so-called Western Non-Interpolations; that is, it agrees with the great majority against Codex Bezae and the Latin texts like it where the latter are missing certain lines. If you believe those lines are ...
by Bertie
Mon May 08, 2017 3:24 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Did the Gospel-writers anthropomorphize Marcion's J-Christ?
Replies: 76
Views: 50322

Re: Did the Gospel-writers anthropomorphize Marcion's J-Chri

Perhaps talking about Markan Priority is conceding too much: for something like Tertullian's Marcion to have priority over the synoptics, it is not enough that Markan Priority isn't true, but that something kinda like Lukan Priority is. Lukan Priority is the least popular solution to the Synoptic Pr...