Re: The Jerusalem Church after 70 CE
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:46 pm
This is starting to remind me of Doherty (who I first read about on Neil Godfrey's blog about ten years ago), but if Rom. 1:1-5 is an interpolation (along with any similar passages that mythicists reject), there are other things that make me think that Paul believed in a human Jesus.
I take Paul's use of "according to the flesh" to mean that Jesus was a human in the way that Hegesippus means it. Rom. 8:5 seems like a good example:
I take Paul's use of "according to the flesh" to mean that Jesus was a human in the way that Hegesippus means it. Rom. 8:5 seems like a good example:
And Rom. 4:1:Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
And Rom. 8:13:What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?
And 2 Cor. 5:16:For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
And 1 Cor. 15:20-21:From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
And 1 Cor. 15:35-44:But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
But if we take Rom. 1:4 off the table, then I don't know how/when Paul thought the "divine figure" (i.e., "Christ") entered the human Jesus. And now that I think about it, maybe the idea that Jesus was adopted at his baptism did not exist until after 70 CE (when I presume all gospels were written).But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else ... So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.