Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus", previously announced for Feb 2014, is "now presently projected for late March or early April" 2014. http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/5022
"... this will be the first comprehensive pro-Jesus myth book ever published by a respected academic press and under formal peer review. That lends considerable weight to the work and will gain it significant academic attention in the field... I think this will be the first pro-Jesus myth book of any kind published by a university press in the last fifty years."
No doubt we will be talking about it when it comes out, so I thought I'd start the thread. This certainly will be a big deal, and in my view a game changer in the HJ/MJ discussions.
It is really important, in life, to concentrate our minds on our enthusiasms, not on our dislikes. -- Roger Pearse
It wasn't that long ago we were talking the same way about Bart's book. Let's hope it lives up to the hype ...
DCH
GakuseiDon wrote:Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus", previously announced for Feb 2014, is "now presently projected for late March or early April" 2014. http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/5022
"... this will be the first comprehensive pro-Jesus myth book ever published by a respected academic press and under formal peer review. That lends considerable weight to the work and will gain it significant academic attention in the field... I think this will be the first pro-Jesus myth book of any kind published by a university press in the last fifty years."
No doubt we will be talking about it when it comes out, so I thought I'd start the thread. This certainly will be a big deal, and in my view a game changer in the HJ/MJ discussions.
I am looking forward to Carrier's book and I certainly hope it lives up to all the hype. After all, At 3:10 Carrier proclaims:
"The first thing to know is, forget about all the other mythicist theories ... so, I say, if you want a simple rule, basically, if you don't hear it from me (Dick Carrier) be skeptical of it."
The problem is that we have good reason to be skeptical of Carrier's theory as well, since he accepts without question church doctrine on the authenticity and early dates of the 7 Pauline epistles. That's a serious failure.
“The only sensible response to fragmented, slowly but randomly accruing evidence is radical open-mindedness. A single, simple explanation for a historical event is generally a failure of imagination, not a triumph of induction.” William H.C. Propp
Richard Carrier is certainly not infallible, but between a jerk (oh my gosh) and somebody who holds their punches, I prefer the jerk because that's one less bias that is influencing the author's work (and we all know there are enough of those biases operating in this field already).
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
Yeah, Carrier says it at 3:10 in that video, and he seemed to mean it as a joke (it provoked laughter from the audience), but I think he was partly serious.
I heard the same thing from Carrier in person during a presentation of his project in my home city (and other times in his lectures & debates as posted on the internet). He is very serious about that. But lately he softened his stand towards Doherty, more so because his mythicist theory is very close to Doherty, with the crucifixion in the sky and acknowledgment of the authenticity of Paul and his 7 epistles.
Some might be interested about the latest point from Richard I heard in one of his lecture posted on the internet: http://historical-jesus.sosblogs.com/Hi ... b1-p74.htm
I guess that will be in his new book.
Cordially, Bernard
I believe freedom of expression should not be curtailed
Bernard Muller wrote: ... Carrier's ... mythicist theory is very close to Doherty, with the crucifixion in the sky and acknowledgment of the authenticity of Paul and his 7 epistles.
Cordially, Bernard
Jesus! Logically [realistically], he - Carrier- would have to be proposing those epistles are authentic: he can't 'acknowledge' they are [authentic], b/c no-one has proved they are.
Moreover, it's highly improbable anybody can prove they're authentic.
Last edited by MrMacSon on Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Carrier may be cocky, but he's also sharp as a tack. What's more, unlike most scholars, he enjoys engaging with the public and amateur enthusiasts in biblical studies. I'm looking forward to the book.
Bernard Muller wrote: ... Carrier's ... mythicist theory is very close to Doherty, with the crucifixion in the sky and acknowledgment of the authenticity of Paul and his 7 epistles.
Cordially, Bernard
Jesus! Logically [realistically], he - Carrier- would have to be proposing those epistles are authentic: he can't 'acknowledge' they are [authentic], b/c no-one has proved they are.
Moreover, it's highly improbable anybody can prove they're authentic.
Carrier claims 1 Corinthians is a stitching together of more than 1 letter.
In the words A Kempis Thomas, I submit the following on this thread:
If thou knewest the whole Bible, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what should all this profit thee without the love and grace of God? Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, save to love God, and Him only to serve. That is the highest wisdom, to cast the world behind us, and to reach forward to the heavenly kingdom.
